The cattle whose milk is used to make Grana Padano are fed mainly on forage and feed produced in accordance with the strict provisions laid down by the set of regulations adopted by the Consortium. To produce milk in line with the quality standards required, the herd has to be healthy. This means that the health and hygiene regulations laid down by the legislation in force have to be observed, as well as the additional provisions set by the regulations of the Consortium. The cattle are milked twice a day, and the milk is partially skimmed by natural shrinkage before being subjected to the cheese-making process, whose various stages follow the traditional methods perfected a thousand years ago by monks. The only changes to this process are those laid down by modern dietary and health and hygiene requirements.
Time plays the leading role in the final stage.
In the ageing warehouses, under the watchful eye of man for one year or more, the wheel matures and Grana Padano is born. During this period, the checks and selection of the batches take place.