PAP 76 : Farmers and post-oil landscapes: four demonstrative field surveys

Laurence Renard, Gaëlle des Déserts, Marc Benoît, June 2024

Le Collectif Paysages de l’Après-Pétrole (PAP)

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While a significant number of farmers are successfully exploring the many alternatives for reconciling the productive economy and the earth’s environment, the resistance of the agro-industrial sectors continues to cause national and European environmental policies to regress. However, these experiments are proving to be an essential next step ².

To study the way in which they are based on the reality of landscapes and are leading to their transformation, the Paysages de l’après-pétrole collective investigated four farms in France. Their fine-tuned approach to adapting to the characteristics of the sites and their strong roots in the local area tend to show that the necessary transformation of our farming systems could usefully take place under the sign of the landscape.

Reconnecting with the base

Landscape is the visible result of land use practices. In past centuries, farming systems were established in close association with their geographical base. Today, however, farming activities are more often than not conceived independently of local geomorphological features, without any thought being given to their spatial outcome. By making massive use of substances external to the farm, the industrial agriculture promoted by post-war modernity does not consider the chemical, biological and physical components of the surrounding environment as resources, but rather as constraints. It therefore develops its landscapes in relative independence from their geographical base. Agro-ecological approaches, on the other hand, use landscapes as points of support. This does not mean, however, that they are concerned with spatial planning as a whole. The effective implementation of agro-ecology will necessarily require changes to the spatial organisation inherited from industrial agriculture ³. Using the potential and biogeographical diversity of the landscape is therefore an essential means of making agro-ecology more effective and enabling it to spread throughout the farming world. The role played by farmers in creating, maintaining and managing landscapes, when they are recognised as being of high quality, also helps to improve society’s recognition of them.

A working group on the theme of ‘farmers and landscapes

The Collectif PAP has set up a working group in 2019 to flesh out these analyses by returning to the field. Those who live and work on a farm are constantly observing their territory. How do they use this in-depth knowledge of their environment to fuel their projects? Through the attention they pay to the area, the potential it holds and the skills farmers use to make the most of their local resources, how do landscape approaches contribute to improving knowledge and practices in agro-ecology? Beyond the perimeter of the farm, the landscape provides an opportunity for exchange and cross-fertilisation between farmers and local residents, since it is their shared living environment. How can the solutions found at farm level through the landscape approach encourage sustainable development and the social and ecological transition of the region?

Four farms inventing post-oil farms

From a list of around fifty cases identified by the group and its partners, the farms visited were chosen for their explicit, relatively well-documented agro-ecological practices and their use of a landscape approach ⁴. With a comparable surface area of around one hundred hectares, the four farms studied differ in terms of their production and context. The Vernand farm is run by Rémi Janin on 111 hectares in the Haut Beaujolais mountains at Fourneaux (Loire). Rémi Janin rears 85 sheep and 45 cattle here, in a landscape of valleys and hills where woodland alternates with open views. On the 140-hectare Ferme des Ruelles in Tilly (Eure), Michel Galmel grows arable crops, four hectares of fruit trees and 0.4 hectares of market garden produce on the hilly Vexin plateau. The farm is an island surrounded by hedges in the heart of the cereal-growing plateau, like an oasis of orchards contrasting with the surrounding landscape. Nicolas Blanchard, one of the three partners in the Niro farm (in the commune of Boupère in the Vendée) works on 80 hectares of mixed farming, dairy cattle and field vegetables in a relatively flat landscape. The hedged farmland weaves a web that anchors the farm in the urban fringe, with local amenities visible from the farm.

Cédric Deguillaume looks after 140 hectares of forage, bilberry moorland and market gardening at the Monédière farm (Chaumeil, Corrèze), in the wooded area of the same name at an altitude of 900 metres. Its free-range Limousin ewes keep the moorland open amidst the surrounding conifer plantations, providing light areas in stark contrast to the forest environment ⁵ .

