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L’agroécologie stipule que la gestion de la diversité animale et végétale au sein des exploitations d’élevage renforce leur durabilité. Pour aller au-delà de ce principe théorique, nous analysons ici le fonctionnement et les performances d’exploitations de polyélevage, c’est-à-dire de fermes dans lesquelles sont élevées au moins deux espèces animales. Dans les systèmes herbagers, la complémentarité des modes de pâturage des ovins, des bovins et des chevaux permet de réduire le recours aux aliments concentrés, en particulier pour les ovins. La dilution des parasites digestifs en pâturage mixte profite aux petits ruminants et aux chevaux, et permet d’envisager de réduire la fréquence des traitements anthelminthiques. Un atelier monogastrique de petite taille permet de valoriser les co-produits (petit lait...) ; la transformation laitière, créatrice de valeur ajoutée, et les faibles volumes de viande commercialisés sont bien adaptés à la vente en circuits courts. L’organisation du travail entre toujours en ligne de compte dans la manière d’articuler différentes espèces au sein d’une même exploitation. Plutôt que de vouloir maximiser coûte que coûte la diversité au sein du système, il s’agit avant tout de rechercher une cohérence d’ensemble que les éleveurs puissent gérer. Nous discutons enfin des freins au déploiement des fermes de polyélevage, liés à un système socioéconomique construit pour bénéficier des économies d’échelle offertes par la spécialisation. Pour dépasser ces freins, nous proposons des leviers en amont (innover pour des équipements et infrastructures polyvalentes), à l’aval (réorganiser la logique de collecte), et autour des exploitations d’élevage (revisiter la formation et le conseil) qui doivent être pensés de manière couplée.

Agroecological practices can improve the functioning of livestock farming systems by optimizing their underlying biological processes. Sheep/cattle mixed-grazing is an example of such a practice in which sheep grazing with cattle can achieve a higher liveweight gain (LWG), than sheep grazing alone. We conducted an experiment to assess the relative roles of parasite dilution and forage niche complementarity in improving sheep LWGs. We used continuous grazing and compared the LWGs of 5- to 9-month ewe lambs, grazing alone or with heifers, at two contrasting sheep/cattle ratios (~50/50% and 20/80% in livestock units). The animals were not treated for strongyles (gastrointestinal parasites) before or during the experiment. We assessed parasitism by counting the number of strongyle eggs excreted per gram of feces (EPG) and evaluated the forage niche complementarity through observations of feeding behavior, combined with measurements of fecal nitrogen content (N). We observed that i) the diet was moderately improved by mixed-grazing (+4% of dicots and +11% of young vegetative grass at most, but these improvement were not statistically significant (resp. P=0.28 and P=0.35); ii) N levels were not significantly different across treatments (~2%; P=0.75); iii) EPGs were ~50% lower for mixed-grazing than for monospecific grazing (545 and 716 vs. 1278, PPP=0.91 and P=0.56). We thus attributed most of the improved ewe lamb LWGs in our experiment to parasite dilution rather than to forage niche complementarity. In addition, the similar EPGs and LWGs observed in mixed-grazing suggest that the benefits of this practice can be obtained easily, i.e. over a wide range of sheep/cattle ratios. Based on the definition of the adjective operable (‘capable of being put into use, operation or practice’), we also conclude that mixed-grazing seems an operable practice from a biological viewpoint.

Alternative strategies to chemical anthelmintics are needed for the sustainable control of equine strongylids. Bioactive forages like sainfoin (

