Hélène Fréger, who is the head of the Scay farm in the Cher, tells us why she has gradually chosen to reduce her herd of dairy cows, and the productivity of each animal.
This choice allowed her, she assures, to reduce the pressure weighing on the shoulders of farmers.
TESTIMONY
Should the agriculture of tomorrow necessarily go through a de-intensification of our production? This question does not only concern the environmental impact of agriculture and the quality of the food it makes available to us, it also intersects with psychosocial issues, at a time when French peasants are increasing the hellish pace for remunerations that , often do not allow them to live properly. Hélène Fréger is the head of the Scay farm, in Venesmes in the department of Cher, a mixed-farming farm where she raises dairy cows, milk-fed calves but also fish farming. A program that seems ambitious to say the least, yet this breeder has significantly reduced its production in recent years.
A choice that allows her to consider her job more "serenely", as she testified on Sunday, at the microphone of
Europe Soir
.
“My model has evolved for 25 years. I settled when I was 23 years old. At the time, we had a herd of 70 dairy cows for an average of 9,000 liters of milk per cow and per year. , I have 60 cows and I am only 8,000 liters of milk per head, "explains Hélène Fréger.
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"Five to ten years to develop a system"
The need for a reduction in rates does not result from a choice suddenly stopped overnight, it has gradually become obvious for our breeder, faced with various trials during her career. "There were health problems in my herd. I had to take new directions and, finally, I chose to de-intensify", continues Hélène Fréger, who believes, however, that this decision cannot be generalized to the entire profession.
"It corresponds to my pattern. It corresponds to my choices which are not reproducible for everyone. We have, despite everything, financial obligations. Today, when we work, we also work to repay loans and everything must be done. it corresponds, "she nuances.
"Agriculture is a long time. Breeding is a long time, so you have to be able to adapt, guide and reflect. It can take five to ten years to make a system evolve," he points out. -it.
A long mutation, but one that Hélène Fréger does not regret.
"Today, I found a good balance with less productive animals, because I know that I will have less worries. I have peace of mind," she says.
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A pivotal period for French agriculture?
"To reduce productivity a little, it is potentially to lengthen the lifespan of the cows, but also to have less health problems", agrees with Europe 1 Léopoldine Charbonneaux, director of CIWF France, an NGO which puts forward practices breeding respectful of animal welfare. "We really see an interest in it, not only for the people who live on it, but also for the environment, to restore the soil. There is really a balance, for the diversity of breeds too. Intensive breeding, c "is the opposite. It's very little genetic diversity, only certain strains taken to the extreme", she explains.
Léopoldine Charbonneaux believes that the French agricultural system, after almost half a century of intensive cultivation and breeding, driven by a constant concern to increase productivity, has arrived at a critical moment. “In the years 1960-1970, there was a choice to intensify that was made, and now, we must make the choice to de-intensify,” she insists. A choice that must be fully assumed by public policies, because "de-intensification must be accompanied", she insists, to allow farmers to take this step without risk.