Regenerative Agriculture in France: Raising Sheep in the Alps
Today I giving you a look at a day in the life of an Alpine shepherd. Lennart of Friendly Flock in France practices regenerative agriculture in the french alps, managing a flock of sheep in a way that builds soil and restore degraded countryside.
This is episode 2 of 4 in my series, Raising Sheep in EUROPE. Click here for access to all 4 full length documentaries on Shepherding in Europe.
Lennart and his wife Graze their flock in French alps in the Savoie for 5 months, during the warmer summer season and part way into autumn. As winter approaches, they transhume, or migrate their flock to the Cévennes region for the remaining 7 months. The Cévennes is a warmer, Mediterranean an climate and provides better weather for wintering the flock.
Lennart was born in Berlin, Germany. His first exposure to agriculture was at 18 years old in New Zealand: a time period during which he fell in love with farming and became determined to make it his occupation.
Lennart spent a year in conventional Shepherd school, but was ultimately drawn to the world of Regenerative agriculture and holistic management. He trained with the Savory institute as well as ranching for profit, even traveling as far as Wyoming in the USA for education on grass-based management.
Lennart is not a land owner. He leases 1000 hectares which translates to roughly 2,500 acres, one hectare equaling about 2.5 acres. This is split between 500 hectares in the alps, which he leases from the French government, and 500 hectares in the Cevennes region, which he rents from a private land owner. The latter land resource requires significant effort in human relations to maintain.
With respect to his private contract grazing business, which is separate from the income he earns from French subsidies, Lennart used Facebook to make the initial contacts necessary to form the grazing cooperative.
Lennart raises a variety of meat breeds. The transition from conventional management where they were housed in barns or conventional pastures, to full time grazing terrain like the Alps was an adjustment for Lennarts initial flock.
Lennart explains how selling livestock in France is much different than in the USA, where American ranchers have a variety of auction houses and sale barns through which they can sell their sheep and cattle.
Managing regenerative grazing in the alps looks somewhat different than doing so on open pastures. Lennart uses night paddocks for his flock, confining them overnight, then allowing them to graze the surrounding area during the day. He uses herding dogs to manage the flock, directing the sheep toward and away from specific areas based on the amount of rest and recovery still necessary for each.
-the Shepherdess
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21
