At the agricultural exhibition, less and more old farmers

After an empty year (due to the Corona virus epidemic), the doors of the International Agricultural Exhibition will reopen on Saturday, February 26, in Port de Versailles, Paris. The organizers hope that these 58 will have a large audience^e Version, Qualification“Reunion Edition”, As usual you will find calves, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, dogs and cats roaming the aisles, not to mention. But there are no cute chickens. Since November 2021, they have not received a health permit due to an outbreak of bird flu. Audiences will not miss coming to campaign cross-country with women and politicians “France’s largest farm”.

Many farmers go to Port de Versailles to find their peers. Following the example of Guillaume Roué, even if he is no longer a pig breeder. A year ago, the former head of the pork middle industry asserted his rights to retire at 65 years old. Bretton, who owns a farm with 600 pigs and 130 hectares of land in Trincomalee in Finister, sought a transfer settlement. Family transfer was not expected, Mr. Rowe returned to his neighbor’s house. Finally, two pig farmers from Finistère agreed to buy the farm in equal shares, while the staff, including the director, maintain the board. Example illustrating the inevitable evolution of French agriculture. The number of farmers is declining, its area is increasing, farms are growing, corporate patterns are growing in line with the size of farms.

“Farm France” continues to lose population. The results of the ten-year agricultural survey are clear. According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture in December 2021, between 2010 and 2020, the number of farms fell by 21% from 490,000 to 389,000. Thus, nearly 100,000 farms in metropolitan France have been wiped off the map. However, the ministry points out that this dynamic, which began in the 1970s, is weaker than in the previous decade. The disappearance rate has increased from 3% to 2.3% per year. The total area of ​​cultivated agricultural land is almost constant. Logically, the size of farms is increasing, averaging 69 hectares.

Cattle, too, suffer

Beyond this first observation, the function of the agrarian census exemplifies dominant trends. Livestock are most affected by this strong erosion. The number of farms specializing in milk or meat production fell by 31%. Field crop producers (cereals, oilseeds, beets, potatoes, etc.), fruit growers and wine growers have now become the majority in the national territory. Today, France is home to 112,000 specialized farms and agricultural lands. Then comes the vineyard with 59,000 operators. Beef producers (48,000), for their part, are in third place.

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