CULTURES
Agro-ecological management
on all the Collectif's properties:
As stated in its charter of values, the Collectif’s agro-ecological management aims to “develop eco-responsible crop and livestock production in line with the terroir and changing demand”. It is based on the “organic” approach, which aims to protect the life of the soil, but also to produce without chemical phyto-sanitary products such as synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and pesticides.
In West Bolton, the agro-ecological management aims to also include a series of important cross-cutting priorities:
The local, circular and inclusive economy
- Use of local service providers for production, harvesting, packaging and transport;
- Selling agricultural products as locally as possible;
- Emphasis on local mutual aid throughout the agricultural value chain to create a supportive ecosystem in West Bolton.
A complete agricultural data sheet for each Collectif property:
Each Collectif property is the subject of a detailed “farm plan” and a PAEF (Plan AgroEnvironnemental de Fertilisation):
- “Farm plan”: complete, mapped inventory including access and agricultural areas (fields and/or pastures), topographical and soil characteristics, as well as watercourses, ditches, wells and/or septic tanks. Soil analyses are carried out on a regular basis to determine fertilization requirements.
- PAEF (Plan AgroEnvironnemental de Fertilisation) : Annual summary of agronomic recommendations for fertilization and sources of supply (lime, slurry and manure).
Owner-farmer pairs:
Each Collectif property is associated with a local farmer, insofar as the latter is not equipped and/or does not have sufficient manpower to carry out field work. These include preparation (any clearing or thinning, access, levelling, draining, etc.), sowing, intermediate crop maintenance, mowing/harvesting, baling/packaging, etc.
This creates a partnership between the owner and the farmer. This pairing focuses on the specific needs of each owner and the services offered by the farmer to meet them (field work with the help of different equipment). The relationship is part of the Collectif’s mission to bring fields back to greater fertility and productivity, and thus help positively impact West Bolton’s rural ecosystem by preventing the appearance of wasteland.
Owner profiles :
- Forests cover approximately 75% to 80% of West Bolton’s territory. All Collectif owners are therefore involved in woodland management. But not all of them are concerned with agriculture;
- Collectif owners’ farmland varies between (data to be confirmed) and (data to be confirmed), which consequently modifies their needs.
Farmer profiles :
- West Bolton is home to several local farmers who have either been or are still in business locally. They are themselves owners who farm their own land, sometimes with a complementary activity off the farm;
- Farmers often have their own herds of livestock, which makes them in demand of local hay;
- Farmers are skilled in agricultural work, often using their own equipment (tractor, various farm implements, truck, etc.).
Types of agreements :
- The agreements between owners and their respective farmers are of different kinds and depend on a number of factors: the farmland involved, its general condition (access, drainage, fertility, etc.), the owner’s strategy (crops, etc.) and the farmer’s ability to carry it out, depending on the elements involved;
- The agreements include various formulas ranging from a simple lease to joint management arrangements or even profit-sharing formulas, depending on the wishes and possibilities of both parties;
- The agreements all include agro-ecological management as a must, as well as a minimum duration (farmer protection).
Inputs :
The Collectif’s agroecological management system clearly prohibits the use of any phyto-sanitary products of chemical origin (synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and pesticides) and advocates direct seeding (no-till) to ensure soil protection. The plants’ nutritional requirements (N, P, K, trace elements, etc.) must therefore come from other sources.
Lime :
- As West Bolton’s soils are acidic in nature, they need to be neutralized to allow the best conditions for natural chemical exchange and microbial life in the soil. This is made possible by applying lime (limestone) in powder form to the field using a spreader. The doses required, first for neutralization and then for maintenance, are calculated by agronomists on the basis of soil analyses (to be repeated every 2 or 3 years);
- The Collectif’s supplier is Graymont (Bedford site).
Slurry and manure :
- Slurry (liquid) and manure (semi-solid or solid) are livestock effluents that contain quantities of fertilizing materials useful in agriculture. Slurry (ducks, fattening pigs) and manure (cows, chicken) are regularly used on the Collectif’s land;
- The quantities to be spread on the fields of the Collectif’s properties are calculated by the agronomists according to the types of slurry and manure available on the basis of soil analyses (to be repeated every 2 or 3 years);
- Suppliers of slurry and manure are as local as possible in the region. They sell their products to the owners/farmers of the Collectif, who transport and spread them on their properties in accordance with the agronomists’ recommendations contained in the PAEFs (Plans AgroEnvironnementaux de Fertilisation).
