A photovoltaic solution for French bovine production in favor of sustainable agriculture.

The expertise of the green energy producer Irisolaris combined with the know-how of the cooperative group of breeders Sicarev Coop serving the revival of the French bovine sector and more sustainable agriculture.

David Lagrange, 37, is a happy farmer. This Charolais producer based in Venoy in Yonne owns more than 400 ha, including 250 ha of cereals and 150 ha of meadows to feed his 120 mother cows. On its farm, a fattening building of 800 m2 and a storage of 700 m2. So, when we talk to him about work organization, performance improvement, health or animal welfare, David does not hide his satisfaction: “We chose to modernize our farm thanks to a functional building that allows us to fatten our young males and heifers in the best conditions and generate income.

Like nearly 150 breeders in France, David Lagrange* was able to benefit from a joint offer between the manufacturer of Photovoltaic buildings Irisolaris** and the cooperative Sicarev Coop***, an initiative that encourages the development of the bovine sector, by allowing the breeder to benefit from a low-cost fattening workshop, while guaranteeing the establishment of weanlings for the production of young cattle at a secure price.

For Cédric Maillet, the agricultural partnership manager of Irisolaris, this synergy makes sense: “We build very practical agricultural sheds, adapted to each activity; We finance a building whose roof is equipped with photovoltaics, the income generated makes it possible to control the structural costs; This is equipped for bovine production but also for the improvement of the farmer’s working conditions.

Save a French beef production

If the strength of this partnership is to propose functional and competitive buildings to allow the fattening of weanlings until the finish, it is also a means of working concretely in favor of the sustainability of the French agricultural fabric and in particular the livestock sector Cattle. And for good reason, the sector is in constant lack of ‘breeder-feder’ breeders. For 6 years, the territory has lost between 700,000 and 800,000 cattle; Direct consequence, 27% of the beef consumed in France is imported each year (including 85% from the European Union).

So, “Under these buildings, we allow both the renovation of farms and a response to the needs of food sovereignty in beef meat”, underlines Pierre-Antoine Comte, the production manager of Sicarev Coop; and specify “To maintain production and competitiveness in production, we must anticipate the lack of future cattle”.

Because the main issue is there: saving French beef production, meat synonymous with quality. “Today, French production corresponds to societal and environmental values, those inspired by agroecology; If the national sector is not supported and does not gain in competitiveness, it will eventually accelerate the import. », warns Pierre-Antoine Comte.

The cattle breeder wants to be guarantor of a virtuous and diversified production system. The objective is to produce meat in better conditions and in a controlled way, while producing green energy as a modern way to generate additional income while respecting its land.

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*David Lagrange is a Sicarev Coop member with an Irisolaris fattening building.

**Irisolaris is a major player inRenewable energies in France, promoter of the energy transition in the territories.

***SICAREV COOP is a livestock cooperative with a European dimension historically located in the heart of the Charolais basin.