International audience; Herbivore farming systems in the Auvergne region (north of the French Massif central) are highly diverse as the result of history and strong pedoclimatic contrasts. Among agroecological principles, system diversification is assumed to increase farm economic and environmental performances, but we still lack knowledge on how to manage these systems. Here we report the result of farm surveys that were conducted across a range of systems from the same areas: beef-crop, mixed cattle-sheep and cattle-horse systems. We also use a bioeconomic optimization model to provide further information on mixed beef-dairy systems, including their carbon footprint and resilience to market hazards. Grazing two livestock species on the same farm leads to a better utilization of grasslands and can dilute parasite burden, and doing this decreases inputs and production costs.Integrated crop-livestock management also decreases feeding costs, and so production costs and farm carbon footprint. Equipment and housingcosts were reduced in mixed cattle-sheep systems, where mixed farming also buffered farm income variability. Equipment largely differ betweenthe beef and crop enterprises, which limits economies of scope in beef-crop systems. Buffer capability was reduced in mixed beef-dairy systemswhere both enterprises produce meat and thus rely on the same market. Finally, workload was more evenly distributed along the year in mixedcattle-sheep systems. Farmers also mentioned the pleasure of varied work and flexibility of work organization in mixed systems as a matter ofsatisfaction. We conclude that in spite of various amplitudes in the effects observed, the diversification of herbivore farming systems can enhancesystem efficiency and increases options for adapting to change, and that this can occur at a constant workload; Les systèmes d’élevage en Auvergne associent souvent plusieurs productions du fait de la géographie et de l’histoire régionale. Avec latransition agroécologique, la diversification des systèmes d’élevage herbivores est considérée comme un levier pour répondre à leurs enjeuxproductifs et environnementaux, mais les références techniques et organisationnelles manquent encore. Ici nous rapportons de nouvellesconnaissances issues d’enquêtes réalisées dans trois types de systèmes diversifiés : polyculture-bovins viande, mixtes bovins-ovins et mixtesbovins-équins. Un modèle d’optimisation sous contrainte étend l’analyse au système bovins lait-viande, et simule l’empreinte carbone etla résilience des différents systèmes. Conduire deux espèces animales au sein d’une même exploitation permet de mieux gérer l’herbe etle parasitisme digestif, et peut ainsi réduire les intrants et les charges variables de l’exploitation. De même, l’association de cultures à unélevage bovins viande conduit à acheter moins d’aliments, et réduit les charges variables et l’empreinte carbone de l’exploitation. La mixitébovins-ovins dilue les coûts d’équipement pour la récolte des fourrages, les besoins en bâtiments, et sécurise le revenu. Peu d’équipementssont en revanche communs aux ateliers d’élevage et de cultures ce qui limite les économies de gamme en polyculture-bovins viande. Lesfluctuations annuelles du revenu sont les moins tamponnées dans le système bovins lait-viande où les deux ateliers partagent le mêmemarché de viande bovine. Enfin, la mixité d’espèces permet de mieux répartir le travail durant la campagne annuelle, la satisfaction liéeà un travail varié étant également mise en avant par les éleveurs bovins-ovins et bovins-équins. Ainsi malgré des bénéfices d’amplitudevariable selon les systèmes, la diversification des systèmes d’élevage herbivores peut accroître leur efficience et offre des clés d’adaptationface à la variabilité du contexte de production, sans nécessairement générer plus de travail.

International audience; Strongyle infection is an important issue in horse breeding. It impairs horse health and performance, with young horses being the most sensitive. Strongyle control has long relied on the systematic use of chemical treatments. However, expanding anthelmintic resistance among strongyles calls for alternative options. Mixed grazing is assumed to reduce strongyle load on the pasture as the result of a dilution effect. This has been shown in small ruminants grazing with cattle, but the putative benefits of co-grazing between horses and cattle have not yet been evaluated. Here, we conducted field surveys and face-to-face interviews on 44 farms from two contrasted saddle-horse production areas, Normandy and northern Massif Central, to compare equine strongyle management practices between specialized systems and mixed horse-cattle systems. Our goals were (i) to quantify breeders' awareness of the putative benefits associated with the co-grazing of horses and cattle, (ii) to establish whether mixed farming was associated with different strongyle management strategies and (iii) to test whether strongyle egg excretion was reduced in horses grazed with beef cattle. Every breeder relied on systematic calendar treatments, and only 8 out of the 23 mixed breeders were aware that co-grazing of horses with cattle could be used as part of their strongyle control strategy. Management practices were similar across both systems in Normandy. In Massif Central, mixed breeders formed a distinct cluster from their specialized counterparts: deworming was less frequent and stocking density was higher in mixed farms, while specialized breeders seemed more willing to integrate herd and plot management into control strategies. Faecal egg counts measured in horses from Massif Central were significantly reduced when horses were grazed with cattle. This was the result of an increased reliance on macrocyclic lactones in mixed farms (P < 0.01) and a significant dilution effect (P < 0.01). When considering a subsample of horses treated with macrocyclic lactones only, young horses grazed with cattle had 50% fewer strongyle eggs excreted in their faeces than horses grazed in equine-only pastures (P < 0.01). This is the first evidence of the benefits of mixed grazing with cattle as an alternative to control strongyle infection in horses, although this promising alternative remains largely unknown by horse breeders.