Method of field analysis

The group of investigators included at least four members of the PAP collective and a guest expert. The field visit and interviews with the farmer are conducted over a day and a half using the same question grid. On site, the group walks around the farm, identifies the different components of its landscape, takes sketches and photographs, and assesses its agro-ecological qualities. The various landscape features identified by the farmer are systematically recorded and then transcribed onto a map. The method developed by Alain Freytet locates these features, routes and views by identifying places by name. The aim of the visit is to develop an overall understanding of the landscape, explaining how the farm is rooted in its local environment, and to describe the farm’s production system and the extent to which it is integrated into the local area. The geographical base and history are often the key to understanding the plot of land, the layout of the roads and the shape of the buildings. After the survey, a block diagram will represent all these relationships. The landscape analysis is consolidated by an agro-ecological, socio-territorial and economic assessment based on the Farm Sustainability Indicators (IDEA version 4) method ⁶. The IDEA method provides an overall assessment of the sustainability of each farm based on 53 indicators. It is used in conjunction with the landscape survey to check the health of the farm and to assess whether or not these farms constitute benchmarks whose model could be duplicated. The visit takes place in the field, in the course of free discussions, according to the itinerary chosen by the farmer. In addition to the expected factual and numerical indicators, we get to know the farmer’s project and understand his practices in each sector. Leaving plenty of room for perception, personal history, local knowledge and intuition, the visit begins with the discovery of the farmer’s favourite place, a pleasant ‘good spot’ that inspires him and of which he is proud. These visits take place in an atmosphere of shared pleasure.

Landscaping for agro-ecology

Landscape tools to better understand the unique characteristics of the farmed estate

The working group sought to identify farmers with landscape training in order to analyse how this skill contributes to the efficiency of their farming ⁷. As this profile is relatively rare, the choice was made to also look at farms that use landscape in a more implicit way.

During their visits to farmers, the members of the Collectif PAP noted the precision with which they knew the multiple routes taken by water, the micro-climates and the variations in the soil. Based on this observation of substrate configurations and their quality, precise technical decisions are taken to make the most of each portion of space, differentiating it and enhancing its character. In line with the notion of ‘careful management’, which involves working with geology, water, exposure and vegetation rather than against it, these practices create ecoscapes with a variety of features that identify these farms by their style of development ⁸. Tools and methods for observing the landscape, its detail and its evolution contribute to the development of agricultural practices that reduce their impact on ecosystems. Observing the micro-facets of a farm’s landscape is the basis for action that aims not just to produce more, but better, food quality, but also the common goods and co-benefits produced by these farms: soil quality, quality of water resources, density of wetlands, health of biodiversity and amenity of the result. Regularly taking a ‘tour of the plain’ to observe the general face of the farm, using a map of the plots and their environment to represent it, using photography as an observation tool to recognise and name the landscape units ⁹ and, from there, to specify their use: generalising the systemic understanding that landscape tools allow would ensure that farmers’ skills would increase, improving their practices in both economic and ecological terms, and restoring to their actions the dimension of effective development that is once again visually appreciable.

Ingenuity in coping with the existing situation

Established in a mountainous context with handicaps in terms of altitude, slope and climate, or located on the edge of urbanisation, on less rich soil, the farms surveyed are situated in contexts ill-suited to the deployment of the post-war agricultural model. As a result, and as a matter of principle, they wanted to find other ways of making the most of their environment while maintaining their modest size. By encouraging them to respect the landscape and make it more visible, these difficult environments have increased the farmers’ ability to adapt. These four farmers spent their childhoods on the farm, and have inherited from their families a very detailed knowledge of their farms. The technicians who work on the farms sometimes fail to recognise this empirical knowledge, which can be more refined than a consultancy approach. When the planting of hedges, orchards and new buildings have been designed or inspired by these farmers, the developments turn out to be harmoniously adapted to the operation of the farm. The construction or conversion of farm buildings is also of value here ¹⁰.

Livestock and trees at the heart of a production landscape

Each of these farms produces several crops: sheep, cattle, arable crops, field or glasshouse vegetables, cultivated fruit or wild blueberries. Grass-fed livestock farming is seen as a necessary component of both the agronomic balance and the landscape. These four farmers also have trees in a variety of forms: hedges framing cultivated or grazed plots, isolated or aligned trees that have been identified and protected, forest trees in grazed woodland meadows, fruit trees in orchards. Trees are an agricultural element in their own right, interacting with crops and animals in a mixed farming-livestock-horticultural system that derives its ecological as well as visual quality from its presence.

