Field days in France: another great success
The field days “Journées de la Lucine” are held every two years at the HORSCH France headquarters. As always, the program of the event that takes place at the beginning of September with a successful mixture of machine demonstrations, interesting presentations and exchanges with customers and sales partners. Almost 900 participants travelled to La Lucine near Châteauvillain, France.
The agenda was varied: top-ranking, international speakers and an excellent organisation. Moreover, it was also possible to exchange ideas with the Horsch family. Michael, Cornelia and their second eldest son Constantin had come to France for the event. The somewhat moody weather did not affect the general atmosphere, and the Field Days 2024 were also marked by the company's 40th anniversary. In the exhibition hall, the guests were given an insight into the history of HORSCH.
Speeches and dialogue
The choice of topics at the event reflects the DNA of the HORSCH brand: “There is a solution for any new problem”. It is precisely this philosophy that the company wants to convey with its new claim which was presented in July: ‘WE WILL FIND A WAY.”. “HORSCH is active on an international scale. That's why we decided to use an English claim,” Cornelia Horsch, Marketing and Sales Manager of the HORSCH Group, said in her introduction. This part not in DE and PTBR, but in all other languages “The new claim illustrates our ambition to tackle current and future challenges in agriculture together with our customers, partners and employees and to find sustainable solutions for any task,” she emphasises.
As the largest export market, France is an important starting point for innovations as French farmers constantly look for new technologies and ideas to make their systems more durable and efficient. This was also confirmed by the experience report of Fabrice Lugnier, a HORSCH customer who contributed to the development of the Avatar in France.
The program of the two lecture mornings remained true to the brand's philosophy: macroeconomic and sociological analyses, exchange of agronomic findings and experience reports of customers from the agricultural sector as well as an open and intensive exchange with the audience.
Machines and innovations in the spotlight
Because of the rainy weather, the afternoon program was adjusted accordingly with an extended demonstration. Nineteen machines were presented to the enthusiastic participants. There were innovations in the sector of shallow tillage, for example, with the expansion of the Finer series with a trailed 8 m version and the introduction of large 580 mm discs for the Joker RT and CT line. A prototype of the new Joker 12 CC disc harrow and the new Sprinter CO impressed in the field – as the weather cleared, they could eventually be shown in action. In the precision seeding sector, the participants saw the latest Maestro 6 AX 3-point seed drill for compact four-cylinder tractors and the Maestro 12.75 CX. In the field sprayer sector, the HORSCH Leeb range was presented: the Leeb LT field sprayer as well as the two self-propelled sprayers Leeb PT and VT. The new generation of the front tank Partner 2.1 and 2.5 FT with a capacity of 1,700 and 2,500 l were met with great interest by the visitors present as they can be used as a seed combination, together with precision seed drills, cultivators or hoeing machines to spread several products.
Day 1 - Dependencies and challenges in the energy sector: how can this be solved?
‘There are only 1 billion hectares of arable land for crops to feed more than 9 billion people in 2050. Yet yields are stagnating or even declining, and the climate problem is increasing. To solve this problem, we need constant innovation with and for all farmers, regardless of the structure and size of their farm,’ Michael Horsch said.
The same is true for energy resources. Like all other economic sectors, agriculture has to realise the challenges that have to be coped with: namely replacing oil, gas and coal with renewable energies within 30 years. Benjamin Louvet, commodity expert and asset manager at OFI AM, explained the background of the oil markets (production areas, different oil typologies, geopolitical challenges) and the challenges of the energy transition with regard to energy dependency and costs. Crude oil is still the most important source of energy, with an extraction peak by 2028-2030.
Hydropower has already reached its maximum potential. With regard to nuclear energy, it will not be able to cover the world's entire energy needs. The rapid development of renewable energies, solar and wind energy therefore remains the way preferred by the politicians to accelerate the energy transition and meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Our dependence on fossil energies is therefore turning into a dependence on metals: “Between 950 kg and 5 t of copper are required to build a wind energy plant. [...]
Six times more rare metals are required to build an electric car than to build a car with a combustion engine,” Benjamin Louvet explained. Therefore, we will have to get used to paying more for energy over the next 10 to 20 years. For the extraction and processing of raw materials remains lengthy and expensive. In view of this macroeconomic reality, farmers will have to capitalise on the opportunities of self-production and self-consumption by producing green energy like biogas, agrivoltaics and wind power. Benjamin Louvet also emphasised the role of the public authorities: “To successfully shape the transformation of the energy sector, the government has to make targeted investments and provide subsidies.”
For Maximin Charpentier, farmer and Chairman of the Chamber of Agriculture of the French Grand Est region, agriculture will be one of the most important players with regard to decarbonisation in the future. He particularly emphasised the opportunities of farms for producing biomass. An idea he pursues as part of the Terrasolis project. “This could be a goldmine for agriculture. So far, biomass has been bought up and utilised by large corporations at low cost. We can also do this ourselves. We live in a disruptive world. My objective is to find and implement solutions for future generations.”
The morning ended with an agricultural science presentation by Prof Dr Bernhard Bauer from the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences. He proposed solution strategies for drastically reducing the resistance of black grass and ryegrass in cereals by means of a combination of rotation, chemical plant protection and tillage strategies, such as false seeding. In addition, a good understanding of the modes of action and half-lives of the active agents still available to us is required. Dr Bauer showed some ways for the application of herbicides.