International audience; We propose a set of indicators to evaluate how grazing by livestock and grassland management can help preserve biodiversity in the insect communities of grassland ecosystems. These indicators can be calculated for any grassland for which management and botanical composition are known, and they do not require advanced knowledge on conservation biology and entomology. Based on the scientific literature and expert interviews, each indicator combines pressure (i.e., 16 management classes) and state variables (i.e., sward botanical composition and several of the plant functional characteristics) to assess the effects on butterfly, bumblebee, and grasshopper abundance and species richness. Each indicator was based on a multicriteria decision tree with fuzzy partitioning to account for uncertainty in the threshold values between different alternatives. The output validation of indicators was performed by comparing decision tree output with standardized measurements from 10 surveys across France, Germany, Switzerland, Wales, and Italy. The prediction of grassland suitability for butterflies was more accurate for butterfly species richness ( P < 0.05) than for butterfly abundance ( P = 0.10), as even under standardized transect counts, recorders will observe disproportionately more individuals when it is sunny and warm. The sensitivity of the butterfly species richness indicator was then tested using an independent dataset of 395 French grasslands. There were significant differences in predicted species richness (χ 2 15 = 121.16; P < 0.05) among the 16 management classes, and they were ranked consistently in spite of very parsimonious assumptions in the decision tree. The prediction of grassland suitability was good for bumblebee abundance ( P < 0.05) and species richness ( P < 0.01). This prediction was also successful for grasshopper abundance ( P < 0.05) and species richness ( P = 0.05), all outliers coming from a highly diverse grassland community located on shallow soil in the Italian survey. This set of indicators can thus provide a cost-effective evaluation of temperate grassland suitability as habitat for three insect taxa. These indicators have more relevance than general insect species richness, and their application does not require any entomological skill. The indicators can help stakeholders to make adequate decisions for insect conservation in grassland ecosystems, but do not have direct applicability to higher conservation value taxa or species.; Nous proposons un ensemble d'indicateurs pour évaluer comment le pâturage par le bétail etprairiela gestion peut aider à préserver la biodiversité dans leinsectecommunautés deprairieécosystèmes. Ces indicateurs peuvent être calculés pour toutprairiedont la gestion et la composition botanique sont connues et qui ne nécessitent pas de connaissances avancées en biologie de la conservation et en entomologie. Sur la base de la littérature scientifique et d'entretiens avec des experts, chaque indicateur combine des variables de pression (c'est-à-dire 16 classes de gestion) et d'état (c'est-à-dire la composition botanique du gazon et plusieurs des caractéristiques fonctionnelles de la plante) pour évaluer les effets sur l'abondance des papillons, des bourdons et des sauterelles et richesse en espèces. Chaque indicateur était basé sur un arbre décisionnel multicritères avec un partitionnement flou pour tenir compte de l'incertitude sur les valeurs seuils entre différentes alternatives. La validation des résultats des indicateurs a été effectuée en comparant les résultats de l'arbre décisionnel avec les mesures standardisées de 10 enquêtes en France, en Allemagne, en Suisse, au Pays de Galles et en Italie. La prédiction deprairie pertinencepour les papillons était plus précise pour la richesse spécifique des papillons (P < 0,05) que pour l'abondance des papillons (P = 0,10),commemême avec des comptages de transects standardisés, les enregistreurs observeront de manière disproportionnée plus d'individus lorsqu'il fait chaud et ensoleillé. La sensibilité de l'indicateur de richesse spécifique des papillons a ensuite été testée à l'aide d'un jeu de données indépendant de 395 prairies françaises. Il y avait des différences significatives dans la richesse spécifique prévue (χ 2 15 = 121,16 ; P < 0,05) parmi les 16 classes de gestion, et elles ont été classées de manière cohérente malgré des hypothèses très parcimonieuses dans l'arbre de décision. La prédiction deprairie pertinenceétait bon pour l'abondance des bourdons (P < 0,05) et la richesse spécifique (P < 0,01). Cette prédiction a également réussi pour l'abondance des sauterelles (P < 0,05) et la richesse spécifique (P = 0,05), toutes les valeurs aberrantes provenant d'un environnement très diversifié.prairiecommunauté située sur un sol peu profond dans l'enquête italienne. Cet ensemble d'indicateurs peut donc fournir une évaluation rentable detempéré prairie pertinence comme habitatpourTrois insecte taxons. Ces indicateurs sont plus pertinents que les indicateurs générauxinsecterichesse spécifique, et leur application ne nécessite aucune compétence entomologique. Les indicateurs peuvent aider les parties prenantes à prendre des décisions adéquates pourinsecteconservation dansprairieécosystèmes, mais n'ont pas d'applicabilité directe à une valeur de conservation plus élevéetaxonsou espèce. Copyright © 2022 Dumont, Rossignol, Huguenin-Elie, Jeanneret, Jerrentrup, Lüscher, Taugourdeau, Villerd et Plantureux.

