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Before, farms were passed on from family to family. Yet today, more than one in three installation candidates is not the son or daughter of an operator. And even if the buyer does not come from the field, it can very well happen. Example on a farm in Saint-Méloir-des-Blois in the Côtes-d’Armor.
For ten months, he has been the new owner of the premises. Sébastien Chauvelier, 36, knows why he gets up every morning. “It’s the job I’ve always wanted to do, I’m fine, what”, confides the new manager of the mirror farm. After a stint in mass distribution, he took over from Etienne Jouffe. At almost 60 years old, the former breeder preferred to anticipate his succession.
“I stopped a little earlier because I was afraid of finding a buyer. Physically I was tired and my children did not want to take over the business”, says the former manager. After four generations, the farm therefore leaves the family framework, as is the case in one in three transfers in Brittany. Because young buyers like Sébastien are increasingly rare. In a year, Etienne had no serious proposal, until this unexpected meeting. The young buyer is aware that entering a sometimes unprofitable milk market is not an easy task, but he remains optimistic for the future.