“My dream would be to be autonomous 100% on the farm and no longer having to buy anything outside! »states with disconcerting sincerity Franck Beaufort, installed with his wife Marie-Laure on a farm producing milk, meat and cereals in Vieillespesse in Cantal. At an altitude of 1,000 meters, in the heart of the production area of AOP Cantal, Auvergne blue and Fourme d’Ambertthe Gaec cultivates between 20 and 25 hectares of cereals per year, a significant area for the Saint-Flour sector. Not only does this meet the need for straw of the Gaec for the bedding of dairy and suckling herds, but it also provides valuable grains in the form of a grain-food exchange in custom work.
dairy cow stall“/>
If the operators undeniably have an animal soul, Franck also likes to cultivate the land. “It’s a part of the job that I like”confirms the breeder adding that “membership of Dephy group since 2016 has proven to be a source of motivation which has reinforced this taste and which fits well with our objective of reduce inputs while maintaining good profitability of the system. Breeders see it as a way to free themselves as much as possible from phytosanitary products, “which is beneficial for health and the environment, but also for the wallet”.
Dare to test new technical approaches
“The technical support of the Chamber of Agriculture, which provides advice independent of any commercial approach, and the exchanges with other farmers have allowed us to dare to test new approaches, depict the breeders. We have changed our operating mode and this gives us a completely different satisfaction from the work obtained. »
Breeding sheet
2.5 UMO including 2 associates
130 ha of SAU including 109 ha of grassland, 6 ha of barley and 15 ha of wheat
57 dairy cows at 5,200 l
46 suckling cows
295,000 l of milk produced
1.2 UGB/ha of loading
The results were not long in coming. From the first year, the IFT (phytosanitary treatment frequency indicator) went from 1.04 to 0.62, then to 0.37 the following year. Today, the average IFT is around 0.7 over the last three years.
“What has changed is first of all observing our plots much more!confides Franck who no longer systematically processes pre-emergence. Is targets interventions plot by plot based on what I see. »
Yields are not penalized: around 50-60 quintals per hectare. The breeder believes that grass cover also remains under control even if he admits that his level of tolerance towards weeds has increased slightly and that there are still gray areas. Quackgrass remains particularly problematic in the third year of wheat, which requires treatment at that time.
“Initially, the rotation included three years of straw cerealsfollowed by three years of temporary meadows, describes Franck. We introduced meslin based on wheat, triticale, peas and vetch as well as du moss in intercrops after the third year of cereals. » The first advantage is to thus achieve stocks fourragerswith crops that are economical in inputs. The second is to ensure with the meslin a cleaning cut which cleanses the soil after the third year of wheat which tends to get dirty. Moha, for its part, is sown at the end of May after the meslin harvest. “It covers the ground all summer and prevents weeds from emerging while protecting the soil from the heat. This preserves the soil and the land is prepared for sowing the meadow behind. »
The group gives dynamics and new momentum
The Gaec works with farm cereal seeds, selected according to the disease resistance. The grains are sorted and processed by specific equipment in Cuma. “We sow mixtures of different varieties on our plots to obtain better resistance to pests. » To reduce the risk of weeds, operators also practice false seedlings with two crow's feet cultivator passages. THE sowing dates cereals were postponed by two weeks, around mid-October, to avoid the preferential weed emergence period.
heap of composted manure stored in the field“/> “The Dephy group is a privileged place to give us ideas and discover other cultural practices”shares Franck. The Gaec has notably launched into the composting of manure in 2020. A specialized Cuma intervenes to carry out two windrow turnings during the year. “Composting annihilates the germinative power of weed seeds and produces a more concentrated product”explains Marie-Laure. It is spread at a rate of 10 t/ha on cereals and 8 t/ha on meadows.
Marie-Laure and Franck Beaufort, breeders in Cantal“/>
If the challenge surrounding farming practices pushes the farmers to move forward, they are preparing to take on a challenge of another kind in a few months with the arrival on the farm of Yoan, their 17-year-old son. . This installation delights and motivates them, but it also worries them. “Between generations, priorities and expectations are not the same, particularly in terms of working timecomfort,technological developments…they mention. Not sure that Yoan will be willing to work in the same conditions as us. » But that will be another story.
