PAEF (Plan AgroEnvironnemental de Fertilisation) :
The use of a structured agronomic approach for all the Collectif’s properties with agricultural fields and/or pastures provides a detailed view of each property’s needs, as well as an overall view of all the Collectif’s needs. The centralized PAEF (Plan AgroEnvironnemental de Fertilisation) has thus become an effective planning tool for the supply of inputs (lime, slurry and manure).
Operational unit of solidarity farmers :
Within the Collectif, each owner has a farmer, but a farmer can serve more than one property. The farmers in the Collectif all know each other, and their respective involvement in the Collectif leads them to share information, raw materials (e.g. inputs) and equipment (e.g. lime, slurry or manure spreaders). In addition to creating a local social bond, this field practice increases the resilience of the Collectif’s farming system.
Comparative operational management :
As the saying goes, “You can only manage what you can measure”. This is why Collectif owners and their farmers are encouraged to develop and refine a systematized approach to managing their fields and/or pastures. Various indicators are calculated for each property and pooled during and at the end of the season. In particular, this enables us to compare performance levels and improve them step by step.
By way of illustration, some properties have achieved productivity improvements of the order of 100% to 300% over a 5-year period, simply by ensuring the application of lime and slurry/manure in accordance with agronomists’ recommendations, and by maintaining two cuts per year (hay), weather and terrain conditions permitting.