Day 2 - Farm organisation: key challenges
In addition to the decline of the number of people working in agriculture, the increase of the farm size, economic, legal and personnel problems (framework conditions, recruitment), farms are confronted with more and more complex realities. The first speaker on the second morning of the Journées de La Lucine was François Purseigle, sociologist at the Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse and research associate at the Sciences Po University in Paris, who provided important insights into the social realities of running a farm. “A whole new chapter in agricultural history is being written at the moment. It is therefore crucial to carefully analyse the social and economic processes to find not just one, but several solutions for farms which today are much more diverse,’ he stated as an introduction. For even if public opinion and politics in France nostalgically cling to small, artisanal farms, today's French farms are no longer those of the previous generation. This collective fantasy world stands in the way of a professional and entrepreneurial view of modern agriculture.
Between population decrease and changes in the family model
The first observation is unequivocal: the number of French farmers is declining, with the livestock sector being the most affected (30,000 to 40,000 dairy farmers in the forecasts for France by 2030 compared to 250,000 in 1980). Half of the French farm managers will be of retirement age by 2030.
Second observation: a farm no longer is just a family affair. Even if family labour (siblings, parents, spouses...) have kept the farms going for a long time, there has been a 55% decline between 2010 and 2020.
This jeopardises the country's production capacity and finally its self-sufficiency. “We can't say that we didn't know,” François Purseigle repeated several times calling on politicians and farmers to find solutions together and quickly.
Agricultural production is an economic activity like any other. The “do it together” model of traditional agriculture (with the family, in a group of farmers etc.) is developing into a “have it done” model forcing farmers to rethink their methods. From an economic point of view, the expansion of the farms and the use of labour outside the family are now an indisputable reality. The farmer is a business manager who relies on labour. There are currently 930,000 employees (directly or via contractors) working on French farms. This represents an increase of 71% in the number of employees of contractors and 249% in the number of employees of employers' organisations. This non-family labour force will grow to over 1 million employees by 2030. This will have consequences on the profitability and the continuance of agricultural farms.
When asked by a farmer from the Aube department about the “huge gap” between politics and the economic reality of the farms and the challenge of finding an agricultural strategy, François Purseigle replied: “French agriculture is a fantasy, it is idealised and not seen as it really is. This leads to a rift between farmers and decision-makers. The real challenge is to look at farming families from an economic point of view - regardless of family relationships”.
Simplify and diversify: the secret to long-term farm security?
The next speaker was the British farmer James Peck. He founded his business PX Farms Ltd in 2003. “My motto: innovate, adapt and excel. Every decade brings new challenges. My job is to develop a solution to keep my team motivated and my business profitable today and in the future,” James Peck said introducing his philosophy which is modelled on that of Michael Horsch. His farm consists of three sites and covers 5,100 hectares. To cultivate the fields, distances of up to 150 kilometres have to be covered which includes a considerable logistic effort. Since taking over the family business in 1999, James Peck has been pursuing a strategy of asset diversification, such as renting out unused buildings, to increase his credit rating and finance the growth of the business.
Today, PX Farms offers a wide range of services, from construction work, in particular the construction of storage facilities, to the rental of buildings, agricultural services, logistics and transport. Agricultural activities currently account for 57% of the turnover. With 15,000 tonnes, milling wheat is the most important crop. He produces barley (8,000 tonnes), oats (1,800 tonnes) and peas (1,500 tonnes) as well as straw which he sells to an electricity plant. PX Farms is also the largest mustard producer in England. This year, the overall yield level decreased by 30%. The farm works with 12-metre-wide machines (two Terrano, one Joker, six seed drills) based on Control Traffic Farming. All his employees receive board and lodging in Cambridge from July to October as well as bonus payments.
„Every decade brings new challenges. My job is to develop a solution to keep my team motivated and my business profitable today and in the future.“
James Peck
Moreover, James Peck relies on digital communication to increase his visibility in public and improve the image of agriculture. In less than a year, his YouTube channel already has 17,000 followers.
James Peck recalled the damaging effects of the Brexit on the procurement of parts and machines from Europe, but also the decline of state subsidies.
AgroVation: rethink, simplify and rationalise methods
In his presentation, Constantin Horsch spoke about the daily challenges and the changes that were implemented on the family farm AgroVation in the Czech Republic - based on the contract with his father Michael. Together with his brother Lucas, he took over responsibility for the farm purchased in 2012 and decided to further develop the classic farm structure (farm with one manager for the arable farming part) into a profitable and no-till orientated cereal farm. The objective behind this: manage a farm and familiarise himself with the realities on site before taking on further responsibility within the HORSCH Group.
Since 2017, the two brothers have therefore been changing the farm structure and the management style. They opted for a horizontal organisation, reorganised the management structure and at the same time introduced an internal communication system with a focus on the independence and the sense of responsibility of the employees. This example of transferring the farm within the Horsch family is a counterexample to the trend described by François Purseigle. Even though Cornelia Horsch admitted that “it's not easy to work with the family every day”, an important aspect is the delegation of tasks and the trust placed in the employees with regard to the tasks that have be carried out. Similar to James Peck, Constantin Horsch has also introduced a bonus system for the employees (e.g. linked to the care with which they handle the machines).
Optimism: the key in view of a constantly changing world
Philosopher Laura Lange made the audience think about the challenges of change and transition. Those who live in a constantly changing world have to see the meaning of their work, but above all maintain a constant optimism to master their everyday professional life. This fits in well with HORSCH's new claim “WE WILL FIND A WAY.”: an invitation to take a step back, break new ground, overcome difficulties and move forward with confidence.