Enhancement of the value of herbivores used in the management of natural environments in France

France Drugmant

Fédération des Parcs Naturels Regionaux de France

INTRODUCTION

The disappearance of extensive livestock grazing systems is endangering biodiversity within numerous interesting environments, such as damp meadows, marshes, dry short grass, prairies etc. In order to restore and conserve these semi-natural environments, it is necessary to ensure the survival of the ancient practices that maintain them. They may also be replaced by alternative practices. In this regard, various bodies responsible for the management of conservation areas have set up experiments to study biotope management techniques using extensive grazing. Through these trials, the conservation bodies have accumulated considerable experience in this field. The study which I am going to present to you examines an aspect which, up until now, has received less attention: the economic dimension.

The present study was carried out in connection with a combined programme of research and demonstration concerned with the management of conservation areas by extensive livestock farming (LIFE programme). The network is known as ESPACE (Entretien des Sites à Préserver par des Animaux Conduits en Extensive) - Maintenance of Conservation Sites by Extensively Managed Animals. The ESPACE network, co-ordinated by the Federation of Regional Nature Parks covers 31 pilot sites in a joint experimental survey monitoring vegetation management through grazing.

Why carry out a study into the economic development?

Until recently, the economic returns from animals used in the management of natural environments has not been of primary concern. However, for some time, those engaged in ecological farming have been encountering increasing difficulties in selling their young animals. The ESPACE network therefore carried out a study with a view to analysing the existing value-adding practices and to suggest some possibilities for improving the commercial outlets.

Methods and Statistics

A questionnaire was sent to the nature conservation bodies and the French agricultural bodies in order to identify a sample of experiments and to draw up a typology of the value enhancement strategies. This study was supplemented by telephone contacts.

Number of questionnaires distributed : 1 200

Number of replies : 144

Number of cases of management listed : 106

Number of projects : 35

RESULTS

The study investigated the economic development of herds of cattle, horses and sheep reared within the conservation areas. The main conclusions are presented below.

Value enhancement of bovine products

The case of management bodies which own a herd

In these herds, the principal function of the cattle is land clearance. Any enhancement of the value of the cattle is not a requirement but rather a means of offsetting the cost of the operation and disposing of surplus animals. There are several alternative uses for calves:

To be retained to increase the size of the herd

This is the main use of the calves born on the conservation sites.

To be sold as breeding animals

Where the herd has reached its optimal size, the managers try to sell the calves. These then continue their careers as land clearers on other sites, for farmers or, less often, for private individuals. The sale to farmers is not highly developed except for Highland cattle, used with a view to diversification and the better utilisation of poor land.

To be sold into the meat chain

Where the managers experience difficulties in selling the animals as land clearers, they consider getting a return through meat sales. The main problem rests in the inability to supply such a market, even locally, on a continuous basis. The hardy breeds, usually with poor conformation, will have difficulty in finding a place in this market unless one emphasises the particular quality of their meat and the way they have been raised.

Non-reproductive herds

Finally, in order to eliminate the difficulties of marketing excess calves, some sites have opted to prevent reproduction of the livestock, or at least to limit reproduction strictly to herd replacements.

The case of private farmers who have entered into a management agreement with a conservation area body.

In the case of improved breeds, access to protected areas does not affect the producer's management methods. For a private farmer, grazing protected areas is a way to reduce stocking rates, or to increase at less cost his forage resources or the size of his herd.

More generally, the animals owned by farmers in the study achieved a value enhanced markedly by the environmental component of the production system. Two examples are presented to demonstrate how it is possible, under certain conditions, to combine economic profitability and the protection of the environment.

The common aspects of these extensive grazing systems are :

• low cost of production and the low initial investment
• land made available by managers who thus relieve themselves of the maintenance and management costs
• the low land cost for the farmer
• the producers are well integrated in their region, they have succeeded in creating a client network which enables them to market their produce.

Highland cattle and farm visits

At the "Aurochs Farm" in the study, the farmer has set about diversifying his products. The farmer does not only sell breeding stock, he has established a tourist visit business and introduced meat processing and direct sales. The butchery income comes from fresh meat in the high-season for tourists and from preserved meat products (pâtés, sausages, cooked dishes) throughout the year.

Bretonnes-Pie-Noires as income supplements (Haute Loire)

The progressive introduction of this agricultural activity was designed to supplement the family income. The herd of Bretonnes-Pie-Noires, located in the Haute Loire region, is managed in an integrated non-housed system and was set up at low cost, without subsidies. The income from the herd comes from selling breeding females (10 to 15 breeding animals each year) and suckled calves. The accent is placed on the quality of the meat as well as on that of the breeding livestock selected for their suitability for the market in a difficult environment (summer pasture situated at an altitude of 1,300 metres which the cattle reach after a 25 km walk. The holding also has some Mérens horses, sold to private individuals, and some sheep, the value of which lies in consumption by the family and lamb sales.

The market for breeding stock : what is its future?

The future of the market for breeding stock, which is currently the main means of deriving income from young cattle born on the sites, is in some doubt.

Highland cattle enjoy a special position in comparison with other hardy breeds. Its appearance and reputation as a site clearer have made this a rare and expensive animal. However , the trend appears to be beginning to change as, nowadays, the type of animals put on the market, as well as the price, have developed.

The meat market and the hardy breeds : what are the prospects of obtaining a return having regard to the current difficulties in the beef market?