The raw data files and associated R scripts are available under the following repository: https://github.com/Joshua-Malsa/Sainfoin-paper.git.; International audience; Alternative strategies to chemical anthelmintics are needed for the sustainable control of equine strongylids. Bioactive forages like sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia ) could contribute to reducing drug use, with the first hints of in vitro activity against cyathostomin free-living stages observed in the past. We analysed the effect of a sainfoin-rich diet on cyathostomin population and the efficacy of oral ivermectin treatment. Two groups of 10 naturally infected horses were enrolled in a 78-day experimental trial. Following a 1-week adaptation period, they were either fed with dehydrated sainfoin pellets (70% of their diet dry matter) or with alfalfa pellets (control group) for 21-days. No difference was found between the average fecal egg counts (FECs) of the two groups, but a significantly lower increase in larval development rate was observed for the sainfoin group, at the end of the trial. Quantification of cyathostomin species abundances with an ITS-2-based metabarcoding approach revealed that the sainfoin diet did not affect the nemabiome structure compared to the control diet. Following oral ivermectin treatment of all horses on day 21, the drug concentration was lower in horses fed with sainfoin, and cyathostomin eggs reappeared earlier in that group. Our results demonstrated that short-term consumption of a sainfoin-rich diet does not decrease cyathostomin FEC but seems to slightly reduce larval development. Consumption of dehydrated sainfoin pellets also negatively affected ivermectin pharmacokinetics, underscoring the need to monitor horse feeding regimes when assessing ivermectin efficacy in the field.

While there is increasing evidence of the sustainability benefits of diversified systems in the organic cropping sector, this has been much less investigated with organic livestock farming. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed a sample of 128 European organic multi-species livestock farms located across seven countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland – and covering a large range of livestock species combinations. We recorded 1574 variables as raw data out of which we calculated 107 indicators describing farm structure, management and several sustainability dimensions: resource use efficiency and conservation, animal, land and work productivities, animal and human welfare. After technical validation of the data, we withdrew 26 farms and the database covers 102 farms. This database is well suited to unveil relationships between various dimensions of organic multi-species livestock farm sustainability and their structure and management. It can help reveal sustainable strategies for organic multi-species livestock farming systems and understand levers or barriers to their development.

