Taurus International n. 1 / 2004
4th World Congress of Italian Beef Cattle Breeds

Italy, and Umbria in particular, will have the honour of playing host to the Fourth World Congress of Italian Beef Cattle Breeds, which will be held in Gubbio (Perugia) from 29 April through 1 May 2005. The last edition organized in Italy was in 1994, the year when the ANABIC organized in Perugia, in the renovated headquarters of the Association, an event of great technical content and strong interest that brought a considerable flow of visitors from both Italy and abroad.

The Italian scenario

In recent years, due to the BSE crisis which brought consumers to be more careful in choosing beef products, the autochthonous breeds Chianina, Marchigiana, Romagnola, Maremmana, and Podolica have gone through an extremely favourable period, although with the differences connected with the individual histories and specificities.
We would like to mention briefly: the significant increase in the numbers, concerning all five breeds protected by the ANABIC, involving new breeding provinces; the process of rationalization of the farm structures, which led to a slow but constant increase in the average dimensions; the activity of the Genetic Centres, which has shown over the years a clearly positive trend in the productive performance of the five Italian breeds; the development of the Consorzio Carni Bovine Italiane, seen in the sizable increase in the number of member butcher shops and the relations with the organized large-scale retail trade; the recent establishment of the Consortium for the safeguard of the Protected Geographic Indication (IGP) "Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale" (White Bullock of the Central Apennine), with the duty to monitor and safeguard the image of that production.
It is an extremely positive context that is an important basis for the best success of the event.

International relations

Starting in 1956, the year of the first export of Italian cattle to Brazil, many efforts have been made to spread and promote the Italian breeds abroad. Today these breeds are rightly defined cosmopolitan, thanks to their presence in many countries on various continents, connected with the production characteristics and capacity to adapt to the different grazing systems and environmental situations. In many foreign countries, the breeders have formed local breed associations, which in 1995 came together in the Italian Beef Cattle International Association.
In order to meet specifically and adequately the requests of the foreign operators, the ANABIC also set up, in 1993, "Italiana Genetica e Servizi s.r.l.", a company in charge of foreign relations, the implementation of semen, embryo and breeding animal exports, and technical assistance to farms.
In recent years ANABIC, in collaboration with I.G.S., has developed contacts with numerous foreign operators, participated in various international events, and carried on trade relations with Brazil, United States, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Holland, Germany, England, and Sweden. In consideration of the lively interest encountered, a significant participation of delegations from many foreign countries is expected.

The programme

The Congress event, the organization of which the ANABIC shares with the Ministry for Agricultural Policies, is scheduled to take place from 29 April through 1 May 2005 at the prestigious Park Hotel "Ai Cappuccini" in Gubbio (Perugia), a beautifully restored 17th-century monastery situated in a central but tranquil position in the splendid Umbrian town, the testimony of a luminous, refined, and cultured Middle Ages.
The objective is to create an important occasion for discussion, stimulating reflection and the exchange of experiences among all those interested in knowledge about and the breeding of the white breeds.
During the Congress, ample time will be devoted to the description of the Italian stock-raising reality, the current situation of the breeding of the autochthonous breeds, and the genetic improvement activity carried on by the ANABIC. The situation and development prospects of the Italian breeds throughout the world will be illustrated, leaving plenty of room for contributions by the foreign breed associations.
The scientific sessions will be devoted to the subjects of selection and genetic engineering, production and feeding techniques, meat quality, and the systems for the enhancement and certification of productions. Also planned are the meeting of the Italian Beef Cattle International Association, an encounter among the technicians of the various breed associations, a visit to the ANABIC headquarters, and the presentation of prized breeding animals. On the congress premises will be set up institutional stands of the organizations operating in the sector, local craft products and typical food products, as well as photography shows focusing on the autochthonous breeds. The choice of Gubbio and the Park Hotel "Ai Cappuccini" is also connected with the high quality of restaurants throughout the town, and in the hotel itself, which will make it possible to organize, during the congress, refined tastings of dishes based on the prized Italian meats carrying the Protected Geographic Indication "Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale" mark.
Another attraction is the tourism and social programme, which includes guided tours in the picturesque towns of Perugia, Gubbio and Assisi, entertainment, and music. At the end of the congress will be organized, for those interested, livestock-raising tours in the main breeding provinces of the various breeds, with visits to the farms, the fattening centres, the slaughterhouses, the artificial insemination centres, and the butcher shops belonging to the CCBI and the IGP consortium.
The detailed programme of the Congress event and all the updates on its organization will be published in the forthcoming issues of "Taurus".