11:10 a.m. – December 18, 2024 – by Info Clermont Métropole
Grassland farming shapes the landscape of the Massif Central (© JOVO – stock.adobe.com).
While the United Nations proclaims 2026 the international year of pastoralism and pastures, SIDAM (Interdepartmental Service for the Animation of the Massif Central) is launching the project “PATURE, our livestock is (already) the future”.
ANDestablishing grass-fed farming practiced in the Massif Central as an agricultural practice of the future, viable and sustainable, is a desire. This exceptional agricultural model, practiced by nearly 75,000 breeders in the heart of the largest meadow on the European continent, has its place in modern agricultural models. Environmental benefits, tourist attractiveness, economic vitality, behind grass-fed farming there is a real territorial dynamic that is emerging, via this structuring activity of the life of the territories.
At the initiative of the 16 Chambers of Agriculture of the Massif Central, via SIDAM, this original and innovative project intends to defend and promote grass-fed farming as an exemplary model.
MASSIVE CONTRIBUTIONS
In the Massif Central, grass-fed farming is an agricultural practice capable of responding to the various challenges of food sovereignty, the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity and the animation of rural territories. The contributions of grassland farming are essential to society. Without ruminants, rural areas would be very different from what they are today.
– The meadow, a carbon sink: grassy areas are capable of storing 80 tonnes of carbon per hectare. That’s as much carbon stored as in the soil under a forest.
– Landscapes kept open: grassland farming shapes the landscape of the Massif Central, giving it the alternation of forests and meadows.
These emblematic landscapes are sources of tourist attraction.
– Living rural areas: Ruminant farms supply employment areas. Keeping this economic fabric active means encouraging the settlement of residents, the existence of businesses, schools, services… In short: energizing an entire territory.
– Limit climatic risks: by reducing the overgrowth of areas at risk of fire, ruminants improve the resilience of many territories in the face of climatic hazards.
All these elements are only an overview of the extent of the services provided by grassland breeding. Some non-exhaustive contributions: the transformation of livestock products promoting quality sectors (AOP, IGP), the preservation of ancestral traditions such as transhumance, breeds or even precious know-how without forgetting the protection of food sovereignty of the country.
The Interdepartmental Service for the Animation of the Massif Central (SIDAM) is an inter-establishment organization of the network of Chambers of Agriculture of the Massif Central. It brings together 16 departmental Chambers and the Burgundy Regional Chamber of Agriculture for Morvan. It also carries out observatory work on developments in agriculture and continuous regulatory monitoring for the adaptation of public policies favorable to the Massif Central.
“We want to create awareness of the importance of maintaining our grass-fed farming explains Bruno Dufayet, breeder in Cantal and president of APRAMAC (Association for the Promotion of Agriculture of the Massif Central). Behind our ruminants is the maintenance of our meadows. This “green gold” is a wealth for our territories, a formidable reservoir of biodiversity and an excellent climate shock absorber. Its preservation is closely linked to the breeding of tomorrow. Whether with practices but also the renewal of generations. Over the last 10 years, there has been an average of 1 installation for every 2 retirements. To continue the excellence of our breeding, we need everyone’s support! »
Grassland farming in the Massif Central in 5 figures: 75,000 breeders; 38,379 farms (in 2020); 34,000 km2 of meadow, or 1/3 of the French meadow; 85% of the useful agricultural area of the MF is dedicated to the breeding of herbivores and 2/3 to the breeding of ruminants (35% beef cattle, 13% sheep and goats, 10% dairy cattle and 4% mixed cattle).
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