Transitions to more sustainable livestock production systems are increasingly being considered and scientists suggest to move towards diversified farming systems due to their potential environmental and economic benefits, especially in the organic sector. However, empirical knowledge of multi-species livestock farms, i.e. farms keeping two or more animal species, is lacking. Our objectives were to identify European organic multi-species livestock farms that outperform their peers despite having the same resources and constraints, and characterize their distinctive management principles. We conducted surveys on 102 farms in seven European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland, and we kept 86 farms from the initial sample that had complete data. These farms included 19 different combinations of large ruminants, small ruminants, large and small ruminants, and large ruminants and monogastrics. We implemented a positive deviance approach based on four indicators: land productivity, nitrogen input dependence, nitrogen balance and satisfaction regarding income. Six structurally diverse positive deviant farms were identified with multiple types of livestock combinations represented, and farmland area ranging from 25.3 to 199.3 ha, herd size from 26 to 126.3 livestock units (LU) and total workforce size from 2 to 5 annual worker units (AWU). Most of these farms had high overall autonomy for feed (85-97% against a mean of 75% for the whole sample) by fostering diversity of pastures, crops and livestock and promoting interactions among farm activities in ways (e.g. matter flows, co-grazing, crop rotations including pastures, etc.) that benefited the whole system. Diversity of production activities allowed four out of the six farmers to develop direct selling which was well suited to support their farming strategies oriented towards high autonomy for feed. Diversity was also found besides agricultural production through e.g. agritourism. Some farmers, especially in farms with co-farmers, had found organizational models suited to control their workload and to take free days throughout the year by efficiently planning, distributing, and sharing tasks. This strategy allowed them to save time for networking with other farmers to access to information, support, and equipment. We conducted the first integrated study on European organic multi-species livestock farms and identified key management principles implemented on positive deviant farms. These principles will inform farmers running multi-species livestock farms or transitioning to this model.

International audience; In the frame of an agroecological transition of livestock systems, an evaluation of their diversity and multiperformance is needed. Here, we develop the case of mountain dairy systems. Five multicriteria evaluation tools are described, which are more or less specific for these systems. We analyse their ability to characterize system diversity and the ecological processes on which farm operation is based, along with the ecosystem services they provide. Several types of evaluation are described, from a global diagnosis (DIAG and BOT) to deeper analysis of specific aspects, such as environmental impact (CAP), durability of Cantal AOP farms (LAU) and diagnosis of the forage system (DIAM). Even though they share the common objective of evaluating farm multiperformance and sustainability, these five tools are different in their structure and investigation type. Overall, tools specifically developed for mountain dairy systems lead to a good evaluation of grassland management and diversity. However, they do not consider other aspects, such as animal health and the implication of farmer in the agroecological transition, which are only taken into account by less specific tools. Eventually, the more general tools seem more likely to sustain an agroecological transition and identify sustainable practices. All tools lack the ability to identify and assess animal diversity (intra-herd variability and mixed farming), which should be improved in forthcoming evaluation tools.; Afin d’accompagner la transition agroécologique des systèmes d’élevage, il est nécessaire de disposer d’outils permettant de caractériser leur diversité et d’évaluer ses conséquences sur la multi performance du système. Nous nous intéressons ici à l’évaluation des systèmes laitiers de montagne par cinq outils d’évaluation multicritère, plus ou moins spécifiques de ces systèmes. Nous analysons la capacité de chaque outil à caractériser la diversité intra-exploitation et les processus écologiques sous-jacents à son fonctionnement, et à révéler les services écosystémiques qu’elle fournit. Deux des cinq outils (DIAG et BOT) permettent d’établir un diagnostic global, alors que les trois autres approfondissent des éléments clés du système. Ainsi, l’outil CAP évalue l’impact environnemental des exploitations d’élevage, en particulier leur bilan carbone. Les deux derniers outils (LAU et DIAM) sont propres aux systèmes laitiers de montagne, l’un évaluant la durabilité environnementale des exploitations de la filière Cantal AOP, l’autre permettant un diagnostic multifonctionnel du système fourrager. Malgré un objectif commun d’évaluer la durabilité des systèmes d’élevage, ces outils présentent donc une diversité d’approches et de modalités d’évaluation. Les outils dédiés aux systèmes laitiers de montagne permettent de bien évaluer la gestion de la ressource en herbe, la diversité des prairies, et établissent un lien avec des éléments-clés de valorisation de ces systèmes, les services écosystémiques qu’ils fournissent et la qualité sensorielle et nutritionnelle des produits. Ils laissent cependant de côté d’autres aspects, tels que la santé des animaux ou l’engagement des éleveurs dans la transition agroécologique, qui sont pris en compte par les outils moins spécifiques. Ce sont finalement ces outils globaux qui semblent les plus à même de traduire la logique de reconception des systèmes agroécologiques. Toutefois, la caractérisation de la diversité animale reste limitée dans tous les outils que nous avons analysés, qu’il s’agisse de la variabilité intra-troupeau, de la mixité d’espèces ou de la diversification des produits, et il s’agira d’y remédier dans les futurs outils d’évaluation.