Based on sobriety, a balance between agricultural production and energy production

Each farmer aims to reduce his use of inputs. He limits the amount of feed he buys for his animals by making the most of the fodder resources available, depending on the season - grass, hay, leaves from trees or bushes - supplementing rations with cereals produced on site or by exchanging with neighbouring farms. The animals are reared almost entirely outdoors at Le Vernand and La Monédière, which improves their health, limits the size of the buildings and enlivens the landscape. Illustrating their resilience and quest for autonomy, these four farms are exemplary in their low consumption of water, chemical inputs and energy. As local natural resources such as water, soil and biodiversity condition their farming plans, their surface extension and fossil fuel consumption remain limited. Working to reduce their needs, these farmers are aiming for self-consumption of renewable energy: with its miscanthus crops used to heat farm buildings, the Ruelles farm is self-sufficient in energy. At Ferme de la Niro, the upkeep of the bocage provides enough energy to heat the farmhouse and some of the communal buildings. The hay dryer powered by thermovoltaic panels improves the quality of the hay while providing electricity for the farm’s vehicles. At La Monédière, the need to save money means that all journeys are accounted for to limit motorised journeys. Using few petroleum-based inputs, these systems make little contribution to global warming. Conversely, their trees and meadows store carbon. Energy production remains at the service of agricultural production, the primary vocation of these farms, which reaffirm the complex vocation of our living environments and, beyond the tensions over conflicting use of agricultural land, the need for these areas to be multifunctional.

Landscape at the service of the land

A heritage steeped in history

The four farmers took over the family farm previously run by their parents. Including their spouse or a partner from outside the farming world, or even the region, these transfers sometimes took place in difficult economic circumstances. Depending on the family’s history and the role left to the new owner, they have taken place in a spirit of continuity, with a strengthening of agro-ecological principles, or in opposition to the previous family model. The oldest takeover was twenty-five years ago, the most recent seven. In each case, the farmer has developed a strong reflexive attitude to the model he practices. This family history is an important component of the story that exposes him. When designing the agricultural landscapes of tomorrow, it is important to study the way in which yesterday’s landscapes were conceived, particularly given that half the farms handed down today are ‘outside the family’. The landscape approach helps to visualise these histories and to differentiate their spatial embodiment.

Staging and opening up the landscape

The farm design created by Rémi Janin perfectly matches the different landscape features of his farm and embodies them visually in the same way as a landscape park. The paths and trails connect the farm with its position in the site. The whole of the farm and its herds are staged by artists at the Polyculture festival, which attracts large audiences every year. For its part, La Monédière farm recreates the original blueberry moorland landscape tended by its Limousin ewes. The paths that cross the farm give many walkers commanding views over the massif. La Niro farm is open to the surrounding landscape via a number of paths, and a number of trees have been planted to mark the way. In the wooded enclosure of the Ruelles farm, the paths are internal and its landscape contrasts with the open fields of the plateau. All these farmers open their farms to the public by maintaining or creating paths, running guided tours, installing educational panels, organising events and offering accommodation on the farm.

Landscape and short circuit dynamics

Responding to local demand for a reconnection between production and consumption, these farms are developing local produce shops, AMAPs, farm markets and catering for schoolchildren. Particularly effective in terms of local development and the circular economy, they have set up local channels and communicate the links between their products and the resources of their landscapes. Their high-quality food production reduces waste and contributes to taste education. Their specialities attract visitors and interest from restaurateurs. The care these farmers take of the landscape defines their farm as a common asset that can be freely explored and seen by all, and which they intend to make known and share. These farmers want to showcase their working space and make people aware of the deep-rooted nature of the living crafts. Will the communicative passion of these pioneers be able to reconnect local people with the prudence and sobriety needed to preserve ecosystems? These initiatives are changing the way people eat and consume. Ultimately, they could help to involve local residents in the collective management of their region.

The landscape to facilitate links with other projects in the area

Have the practices of these exemplary farms spread, or do they remain isolated, kept at a distance by the dynamics of intensive agriculture? The links between the four farms and their neighbours, local institutions and agricultural networks are mixed. Some of them have withdrawn to their farms to avoid local mistrust or disinterest, while others have forged strong local partnerships. The Niro farm is particularly well attached to its local area, with a number of cooperative ventures going beyond food production. It benefits from territorial contracts for the restoration of the Vendée bocage and has joined a research group for thrifty and autonomous peasant farming (GRAPEA, part of the CIVAM network). This willingness to cooperate is part of a long-standing tradition in the Vendée. The other farms have forged local or national links to support and advance their approaches. These are slow to spread. However, the support of local institutions - regional nature parks, chambers of agriculture, EPCIs, etc. - will be essential to sustain and spread these transformations. These innovative approaches are capable of mobilising local players, elected representatives and residents. When the Millevaches Regional Nature Park launched a landscape study on the Monédières massif, the farm’s fight against forest encroachment became a symbol and an exemplary benchmark for action.

Outlook

These initial results are encouraging us to continue our research work, so that landscape-based farming can become an established part of European agriculture, enabling it to embark on a project that meets the climatic, ecological and economic challenges of our time.

Sources

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