In this Orne farm, you help yourself and pay afterwards!

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At the farm Val Danièrein Crouttes (Orne), we don’t stay with both feet in the same shoe. Since he took over the farm Laurent De Bie in 2021, the operating manager, Arthur Danière25 years old, graduated from the Angers School of Agriculture, gave him a lot of momentum. With him now work six employees who keep an eye on things.

Finally, let's say about the livestock and the milk which is processed at the Beaumoncel cheese factory (Orne), in Camembert, cradle of this emblematic cheese, from which authentic AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) farmhouse Camemberts come out. A cheese factory whose dairy farmer took over the reins last December (Réveil Normand of January 3). With both sites, he employs fifteen employees as well as three apprentices.

The serene operations manager

“I didn’t imagine it would come to this at all, at first. It wasn’t mapped out, all that.” Because he had to be reagent and adapt to circumstances life-changing events. Two thirds of milk production, or “around one million liters of milk” are processed at the cheese factory in Beaumoncel.

The remaining third is sold to Graindorge for its Pont-l'évêque AOP. The exploitation of Val Danière now extends over 350 hectareshas a herd of 550 animals dont 200 dairy cowsstandardized to the tune of 60% in three and a half years.

Today, Arthur says he is “serene” regarding his breeding.

We have evolved a lot since 2021 and at the same time, we have never degraded quality, whether in terms of work for staff, in terms of the product or in terms of animal welfare. We evolved everything at the same time and that's a great satisfaction. Each time we invested to do more, at the same time, we did better.

It's healthy, it's dry, it breathes

Arthur Danière takes the new 600 m nursery as an example²operational recently. “It was the last point that remained to improve on the farm. Before, everything was tight. Now, it's outdoors, with igloos to shelter them, the idea being to have animals that are a little rustic. It’s healthy, it’s dry, it breathes.” Everything is designed for the monitoring of animals, their comfort and that of employees.

If the framework of the building was carried out by a service provider, its layout was designed and carried out by Arthur. He emphasizes that “if the pie chart of Beaumoncel was a gold medalist in 2024 (Norman Revival of March 13 and September 25) these medals also go to the animals and employees of the farm. It's a set. To produce good milk, and therefore a good Camembert, everything must be square here. People can visit the farm without any problem.”

A firm direct price

They do not deprive themselves of it, because for two months, at the entrance to the farm, a distributer saw the light of day. No need to put a lot of effort into it, a little cleverness and elbow grease, and that's it. “I bought a refrigerated display case and made a cabin around it.”

This distributor allows neighbors and people passing through to stock up on farm products from the Beaumoncel cheese factory (AOP Camembert, raw milk cream and semi-salted butter, the latter product still being tested) thanks to milk from theexploitation.

“The idea was to please everyone and our neighbors a little, by making good high-end products from the region available, which are not found everywhere in the sector, at a firm direct price “.

“We help ourselves and then we pay!” »

At the time of the meeting, Lara and Yann de Gagny (Seine-Saint-Denis) are just helping themselves to the distributor. They are passing through and showing their enthusiasm to the farm manager. “Your place smells really good. It makes you want it! “. The couple can't believe it, because what's more, “it's self-service!” We help ourselves and then pay. It's science fiction here! It's a great initiative. We wish you all the best.”

A success that is there. “Every weekend, the shared fridge is empty.” And if “sometimes, shortages are noted, at other times, we have more money than there should be”.

He's still waiting for the fiber

The idea was also not to invest several thousand euros in a vending machine, especially since “we have difficulty connecting to the internet on the farm and fiber is not yet there”.

Just like mobile telephony which works with difficulty on both sites. It is not easy to manage two structures on a daily basis in such conditions.

To be true

Facing the success met, “a second shared fridge will be mounted at the entrance to the cheese factory, in Camembert, before the end of year holidays. Arthur says that “when we tell people how many cows we have, no one believes us”.

And if the operator has made the decision to abandon organic conversion, “it doesn’t change much in our practices. Organic today is no longer promising and ultimately, being in AOP, there is no point in accumulating the labels “. What matters “is being in the truth, with a real product that we can be proud of and that gives meaning to what we do.”

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