Jean-Marie Goujat in front of his Ideal cow, which appears on the posters of the 2020 agriculture fair. - David Blanchard

  • Each year, the agricultural show highlights a breed of cows through the face of the show, which illustrates the posters of the Parisian event.
  • In 2020, a Charolaise was chosen.
  • "20 Minutes" went to meet his breeder, in the Rhône. Jean-Marie Goujat wishes above all to highlight his terroir, where animals live in the meadows all year round.

On this day after Christmas, the meadows are empty under the gray sky of the green Beaujolais, a few hundred kilometers north of Lyon. Warm in his stable, in the middle of a hundred of his fellows, Idéale takes advantage of his last days in peace, with his last born, King of the meadows, his calf which was born on December 11. In a few weeks, she will be received with all the respect due to her rank, that of the star plastered all over Paris on the posters of the agricultural show (from February 22 to March 1, 2020). And then the silence will be over.

Jean-Marie and Laurent Goujat, 33 and 34 years old respectively, settled with their father Bruno in the commune of Cours-la-Ville (Rhône) where they raise 175 cows, exclusively of Charolais breed, on 187 hectares of meadows. Their cow was elected muse of the show last summer. "Each year, the show alternates between large numbers of breeds and more confidential breeds," explains Jean-Marie Goujat. After aubrac in 2018 and then the blue of the North last year, it is the turn of the Charolais to be in the spotlight: ruminants intended to finish on our plates. "We were asked if we were ready, we said yes," continues the breeder. We have put forward in our application our landscapes, our very extensive breeding ”.

"All we ask is to be able to make a living from our profession"

Idéale, six, was then chosen for her very docile character and her measurements: “She was born here. Charolais weighs an average of 800 kg, it weighs 1,000 kg. It has the right height, a nice width. It is well balanced in its skeletal dimensions and its musculature. It remained to verify his behavior in the midst of humans, rarer in these meadows of medium mountains. In the fall, head for the Beaucroissant fair, in Isère. "We wanted to see how she reacted," smiles Jean-Marie Goujat. Test results? “It went well and it confirmed our choice. But it's still animals, we can't foresee everything ”.

Ideal, the Charolais cow which appears on the posters of the agricultural show 2020. - David Blanchard

The breeder is anxious to be in Paris to highlight his terroir: “He says he is full of nonsense around the meat, while our farms correspond to what consumers want. It is an opportunity to promote this meat, put in competition with foreign products which we do not want in France. Our industry must respect the environment, this is our case here. She must respect animals, this is also our case. Finally, it must respect man: this is where there is still a large margin for progress. All we ask is to be able to make a living from our profession. ”

As for Ideal, it still has a few summers to frolic in the fresh grass. "We will keep it as much as possible, and then it will make beautiful entrecotes". Guaranteed GMO-free and in the great outdoors.

Toulouse

Occitanie: Horse of Mérens, black pig of Bigorre, donkey of the Pyrenees… These local races saved in extremis

Economy

"It could influence my choice", "We must ensure its reliability" ... The future "Franco-score" of Intermarché attract consumers?

  • Planet
  • Economy
  • Lyon
  • Breeding
  • Cow
  • Agricultural centre
  • butchery