Organic farming relies on ecological processes to replace chemical inputs, and organic farmers have developed various strategies, including several forms of diversification, to remain viable. Herein, we hypothesized that diversified organic farming systems can enhance their performance by increasing the level of interactions between system components. We therefore performed an ecological network analysis to characterize both within-farm and farm-environment interactions. Flows were expressed on an annual basis according to the quantity of biomass exchanges multiplied by nitrogen content. Seventeen organic farms were surveyed in French grassland areas, each associating beef cattle with either sheep, pigs, or poultry. The ecological network analysis was then coupled with the assessment of farm economic, environmental, and social performances. A hierarchical clustering on principal components distinguished five groups of farms based on farm and herd size, presence of monogastrics, percentage of crops in the farm area, and system activity indicators. A large farm size, in terms of area or number of workers, can limit the implementation of a homogeneous flow network within the system. A higher level of within-system interactions did not lead to better farm economic, environmental, and social performances. Systems with large monogastric production enterprises were highly dependent on inputs, which led to less homogeneous flow networks and a poor farm nitrogen balance without gaining economic efficiency. Managing a complex system with a dense and complex flow network did not appear to increase farmers’ mental workload. To our knowledge, this study is the first to quantify farm-scale interactions using ecological network indicators in temperate livestock farms and to analyze the links between farm performance and operating processes. The ecological network analysis thus potentially provides a common framework for comparing a wide range of livestock farms. Given the variability of multispecies livestock farms, a larger database will be used to extend our conclusions.

International audience; Purpose: Knowledge Sharing (KS) is seen as a promising framework for renewing advisory systems in agriculture, but its practical application remains an important area of research. In particular, it is important to increase the motivation of farmers to participate in decision-making. Game-based support seems to be applicable to a long-term process of KS.Approach: The authors spent one year developing a methodology to help identify a common vision among multiple stakeholders in a PDO area. This area of cheese production (Fourme de Montbrison) faces important difficulties with sustainability issues and a very low degree of farmer participation. The methodology is based on game learning and incorporates three phases and six steps and is centred on two serious games.Findings: Results present an analysis of the farmers’ participation and the common vision for the future that the game-based methodology enabled us to identify. The games facilitated the farmers’ implication in collective decision-making and their continued engagement afterwards.Practical implications: the article discusses the advantages of the game-based methodology, such as involving local knowledge of farmers at all stages and encouraging their long-term engagement in collective decision-making.Theoretical implications: the article complements the existing scientific literature on KS by emphasizing the importance of long-term perspectives in a game-based learning approach. From a socio-constructivist perspective, it also highlights the potential of game-based learning to motivate farmers in collective decision-making.Originality/value: This support methodology could be a source of inspiration for extension actors facing similar development problems and the revitalization of their role as facilitators.