Given the precarious situation of the breeding cattle market, some managers have turned towards the butchery value of their herds.

The BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) crisis should not hide the fact that the beef market has suffered for a number of years from a high cost of production and the consumers' tendency to move away from this product. While there is agreement that it is necessary to regain consumer confidence, managers might wonder about the "100% natural" quality card which they hold in their hands. The problem lies essentially in the need for a regular supply in order to gain customer loyalty. According to the butchers, it would be necessary to be able to supply a carcass every week.

An alternative to providing continuity of supply is to offer this meat to the consumer as a seasonal product, consistent with its "natural" production. This approach requires considerable attention to communication with the consumer, including advertising strategy. Such an approach is well illustrated in the Parc des Vosges du Nord, which will be reported in greater detail in the next presentation by M. Arthur Letzelter.

Value enhancement of equine breeding products

The case of bodies managing nature areas which own a herd.

The enhancement of the value of horses follows the same route as that of cattle. It begins with an increase in the size of the herd, followed by a sale of breeding stock or castrated animals. Managers who only have small breeds are a slightly different case as they need not consider the "meat" market, which in any event remains marginal in France.

Virtually all the animals are sold before the age of a year to conservation management bodies, individuals or, more rarely, to clubs. The individuals and managers market is quite restricted. The sites studied admitted to experiencing increasing difficulties in marketing their foals. The ultimate solution, encountered in some cases, was to cease production, at least temporarily.

Sale of breeding stock : what is the alternative?

The sale of animals to clubs might be envisaged in the case of open air riding centres. The problems which this type of value enhancement raises are as follows: the small size of the animals offered and the poor relationship between the supply offered by the managers (unbroken animals) and the demand.

Marketing strategies of breeders who have entered into a management agreement with a conservation area body.

Among these breeders were found farmers who raised heavy breeds with a view to preserving the breed. Income arises from the meat and the sale of breeding stock. We also came across some breeders of riding horses.

Finally, a few cases of contracts entered into with riding centres were reported. The centres make the animals available to the site, mainly in the winter in order to reduce their costs. One of the problems of such a system is that there is less opportunity for the control and management of grass in the main growing season.

Value enhancement of sheep production

The case of bodies managing nature areas which own a flock

The system of value enhancement is very similar to that met in the case of cattle, the differences being mainly due to the small size of the animal.

The individual : sheep in a family consumption situation

In this case, individuals form an interesting market. A family may buy an animal as an "ecological lawn mower" and dispose of it in the autumn for example, by way of a barbecue among friends.

Cease reproduction?

Compared with cattle, the enhancement of value through the meat offers this difference: the animal, because of its small size, can easily be introduced into a family consumption system. Whereas the ewes are usually bought for breeding purposes, the same does not apply to rams, which are greatly surplus to requirements. One therefore sometimes sees a restriction on reproduction.

Marketing strategies of breeders who have entered into a management agreement with a conservation area body.

The return from lambs comes from sales of replacement ewes or lambs for slaughter. In the latter case, the farmer approaches a co-operative or himself controls his marketing chain by working directly with the butchers.

Particular value enhancement possibilities were also highlighted, especially around the Lille conurbation for example, which has a significant Muslim population.

The "Regional Nature Park" - a concrete example of arrangements combining the economy with rural development.

In certain cases, the quality of an area is identified by a mark. This applies in the case of regional nature parks whose mark is awarded by the State which delegates management of it to each park. For the allocation of this mark to products, the Parks are governed by common rules. Its products must incorporate the fundamental values of the Parks, i.e. the "regional", "natural", "authentic" and "non-industrial" characteristics. Being governed by general commercial regulations, the parks can link products strongly to their origin and the quality of the area. So far as animal husbandry is concerned, the marked products incorporate the concept of open space management. Some examples already exist in the Vosges du Nord, the Bailons des Vosges and the Vercors.

Conclusion

The study found that eco-pastoral management of the natural sites was characterised by the virtual absence of literature on the economic enhancement of stock-farming products. The study has made it possible to highlight different management strategies which may be divided into two categories:

the "stock-farmer / environmental protection structure"

the acquisition of herds by bodies for the management of sensitive areas.

The first strategy is characterised by the complementary nature of the aims of both parties, the body saves the cost of maintaining the site and the stock farmer increases his land holding and the availability of fodder at a low cost. In the second case, the prime purpose of the herbivores is not to sell them, and the logic, in terms of economic development, is turned on its head.

Nowadays, the market for the sale of breeding/land clearing animals is nearing saturation point. However, individual initiatives on some sites show that prospects of value enhancement still exist outside the sale of "land clearers".

In the case of cattle and sheep in particular, it is a question of local networks supplying meat to individuals or restaurants and butchers (as in the Vosges du Nord). In order to confirm and consolidate this outlet, it will in future be a prime necessity to resolve problems such as:

the ability to fatten stock from the conservation areas sufficiently to ensure an income from butchery;

the ability to supply continuously a small market or to create a seasonal market;

the definition which one is able to apply to a product in terms of image as well as in terms of organoleptic quality.

These needs go well beyond the scope of protected areas. The use of extensive production systems and the enhancement of product values through the establishment of labels and specific measures should make it possible to conciliate economically profitable agricultural practices with sound environmental management. In this respect, the conservation areas represent ideal laboratories for these experiments.

However, as a basis for the credibility of nature management systems, the integration of economic factors is essential.

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