the farmer finds a successor to take over the family farm

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Four cows, their calves, a horse and some six hectares of land. This is what constituted the Ferme du Pré des Champs in 1953, when it was created by Fernand and Marie-Thérèse Geffroy, in the countryside of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), in the Immaculate.

Thirty-two years later, when their son Alain took over the farm, it extended over 76 ha. This 1^is January 2025, the farm begins a new chapter: Alain Geffroy hands over to Thomas Debray.

Embarking on a new life

The first time the two men met was a dozen years ago and “I'm not sure Alain remembers it,” smiles the thirty-year-old. He was then an intern at Carene, the Saint-Nazaire metropolitan area, and was already working on agricultural issues. After studying the environment, he decided to take a step forward by applying to take over the installation. With ideas already well outlined in mind.

I wanted to work in Saint-Nazaire, on a farm that is already at its cruising speed, in organic farming and integrated into its professional and natural environment.

A farm that lives well and grows

Even if it means placing a cliché, we can say that the Pré des Champs farm ticked all boxes. Since 1985, Alain Geffroy has considerably developed the family farm, succeeding in obtaining the label agriculture bio from the year 2000. Eight years later, the Nazairian stopped dairy production in favor of beef production. “It was a lifestyle choice,” recalls Alain Geffroy. Milking took too much time morning and evening and I wanted a family life.”

A precursor, he launched into direct local sales…and this is still the case today. Except that we are talking about a herd of Aubrac cows of 100 head and a farm of 145 ha, which lives to the rhythm of the Brière marshes which it helps maintain. It remained to be seen, as retirement approached, what all this would become.

It’s essential, transmission has always been a goal. There is nothing more painful than not knowing, or even imagining the dismantling.

Avoiding farmer loneliness

At the gates of his new life, Thomas Debray does not hide his main apprehension: the solitude of the operator. This is good, at Immaculée, the collective network is strong, thanks in particular to Cuma and Socali, and Alain Geffroy has taken his full place there. A spirit that is also part of the legacy, because “it’s important not to withdraw.” The future retiree is thus not short of advice “for the well-being of the peasant, which has now taken on its importance”.

A problem that the young farmer also sees in the future of the Pré des Champs farm. “It won't be right away, but the goal is not to stay alone on the farm. There is still more to be built.”

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