Tag Archives: farming

France Agri-tech

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I follow the U.S. “Farm to Table” movement closely and have posted several times about Dan Barber one of the movement’s leading advocates. Recently out of curiosity, I thought I research what is happening with agriculture here in France a food centric society. A brief update.

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The plan: France’s current agricultural transformation is going to be funded as part of the country’s government 2030 Plan; €2.3 billion divided between farmers aid and innovative technology solutions (Agri-tech funding). The long-term plan is to make France a global leader exporting their farming technology worldwide. The plan has met its fair share of opposition given the economic uncertainty there are sufficient funds to support going global. Note: The French have a different method of lobbying when it comes to opposing government policy – farmers protested by dumping manure in front of government buildings.

The adaption of robotics has been driving France’s Agri-tech innovation. It is estimated wine producers are utilizing 250 robots to offset labor shortages (e.g., weeding). Currently three-quarters of regular farmers are using or sharing a robotized tool. Will France drive the global agricultural robot market currently projected at $14billion and lead a “robot to table” movement?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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Dan Barber – Trail Blazer

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Last night, I went into the archives of Chef’s Table Netflix and rewatched an old segment featuring Dan Barber, “Farm to Table” visionary. Timely, plus extremely relevant given all the recent buzz about regenerative agriculture.

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I have been following Dan’s achievements for years now. I first posted about Dan back in June 2017 (second paragraph) regarding a TedTalk he conducted How I fell in love with a fish.  He spoke about a fish farm in Spain with a sustainable ecosystem detailing how we need a radically new agribusiness model; create conditions where every community will feed itself. In Netflix’s recent Chef’s Table series, he touched on the science of soil and its importance to the “Farm to Table” movement. To me Dan is a true visionary always ahead of the curve.

In laypersons’ terms, regenerative agriculture is the conservation practices which nurtures food and farming production systems. It combines a variety of agriculture techniques. One major area of focus is strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil. I first learned about the sustainable agriculture techniques of soil health back in 1997 working with the state of Oregon on a sustainable certification project. The agricultural process farmers utilized was known as tillage and crop rotation. As a result, the soil became more resilient growing season to growing season, nutrient dense, and harbored less pests/pathogens. Back then at the beginning of the “Farm to Table” movement, Dan was publicizing the science of soil. I think it is impressive he is still advocating the value of sustainable soil management nearly two decades later. Dan Barber is a true trail blazer!                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Opinions Welcomed!