France Management Profiles

Email: bureau.nuffield.france@gmail.com

Yolène Pagès is interested in agroecology and the role that different farming systems can play in enhancing rural areas. And how these farming systems can become more sustainable, taking in account environmental, social and financial issues. Yolène is a graduate of Purpan University in Toulouse and worked for many years as an agronomist for a technical institute in the South of France. She has facilitated a number of multi actor projects involving groups of innovative farmers, researchers, technitians and localy elected representatives. These projects have mainly been in the National Parks of Grand Causses and Aubrac. She has also been involved in her family farm for many years where they produce for the Roquefort cheese (PDO), made which sheep milk. Yolène has traveled extensively in such places as Africa and America. Yolène is now developing a project with a group of farmers seeking to add value to sheep milk, including << terroir >> values. Recently elected as chairman of Nuffield France, she encourages the Nuffields to put France into their agenda.

Email: b-defressanges@laposte.net

Baptiste de Fressanges, from Coulondon in France, received a 2015 Nuffield Scholarship supported by France Génetique élevage. He studied methods to reduce the costs in intensive systems for suckler cows. Baptiste is responsible for the breeding in family’s farm. He manages feeding, reproduction and genetic for 120 suckler cows. He works with his brother who manages the crops including wheat, sunflower, canola and barley on 250 hectares. Breeding cows is expensive in France and Baptiste wanted to research and determine if there are solutions for reduce the costs. He also researched the market of the beef to understand and adapt his production system.

Email: max.moinard@gmail.com

After several years working in Ivory Coast, Africa (Palm oil, corn seed) and French Polynesia (Dairy, Composting), Maxime came back in 2018 on the family farm, which is mixed operation producing grains and livestock with 150 Limousine cows, and 400 ha in the Marais Poitevin in Vendée, in the west of France. The farm is constitued of three sites, representative of the local landscapes : dry swamps, plains and woodland meadows. After having built 4000 m² of photovoltaic panels in 2011, Maxime has the ambition to build an anaerobic digestor running with local manure and waste for local green energy. However Maxime and his family are always searching news opportunities to develop their profit. They are constantly at the listening of the consumers, searching quality products and environmental preservation. That's why an organic conversion in the early years is not excluded. The subject of his 2016 Nuffield study was : How to create value from livestock effluents in general, and in particular integration of a methanisation unit on the farm. For his study he visited Scotland, Wales, England, Nederlands, Germany, Canada and USA to research biogaz technology, insect farming and algae conversion. Maxime is married to Alicia and they are proud parents of a 9 months old little girl. They enjoy trekking, travelling, oenology, movies and naturalism.