By Hannah Camassa

After the success of our Italian Farm Tour in 2024, we returned in 2026; this time with an even bigger group of 32 farmers and vets representing all LLM branches! The trip was planned to coincide with Fieragricola, the prestigious agricultural show held in Verona every other February.

The Winter Olympic closing ceremony 2026 will be held in Verona and there were a few clues around!

We flew out from Manchester on Wednesday and returned Sunday afternoon, giving us three full days of activities and four nights to thoroughly test the local cuisine and drinking establishments! Once again, we partnered with Bay Farm Tours, who expertly handled the travel arrangements and itinerary. We were all kept in check by Neil from Bay Farm Tours, who accompanied us this time around. Our guide was Dr Alfonso Camassa, a Veterinary Surgeon who graduated in Italy and has excellent local contacts for farm visits and butchers, as well as serving as our very handy translator. Disclaimer: He’s also my husband!

Our Base: Mantova

We stayed in Mantova, a smaller and sleepier town than Verona (well… it was before we arrived!). Rich in history and beautiful architecture, the town sits on the edge of a lake which a few of us appreciated for early morning strolls or jogs to shake off the previous evening’s wine.

Farm Visits

During the trip we visited three dairy farms – two of which we had seen back in 2024. Both had significantly expanded their herd sizes and invested heavily in new buildings since our last visit. The farms were also keen to let us try their produce!

Farm 1

1,050 cows milked three times daily on a rotary parlour
Average yield: 46kg per cow per day
Solar panels on cattle shed roofs – 80% government funded
Recent building work supported by a 15% grant
A new fresh-calver shed under construction to meet new EU rules requiring calves to remain with their mothers for 48 hours after birth

Farm 2

2,100 cows with 48 robotic milkers
Three bulk tanks, each holding 50,000 litres
On-site biodigester, with hot water used to heat calf shed floors
Producing 150 wheels of cheese per day Fresh weight: ~50kg

Farm 3

Tenant-run buffalo farm milking 135 buffalo
Producing multiple varieties of buffalo cheese on site
Each buffalo yields around 10 litres per day, milked twice daily
Milk quality: 4.2% protein and 8.9% butterfat

On-site biodigester, with hot water used to heat calf shed floors

Buffalo farm milking

Exploring Northern Italy

There was also plenty of downtime to explore Mantova, enjoy an evening in Verona (complete with a memorable seven-course meal featuring guinea fowl), and spend an afternoon in Desenzano del Garda, a beautiful town on the southern shore of Lake Garda.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather, it poured on arrival and we had thick fog on departure, but the three days in between were filled with blue skies and sunshine (sadly, we didn’t manage to bring that home with us…)

Looking Ahead to 2028

It was another fantastic trip – full of learning, laughter, and perhaps slightly too much cheese!
We’re hoping to run the tour again in 2028. If you’d be interested in joining us next time, please let us know!