Blue as the Queyras sky
3 December 2024In Pinols, Haute-Loire, Pierre BONHOMME, who set up his own business in August 2005 after taking over his parents’ farm, is what you might call a jack-of-all-trades. Rationalize and optimize could be his motto!
SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP PIERRE BONHOMME
- EARL since 2005
- 65 AUBRAC mothers
- 10 to 12 Fleurs d’Aubrac heifers per year
- UAA: 100 Ha
Although his parents had Charolais cows, he now breeds 65 Aubrac dams: “I switched to Aubrac because I find them more pleasant and easier to handle; what’s more, the sales opportunities in the area were better”. Convinced by the YPERIOS Excellence cross from the outset, he talks to us about his farm.
YPERIOS, THE SAFETY ADVANTAGE
With around 50% AI in the herd, Pierre BONHOMME sells 10 to 12 YPERIOS Excellence crossbred heifers each year under the Fleur d’Aubrac label. The rest of the production is sold as Label Rouge Aubrac farm beef.
“The YPERIOS cross is a very good lever, especially when demand for Aubrac is a little less sustained. This is less the case at the moment, but it still allows us to diversify and have a secure income supplement. With insemination and the choice of bulls in the 3 segments, we’re sure we’ll have homogeneity in the batch. This secures calving and income at the end. Aubrac flowers are always in category U (between U- and U+). Last year I sold my crossbred heifers for an average of €2400, or €6 per kilo, with an average of 400kg. This year we could go up to €6.20 per kg.
Pierre, on the advice of his inseminator, has used INKA EXC, MALON and TONGA extensively, and pays particular attention to birth ease. “I have total confidence in my Xpert, Eric Vicard. We choose bulls together, crossbreds and Aubracs. I inseminate a lot because I have a great inseminator and because the animals here are calm and docile.
DIVERSIFICATION, THE KEY TO PEACE OF MIND
As a purebred, Pierre quickly turned to the hornless breed, not only for safety on the farm, but also for the commercial opportunity that the sale of males represents. He also genotypes and uses sexed female semen.
He also participates in the Aubrac program, fitting hornless embryos. Although he is not yet a breeder of catalog bulls, he is also successfully fitting embryos for the YPERIOS program. Several of the females born will soon be taken from the farm. “It’s interesting financially to participate in the programs, and it’s also gratifying to contribute to the birth of these exceptional animals through the good care we can give.”
There’s no shortage of projects for Pierre, who also produces Margeride rye for a local miller and is involved in the creation of the GIE AltiAubrac. “I would do more calving but I’m short of manpower so I find other solutions, I’m interested in several options, it’s more stimulating that way!”
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