International audience; L’élevage européen est ancré dans des territoires aux caractéristiques pédoclimatiques contrastées et produit des denrées alimentaires diversifiées. Le cadre conceptuel des bouquets de services permet de considérer la coexistence d’effets positifs et négatifs de l’élevage qui s’expriment à un instant donné sur un territoire. L’augmentation d’un service impliquant en général la diminution d’autres, ce cadre permet d’identifier les compromis à considérer au sein des territoires.Nous utilisons ici un mode de représentation synthétique des bouquets de services, la Grange, pour comparer deux territoires contrastés, un territoire à haute densité animale la Bretagne et un territoire herbager le Massif central. Les territoires à haute densité animale se caractérisent par une production élevée par unité de surface et par unité de travail, avec un recours important à des intrants, en particulier pour l’alimentation des animaux. Ces systèmes sont aujourd’hui remis en cause par nombre de nos concitoyens, mais jouissent encore d’une acceptabilité sociale élevée dans leur territoire en raison des emplois créés et de l’inscription de l’élevage dans le patrimoine culturel local. Les cartographies de services révèlent les effets du système dominant mais ne prennent pas en compte l’effet de systèmes de niche, dont les contributions positives sont souvent masquées. L’exemple des systèmes laitiers bas-intrants du réseau des CIVAM montre que ces exploitations plus herbagères et moins intensives ont des émissions nettes de gaz à effet de serre plus faibles par litre de lait, et une marge brute plus élevée qu’en système conventionnel. Dans les territoires herbagers de moyenne montagne, les niveaux de production par unité de surface sont plus faibles, mais l’activité d’élevage est associée à une forte expression des services de qualité environnementale et à certains services culturels (paysages patrimoniaux, produits de qualité). La compréhension du fonctionnement de l’écosystème prairial permet d’accroitre la biodiversité prairiale sans pénaliser les niveaux de production. La diversification des productions, par exemple au travers de la mixité d’espèces,permet aussi de réduire les achats d’aliments et la charge parasitaire des animaux, ce qui présente un double intérêt économique et environnemental. Pour s’organiser, les éleveurs mixtes peuvent s’appuyer sur la différence de demande en terme de travail entre les deux ateliers animaux, sur la possibilité de mieux répartir le travail durant l’année en articulant les périodes de mise bas, ou encore sur la polyvalence du collectif de travail. Pour conclure, nous montrons comment le cadre que nous avons développé pour représenter les services et impacts de l’élevage a depuis été utilisé sous forme d’un «jeu sérieux» pour favoriser ledialogueentreles éleveurs et les différents acteurs et habitants de leur territoire.

International audience; Grassland management impacts ecosystem functioning and is critical for livestock production and biodiversity conservation. Decreasing the stocking rate usually benefits biodiversity but also decreases production per unit area. Here, we assessed the combined effects of cattle herd and pasture size on sward structure, diet quality and daily grazing time while maintaining a constant stocking rate. The experiment was conducted over four successive years in two blocks of a species-rich upland grassland that was continuously grazed for 5 months between May and October. Each block consisted of one 3-ha pasture that was grazed by a group of three heifers, one 9-ha pasture grazed by nine heifers, and one 27-ha pasture grazed by 27 heifers. The grazed patches were discriminated using a mathematical model that for each point gave a probability of being grazed based on sward height and spatial dependence. Heifers created fewer patches and had less control over sward height in the smallest (3-ha) plots, while no difference was found between the 9- and 27-ha plots. The small heifer groups also had the shortest daily grazing time. These observations point out a risk that animal impacts on sward structure could be partly missed in grazing experiments conducted with very small groups. Estimated diet quality was unaffected by pasture size. Patch stability was frequent between two successive years but we observed a decrease in interannual patch stability as time intervals increase. Such observations are useful for calibrating spatial interaction models combining foraging behaviour and vegetation dynamics rules and enhance their predictive ability.

International audience; Grazing plays a key role in reducing the external inputs required for ruminant production and in alleviating feed-food competition. Beyond the production of meat and milk, grassland-based systems provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Agroecology and organic farming aim to reconcile natural resource management and food production, in the long term, based on the management of ecological processes. In this perspective paper, we report what we have learned from case studies with beef cattle, sheep, and dairy cattle across Uruguay and western Europe, in which we have been involved. Multicriteria methods, such as Pareto frontiers and positive deviances, were used to analyze trade-offs and identify win-wins from farm surveys. Long-term farm networks coupled with bioeconomic optimization models revealed fluctuations in farm income and allowed estimating system resilience. Extensive farmlet experiments made it possible to integrate knowledge on animal physiology and grassland ecology in the system redesign process and to test for innovative and risky management options that could lead to unacceptable learning costs in commercial farms. Finally, learning from farmers' local knowledge in teams with researchers and technical advisers can provide positive changes in grazing systems. In Uruguayan family farms, for example, the scientific knowledge gained from farmlet experiments led to advice on management options based on farm-specific diagnosis. Farmers adapted the proposals, with researchers supporting the processes by providing quantitative information on consequences and spaces for reflection. In a French cheese production area, the focus was on farmers' own experience. Games facilitated interactions as participants could challenge each other's reasoning and conclusions in a safe environment. These two case studies illustrate the diversity of co-innovation approaches, but in both cases knowledge sharing between researchers, farmers, and other stakeholders appeared more efficient to help farmers understand and adapt their own system properties than researching "best practice" solutions for large-scale transfer.

