Ministère de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation
Between 2001 and 2008 swine breeders concentrate increasingly on their core activity. Breeders modified their practices in order to adapt to European norms for animal well-being, with grating confirming its popularity.
The popularity of free-stalling practices, the renovation of waste water recuperation circuits, the creation of new manure pits and run-off stocking areas all lead to a greater mastery over the risks of pollution.
In 2008, 19,600 farms engaged in aviculture. More than 65% are concentrated in four regions : Pays de Loire, Bretagne, Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrennes. Quality poultry does not progress. Almost one-tenth of buildings for caged layer hens already meet the 2012 European standards.
Production of organic dairy products is active in 2008. Their share of total fresh dairy products grows, but remains small. Collections of organic milk stabilises.
In 2006, plant care treatments on rape amount to six authorised doses. In field cropping it is among the plants that receive the largest amounts of pesticides per hectare. The use of insecticides explains this high level of plant care treatments.
The French purchase less raw fats but eat more in prepared foods. Total consumption of fats has remained stable for the last ten years, but this fact masks a substitution of vegetable fats for animal fats.
The organizational force and methods of cooperatives in the different sectors and territories can be measured by their scope. With more than one out of two employees in a non-cooperative type business, the expansion of cooperative groups is a recognized fact but subsidiarising differs depending on the ’product’ sector.
The average farming income of professional businesses dropped by 32% in 2009 in spite of a turnaround drop in production costs, more beneficial to animal farming.
Since 1997, the production of bass, royal and lean bream and fully grown turbots progressed by 40% and has now reached 7650 tons. Over the same period, there was a decrease in the number of businesses and sites in the fish farm sector. French sturgeon farming produced around 21 tons of caviar, the equivalent of its imports.
Farm produce businesses invested noticeably more in antipollution measures in 2008. However, in small businesses, investment decreased. Wastewater processing still accounts for the greater part of investments.
Ministère de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation