Fabrice and Sonia Coutant met during their agricultural BTS in Angers. They each worked on their own until 2009, when Sonia took over the farm from Fabrice’s father. She separates herself from the sheep to keep only the cows of the farm, the Blondes d’Aquitaine. For ten years, she worked alone on the farm until the arrival of Fabrice who wanted to develop the direct sale of Coutant And Cow. Until then, the animals were sold to a trader.
– Coutant & Cow Farm
Today, direct sales represent more than half of meat sales: in Deux-Sèvres, but also in Bordeaux, Nantes, Tours, Challans and the Paris region. This market has developed with the conversion to organic farming. The organic was a journey for the couple who already had a plot of 13 hectares in organic for 10 years. This was a testing ground that facilitated the switch to organic for the rest of the plots.
More biodiversity on the farm
For years, Fabrice and Sonia Coutant have been replanting hedges and are delighted to see the return of biodiversity with more insects, birds and even hares in the fields. Fabrice and Sonia Coutant take care of their animals, they avoid any unnecessary stress and when an animal goes to the slaughterhouse, it is in the tractor’s livestock trailer, about twenty kilometers from the farm.
– Coutant & Cow Farm
The meat is sold on order in packages of 3, 5 or 10 kg either at the farm or on the Mauléon market on Friday mornings. It is also transformed into rillettes, dried beef, sausage, Bolognese sauce, chili against carne, beef with carrots or Bourguignon.
To make direct selling even easier, Fabrice and Sonia Coutant are going to open a small store on the farm. Find information and place your orders on the Coutant and Cow Farm website.