Monique Dorin has already put on her gabardine and boots to go to the henhouse to feed the poultry. It is 8 a.m. this Tuesday, February 13, and the mist has not yet dissipated on the organic farm of Clos de Montcouard, in Beaumont-Saint-Cyr (Vienna). Jacky, Monique’s son, and Guillaume, her grandson, have also started their morning routine, which consists of feeding the 115 cattle in the herd.
To see Monique, 82 years old, busy in the courtyard – even if she says she regrets not having “as much energy as before” – we can imagine the tenacity with which she had to carry out each of her projects, with her husband, Jacques, who died in 2016. One, in particular, made her proud: when, in 1968, they chose to go organic.
In those years, the zeitgeist was for the expansion of farms, increased productivity and the use of chemicals – in 1974, glyphosate was authorized for the first time in France. Monique and Jacques then choose a path that is still marginal. In the eyes of farmers practicing conventional agriculture, “with our cultures, we were dirty”remembers Monique. “Obviously, since their weedkillers killed everything. »
This is not the young couple’s first daring decision. Already in 1962, they bought together the land on which Jacques’ parents had previously worked on a lease basis – paying rent. “At the time, it was not possible to borrow money from a bank”, confides Monique. Jacques had just returned from the Algerian war, they were not married, but the owner wanted to sell the land immediately. “We had nothing, but we had no choice, we had to get started”recognizes Monique. “Our honeymoon took place in the wheat. »
“We had never heard of organic”
On each side of the central aisle of the barn, the Limousin cows wait, lined up, for the distribution of organic cereals. Coming exclusively from the farm, the mixture, made up of wheat, barley, peas, triticale and beans, was expertly prepared by Jacky and Guillaume from last summer’s harvest.
On his land, Jacky also sows legumes, such as alfalfa, which the cows need in their diet. The advantage is that these plants play a cleaning role for the grass: by capturing nitrogen from the air, they enrich the soil. In addition, mowing these cereals and legumes allows the farm to be self-sufficient in mulching the cows – this bedding being changed every two days.
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