Territory
Pecorino Toscano PDO is produced in a very limited production area through extensive breeding (sheeps are recovered in the sheepfolds only for limited periods during winter), thus playing an important role in maintaining landscape and biodiversity. In fact, it has been proved (i.e. FAO Study “The contributions of livestock species and breeds to ecosystem services” -2016) that grazing and trampling by herds, if managed correctly, can have positive impacts in increasing land cover by vegetation, plant productivity and biodiversity, with consequent positive effects on water management, soil erosion and carbon absorption.
This cheese is rooted in the history of the region and in a profound relationship between the environment, the sheep and the shepherds. In Tuscany, sheep breeding, which is one of the most ancient forms of animal husbandry and of colonisation of a territory by human beings, has centuries-old roots, the fruits of which are a cheese-making tradition handed down through the generations and a type of cheese that is considered one of the best Italian specialty foods.
