At Cascina Oschiena, a working rice farm on Italy’s Vercelli plain, owner Alice Cerutti has restored part of the property to wetlands and other natural habitat while continuing to grow rice. The farm’s approach also includes historic rice varieties, cover crops, sheep grazing and careful water management. An AFP report published by RTL Today on 12 October 2026 describes these choices as part of the farm’s response to heat and drought, but does not quantify how much any one practice reduces crop losses.
What has changed at Cascina Oschiena?
The farm lies on the Vercelli plain in northwest Italy, between Milan and Turin, where rice fields meet woods and wetlands. Cerutti took over running the family farm in 2012. According to the AFP report, the property covers 110 hectares; about a third has been restored to a natural state, including 25 hectares converted to wetlands.
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The report says the wetlands host rare species, including the Large Copper butterfly, and that a black-tailed godwit has been recorded nesting there. Those are descriptions in the report, not the results of an independently cited ecological survey.
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Habitat comes with a land-use tradeoff
Restoring wetland and other habitat means keeping some land out of rice production. Cerutti is reported to be seeking other income to help offset earnings lost through restoration, including visits for school and academic groups and guest accommodation. The article gives no figures for the income from those activities or for the rice area removed from production.
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How the farm combines rice growing with biodiversity
Historic rice varieties
Cascina Oschiena grows red and black rice as well as historic varieties including Carnaroli Classico and Arborio Classico. The AFP report says these varieties yield less than modern varieties but are considered higher quality and more tolerant of drought and extreme heat. It also notes that Carnaroli Classico has awns—bristly projections on the grain—that are thought to offer protection against heat and cold. The report provides no comparative trial data, so these claims should not be read as a measured ranking of varieties.
Carnaroli is commonly used for risotto, making it a relevant choice for cooks interested in the rice varieties discussed here. A 2020 Rogers Collection profile described rice from Cascina Oschiena, including Carnaroli and Arborio, but that historical profile does not establish what the farm or any retailer currently has in stock.
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- Grow some rice for fun!
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Cover crops and grazing
The farm uses green manure and legume crops, and about 1,200 sheep graze the fields between rice harvests, according to the report. The animals leave organic matter behind. The article also says Cerutti grows Carnaroli Classico without chemical fertilizer; it does not provide a farm-wide fertilizer breakdown or quantify the effect of these practices on yield or soil condition.
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Water management
Cerutti’s reported approach includes flooding fields early. The AFP story presents this as a practice she says has helped combat drought within biodiversity-oriented farming—not as a universal recommendation. Water scarcity is a concern in the region, and the report also describes dry-seeded rice farming as increasingly common. It provides no controlled comparison of water use, crop performance or heat damage under the different methods.
What the report establishes—and what it does not
The farm offers an example of a producer combining rice cultivation with habitat restoration and several crop and water-management practices. But the reporting does not isolate the effect of wetlands, variety choice, grazing, cover crops or flooding on heat resilience. Nor does it give comparable yield figures for the farm’s historic varieties and modern alternatives. It therefore supports a description of Cerutti’s choices and experience, not a quantified claim that the approach prevents a particular amount of heat damage.
The article attributes a claim that migrating birds in the rice belt have fallen by 80 percent over the previous 15 years to Cerutti. It gives no baseline, survey method or independently cited study for that figure, so it should be treated as her reported observation rather than a formal regional statistic.
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- HARVEST TIME: Mature rice ready for harvest in 90 to 120 days from planting
- HARDINESS ZONE: Classified as a tender perennial suitable for warm growing conditions
- PLANT DIMENSIONS: Grows to a height of 24 to 36 inches with recommended spacing of 18 to 24 inches between plants
- LIGHT AND WATER REQUIREMENTS: Requires full sun exposure and high water needs with approximately 1 inch of water per week
- VERSATILE GROWING OPTIONS: Rice can easily be grown in pots, pools, or containers including indoor container gardening setups
The choices behind the farm’s approach
| Choice | What the report describes | What it does not quantify |
|---|---|---|
| Restore habitat | About a third of the 110-hectare property is reported restored to natural state, including 25 hectares of wetlands. | How much rice output or income is lost, or the measured ecological change. |
| Grow historic varieties | Carnaroli Classico and Arborio Classico are among the varieties grown; the report describes them as lower-yielding, higher-quality and more tolerant of heat and drought. | Comparative yield, quality or heat-tolerance results from trials. |
| Use cover crops and grazing | Green manure, legumes and sheep grazing between harvests are part of the reported system. | Their separate effects on soil, yields or heat damage. |
| Manage water timing | Early flooding is described as part of Cerutti’s approach to drought. | Comparative water consumption or crop outcomes under alternative methods. |
The practical tension is clear even without a numerical verdict: habitat restoration reduces the area available for rice, while the farm’s crop choices and field practices are presented as ways to work within environmental pressures. Visits and accommodation are among the reported ways Cerutti is trying to diversify income. The article does not establish that one model is more productive or more resilient than another.
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The AFP article attributes an estimate that about 25 percent of rice production may be lost to heat in the year of the report to agricultural organisation Coldiretti. The article’s publication date is 12 October 2026, but the report does not supply the original Coldiretti release, its geographic scope or the basis for the estimate. The figure should therefore be understood as an attribution in that article, not as a verified forecast with confirmed coverage and methodology.
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