Sheep farming event highlights industry challenges

The 12th edition of the Sheep Technical Days, held in Cesson-Sévigné, Ille-et-Vilaine, brought together more than a hundred technicians, researchers, teachers, and engineers to discuss the challenges facing the sheep farming industry. Organized by the Institut de l'élevage, the event took place on October 14 and 15 and featured 26 presentations and six farm visits focused on topics such as feeding, digital farming, mixed sheep and cattle grazing, installation advice, and support approaches.

Event emphasizes adaptation to climate and economic pressures

The discussions centered on the need for farmers to adapt their practices in the face of climate change, rising production costs, and unpredictability. A significant portion of the presentations addressed the challenges of implementing changes in farming practices, including how to approach change with farmers, what motivates change, and how to support them in an increasingly complex context.

Change in farming is a complex human process

Carole Jousseins, a specialist in work in farming at Idele, emphasized that "change is a complex human process" and highlighted the barriers to change, including fear of the unknown, concerns about not being up to the task, and the potential impact on professional identity. She noted that change can involve detaching from one's social group or identity, leading to reluctance due to fear of being alone.

Change requires systemic support and farmer autonomy

Jousseins also emphasized that change is a systemic phenomenon involving an entire ecosystem of upstream and downstream actors. She stated that the goal is not to convince farmers but to support them under favorable conditions, with the farmer being the decision-maker throughout the process. Empathy and respect for the farmer's choices were identified as key elements in the process.

Workshops aim to understand farmer perspectives

Workshops encouraged technicians to put themselves in the place of farmers facing change, aiming to understand that different individuals may react differently to the same change proposal. Christèle Couzy from the Institut de l'élevage added that understanding the barriers and motivations of each farmer is crucial.

Strategies for successful change include small experiments and peer support

To facilitate change, agricultural sociologists advised starting with small-scale experiments, monitoring results closely, and proposing technical choices that are adapted, limited in number, and offer immediate benefits such as time savings, reduced workload, improved working comfort, or simplification. Creating groups of farmers experimenting with the same practices and publicly highlighting their results were suggested to avoid feelings of isolation and encourage exchanges.

Personalized support key to industry goals

Patrick Soury, president of the National Sheep Federation, emphasized the importance of personalized technical support to produce more and better sheep products. He highlighted the need to meet French demand for lambs and milk and to achieve sovereignty in the sheep industry. He noted that recent droughts have underscored the importance of technical expertise and that technicians are essential to the industry's "Produce more and better" program. Personalized support, he said, is necessary to optimize each farm's potential and align production with market demands.