Take a philosophy student, a few hundred hectares in Umbria and throw in some passion for the environment. This is the story of Marco Minciaroni, a man who doesn’t take the easy road when it comes to farming.
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When I got in touch with my old school friend Marco Minciaroni, he was really happy and excited for us to visit and to share his passion for the land and the innovative work he is doing.
Inheriting the property from his father who bought it as an investment, the farming up to that point had been conventional, using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and heavy tilling monocultures.
With a background in philosophy, which Marco studied at university, he decided to shift from conventional farming to organic farming, applying a holistic approach, including some philosophical ideas, as well as exploring historical methods of agriculture and reading, reading lots of books. ![]()
Situated in Umbria, not far from Perugia and overlooking lake Trasimeno, much of what Marco farms is sold in bulk to Italian bio companies, which then make their own products, but he also has his own label, Castello di Montalera, which is sold to bio and herbalist shops and small supermarkets.
He was first inspired by Giulia Maria Crespi founder of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) and of the Italian Biodynamic Association in Italy. Marco attended a number of courses that were held at Cascine Orsini near Milan, property of Ms Crespi’s family. Here he was encouraged to pursue his chosen route which, in Marco’s own words, he describes as “…agroecological. I take bits and pieces from various organic techniques and one of these is biodynamics. I experiment and apply them to obtain the best result.”
The biodynamics approach of farming comes from the work carried out by philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner, who made a connection between scientific understanding and recognising that nature has a story to tell.
Marco goes on to tell us how, in the last couple of years, he has moved to a more complex way of doing organic farming, which he defines as being agroecologic farming using a more diversified methodology. The approach is more resilient and circular, creating a minimum disturbance of soil and minimum tillage. At one time, the farmers would go down 40-50 cm, while now the maximum depth is 10-25 cm because the richness of the soil is found in the top layers.
Instead of using modern varieties of seeds, Marco prefers traditional varieties of cereals. The reason for this is that their stems are taller, which means that they are not in competition with weeds. They may also have longer beards or bristles for protection. Their heads are more open, allowing more airflow and making them less susceptible to fungi and humidity. The downside of course is the yields are lower, but this is compensated by having far less expenses for chemical fertilizers etc. and the lower yield can be made up by using diversity and planting more crops together in an agroecological way.
As we sipped our espressos, Marco disappeared to return shortly after with a bag full of books. He pulled them out and showed us, with his great enthusiasm, the various titles he was reading, sharing with us what each author was telling him and what he was gaining from his readings.
Listen to Marco as he shares his story in his own words here
Read the transcript of the interview here
Look out for next month’s podcast which will include an interview with Salvatore Ceccarelli, Professor of Agricultural Genetics at the University of Perugia, who has collaborated with ICARDA and Miguel Altieri, a Professor of agroecology and urban agriculture at the University of Berkley, who has carried out research in California and Latin America where he has worked closely with farmers to implement the principles of agroecology to design productive, biodiverse and resilient farming systems.
When I got in touch with my old school friend Marco Minciaroni, he was really happy and excited for us to visit and to share his passion for the land and the innovative work he is doing.
Inheriting the property from his father who bought it as an investment, the farming up to that point had been conventional, using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and heavy tilling monocultures.
With a background in philosophy, which Marco studied at university, he decided to shift from conventional farming to organic farming, applying a holistic approach, including some philosophical ideas, as well as exploring historical methods of agriculture and reading, reading lots of books.
Situated in Umbria, not far from Perugia and overlooking lake Trasimeno, much of what Marco farms is sold in bulk to Italian bio companies, which then make their own products, but he also has his own label, Castello di Montalera, which is sold to bio and herbalist shops and small supermarkets.
He was first inspired by Giulia Maria Crespi founder of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) and of the Italian Biodynamic Association in Italy. Marco attended a number of courses that were held at Cascine Orsini near Milan, property of Ms Crespi’s family. Here he was encouraged to pursue his chosen route which, in Marco’s own words, he describes as “…agroecological. I take bits and pieces from various organic techniques and one of these is biodynamics. I experiment and apply them to obtain the best result.”
The biodynamics approach of farming comes from the work carried out by philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner, who made a connection between scientific understanding and recognising that nature has a story to tell.
Marco goes on to tell us how, in the last couple of years, he has moved to a more complex way of doing organic farming, which he defines as being agroecologic farming using a more diversified methodology. The approach is more resilient and circular, creating a minimum disturbance of soil and minimum tillage. At one time, the farmers would go down 40-50 cm, while now the maximum depth is 10-25 cm because the richness of the soil is found in the top layers.
Instead of using modern varieties of seeds, Marco prefers traditional varieties of cereals. The reason for this is that their stems are taller, which means that they are not in competition with weeds. They may also have longer beards or bristles for protection. Their heads are more open, allowing more airflow and making them less susceptible to fungi and humidity. The downside of course is the yields are lower, but this is compensated by having far less expenses for chemical fertilizers etc. and the lower yield can be made up by using diversity and planting more crops together in an agroecological way.
As we toured the land, we noticed that in some of the fields, there were strips of alternating vegetation. What Marco realised when he started doing organic farming, was that biodiversity is an insurance and protection against all sorts of pests. In order to bring back the variety of insects needed, he created these alternating strips which act as “corridors” for them to travel through. With higher diversity comes higher protection, there is more competition between insects, even though some may eat a bit of the crops, the overall impact is small. In addition, this approach is also helping protect endangered species, such as bees, which are important for our ecosystem.
As well as being a farmer, it turns out that Marco helps animals in need. When we visited, he had saved two baby wild boars which he was taking care of until they could survive on their own in the natural environment and a couple of geese.
Marco’s top key lessons on his agroecological journey are:
As well as being a farmer, it turns out that Marco helps animals in need. When we visited, he had saved two baby wild boars which he was taking care of until they could survive on their own in the natural environment and a couple of geese.
Marco’s top key lessons on his agroecological journey are:
- Be humble and respect nature. Observe and listen to what the land has to say. The different plants growing naturally are telling you about the problems with the soil. Try working with the land, not against it, and learn about the insects and animals in their natural habitats, they too have a role to play.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Always differentiate what you plant, divide the risks and plan for the future. Bad seasons do happen, so plan for some extra income on the side, perhaps by planting trees which will give you fruits, nuts or berries and, down the line, they will be a source of wood to sell.
- The theory is very different from the practice and one must adapt to the land, the weather and be open to possibilities in order to keep moving in the right direction.
- The synergies in the fields, between the plants and animals, also translates to the people and the various organizations and it is extremely important to share the lessons learned, after all, someone else out there might have gone through the challenges you are facing.
- The global environment we live in means that the issues one farmer has in once place, are also issues faced by farmers in another part of the world. Therefore, it’s important that, wherever they are located, the farmers return to their roots and plant their local varieties of seeds instead of buying them as they are also more adapted to their own land and territory. This also as an impact on the commodities market because with their own stock of seeds, the price is not susceptible to global market changes.
As we sipped our espressos, Marco disappeared to return shortly after with a bag full of books. He pulled them out and showed us, with his great enthusiasm, the various titles he was reading, sharing with us what each author was telling him and what he was gaining from his readings.
Listen to Marco as he shares his story in his own words here
Read the transcript of the interview here
Look out for next month’s podcast which will include an interview with Salvatore Ceccarelli, Professor of Agricultural Genetics at the University of Perugia, who has collaborated with ICARDA and Miguel Altieri, a Professor of agroecology and urban agriculture at the University of Berkley, who has carried out research in California and Latin America where he has worked closely with farmers to implement the principles of agroecology to design productive, biodiverse and resilient farming systems.