Thomas, a young cow breeder, is not sure he will still be doing the same job in ten years.
He proclaims it in front of a crowd of protesting farmers, present on Tuesday at the blocking of the A16 near Beauvais.
This is not the young man's first action, but this time he could see himself going as far as Paris, if necessary.
Since he took over the farm, he quickly became disillusioned.
“
The job doesn’t look like what made us want to get on the tractor!
», he shouts to the applause of the assembly.
“
We spend more time doing paperwork than doing our job.
And it only gets worse!
» The elders shout that they are dying slowly: Thomas will not let himself die, but if necessary, he will close the door.
“
There will soon be no more young farmers!”
»
The bill “
in favor of the renewal of generations in agriculture
”, the presentation of which to the Council of Ministers was postponed following the movement of anger, is supposed to encourage vocations and facilitate the resumption of agricultural operations among the youngest .
Because time is running out: “
a third of farmers – or 166,000 farmers or co-farmers
” – will have retired by 2030, according to ministry estimates.
Read alsoThe 10 reasons for the anger of farmers in France
“We can ask ourselves questions about the future of agriculture in France”
The unease is generally evident among young farmers.
“
We can ask ourselves questions about the future of agriculture in France.
Does the State really want to keep the youngest?
», Plague Flavien, 29 years old, Charolais breeder in Saint Martin les Tilleuls (Vendée).
Robin, 27 years old and an agricultural worker for nine years on the family farm in Maucourt sur Orne (Meuse), understands “
why young people
” turn away from the profession.
Even if the share of new settlers not from an agricultural background, in other words whose parents are not farmers, has increased over the last decade according to the Ministry of Agriculture, most young people did not expect to have so many constraints, including the inflation of standards which constitutes the main argument put forward by the FNSEA.
This overall and growing lack of interest among young farmers can be explained by several factors.
Without taking over a family farm, the investments required to get started are substantial and cause premature debt.
Guillaume, 28 years old, has been based in Lomtnaz in Ain since 2017 on the family farm where he manages 1,300 sheep with the three other farmers.
“
I saw a young man arriving in the area to make big investments in the dairy sector,”
he remembers.
He was discouraged by the cost of the building, and the number of years it would take to make the business profitable.
»
Also read Death of a farmer in Ariège: who was Alexandra Sonac, mowed down on a dam?
“I didn’t expect so many burdens, constraints and hassles”
The Covid episode has left its mark on people's minds and accentuated imbalances.
“
The costs have increased tenfold
,” whispers Guillaume.
If the products increased, no problem!
But this is not the case.
So we tighten the screw.
The most expensive is the investment in equipment and buildings.
We had budgeted 100,000 euros for a construction and we will have to advance double that.
»
Pierre-Luc, 36, had several professional lives in other professions (road driver, sales) before taking over a farm in 2017. This organic beef producer based in Lautenbach (Alsace) did not expect to “
so many burdens, constraints and hassles
”.
The controls carried out on farms by the government, “
one per year
”, are frequent according to him but above all too punitive.
“
I accept them, but they should be educational.
I wish I could come out of the interview and say to myself, “To improve, I need to do this.”
Today, an inspection is synonymous with sanction.
»
Also in the organic sector, Flavien was tempted by state aid to launch in 2020. An approach which "is
no longer supported by the government
", according to the Vendée farmer, who sees the increase in costs such as the GNR tax (non-road diesel, the executive wishing to gradually eliminate this fuel used by farmers) and the “
extra cost of organic compared to market valuation
” are weighing down its finances.
Unimaginable when starting out as an operator after five years of employment.
Also read: “The EU kills its cows, we import meat from Brazil, Mexico and India”: the rant of a farmer
Insufficient remuneration
The question of wages is one of the many demands of the unions.
“
I have friends who earn double my salary and who work 35 hours
,” breathes Robin.
“
That doesn’t motivate anyone to work long hours for 1000 balls!
, exclaims Guillaume.
We don't get paid enough for what we do.
» One of the complaints concerns large-scale distribution which “
forces
” farmers to “
accept their prices because we have to live with it even if we are not happy
”, continues Robin.
Administrative obligations are also an obligatory passage for operators, and valuable time wasted.
“
Beyond the problem of remuneration and the workload, we no longer have the impression that we no longer manage our operation as much as we would like,” explains Pierre-Luc.
We are told what to do and we have to follow the obligations of people who are not on the ground.
We no longer make choices, we submit to decisions from above.
And we can't even anticipate them!
»
Another aspect that weighs on the shoulders of farmers is that their social life is impacted at an early age, with extended hours or unwanted calls during weekends.
“
Life as a couple is very complicated, you have to find someone who understands that you have to get up in the middle of the night or not have a vacation like everyone else
,” admits Robin.
Pierre-Luc, although he is single, manages to make arrangements with his employees to maintain “
a normal life
”.
Also read: Guillaume Tabard: “On agriculture, a political consensus in trompe-l’oeil”
Retraining in the back of your mind
Logically, the question of retraining lingers in the minds of those most dejected by their situation.
From his Vosges foothills in Alsace, Pierre-Luc sometimes displays a slight spleen, "
moments when I regret certain choices
", when he observes "
the ton of paperwork to be completed
".
“
I ask myself from time to time the question of becoming an employee again,”
confirms Flavien
.
But it's a complicated choice since I have a lot of loans, with a family to feed and housing to pay for.
»
The financial issue is one of the factors that blocks farmers who want to change careers, more particularly operators.
Guillaume speaks of an “
investment over 15 years.
You can't say overnight: I'm stopping everything.
It is not possible.
» The latter emphasizes the resilience of young people.
“
We weren’t raised like that.
We could have messed up everything but that's not in our education.
»
Robin is still looking forward to taking over the farm in a few years, when his mother retires.
“
Passion takes over, but I will think about it.
I hesitate every day.
» They saw colleagues in the same age group branch off towards other paths.
Flavien has a friend who is a converted mechanic, Pierre-Luc saw an acquaintance join the commercial field.
“
Some have had to take on additional work to make ends meet
,” sighs the latter.
Read alsoIn Agen, under the yellow caps, the black anger of the farmers
Concerned by the demonstrations?
So, for some of them, the only way to make themselves heard is through road blockages.
Near a pallet fire lit in a brazier to warm the demonstrators on the A16 in Oise, Jean, another young mixed crop-livestock farmer, has just taken over the family farm in December.
The addition of new standards for breeders prevents him from knowing how to prepare for the future.
“
It’s constantly changing, and we always have to adapt!
»
He also highlights the difficulty of recruiting employees for the operation: “
fortunately, we have automated milking to require less staff.
But we can't find any anymore: we can't afford to pay for them.
Next door in Spain the minimum wage is lower but we, under the conditions imposed on us, no longer have the means to recruit enough.
» This is his very first demonstration, he is not even a union member.
But he wants to send a strong political signal: “
this is going to be a test for Gabriel Attal!
We'll see what he can tell us
."
The challenge to the Prime Minister is launched.