Investing in farm infrastructure helped a family farm in Italy to overcome difficulties by increasing productivity and the quality of its product, a specialised local pecorino cheese. In 2002, the Martinelli farm, a 240 ha sheep farm in the province of Pescara, was experiencing serious economic difficulty. The young owner, Pietro Paolo Martinelli, decided to modernise the farm equipment, it was necessary as otherwise he would not have survived on the market. The investment improved the quality of the farm’s dairy products allowing the farmer to focus on the production of a specific local type of cheese, which has a Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO), and to access new markets.