International audience; Dans le cadre du projet de recherche PSDR 4 New-DEAL, nous analysons les situations où coexistent plusieurs ateliers de production d’herbivores avec ou sans cultures dans une même exploitation. La région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes est un territoire pertinent pour traiter de cette question puisque 39% des élevages de ruminants ont plusieurs ateliers. L’analyse croisée de ces systèmes renseigne sur les pratiques des éleveurs et en quoi elles limitent les intrants et permettent d’adapter les systèmes à des aléas économiques ou climatiques, en révélant ce qui est propre à une combinaison ou transversal à plusieurs. Les différents travaux de recherche réalisés apportent des références nouvelles à plusieurs échelles et révèle des logiques de fonctionnement variées des systèmes d’élevage herbivores diversifiés. La réduction des intrants, mise en évidence dans plusieurs des systèmes étudiés, est un levier clé de leur multi-performance. L’intégration culture-élevage réduit les charges opérationnelles des deux ateliers, et les fluctuations interannuelles de l’atelier cultures. Les systèmes mixtes herbagers bénéficient d’une meilleure valorisation de l’herbe qui réduit le recours aux aliments concentrés et à la fertilisation minérale, et d’une dilution de la charge parasitaire des animaux qui pourrait réduire le recours aux anthelminthiques. En plus d’accroître les performances économiques des exploitations et de bénéficier indirectement à leurs performances environnementales, la mixité d’espèces et d’orientations productives au sein d’une même exploitation permet d’adapter les systèmes herbagers à des aléas économiques et climatiques. Au-delà de la diversification des produits commercialisés et d’une meilleure valorisation des prairies et estives en systèmes mixtes, la mixité ovins-bovins peut ainsi permettre un meilleur étalement du travail durant la campagne annuelle et accroître la satisfaction au travail des éleveurs en générant un travail moins routinier. Ces références renforcent la connaissance et la visibilité de ces systèmes. En mettant en lumière leurs spécificités, nos résultats appellent à mieux les intégrer dans la formation, l’accompagnement et les politiques agricoles.

The sustainability of livestock systems can be assessed through their productive and environmental performance, the ecosystem services they provide or their resilience to hazards. We used a modelling approach to assess how key economic performance indicators respond to technical and market hazards in five different meat-sheep farms, across France and Ireland. Hazards were related to seven technical or economic variables: ewe fertility, prolificacy, lamb mortality, prices of light and heavy lambs, concentrate use and energy use. We used a mechanistic model to simulate farm functioning and assess farm performance over 3000 iterations, based on simultaneous random draws with hazards to the previously mentioned seven variables. We quantified this way (i) the compensatory effects of different types of technical and economic mechanisms that lead to more stable economic performance and (ii) the probability of economic collapse of meat-sheep farms through a diachronic analysis. We showed that variations in technical variables have larger effects on income variability than variations in economic variables. We also showed that the most resilient systems, i.e. those with the lowest coefficient of variation of net income, are those that combine a low level of inputs with at least two lambing periods per year. Short duration of pregnancy in ewes makes multiperiod lambing possible, which can buffer the variability of technical variables and enhance the adaptive capability of the system by offering the possibility to move empty ewes to a new batch for re-mating. We thus analysed for the first time farm economic resilience to combined technical and economic hazards, and highlighted the buffer and adaptive mechanisms of resilience, with a mechanistic model.

International audience; Animal production systems (APSs) have long been transformed through intensification, specialization and geographical concentration, leading them to become major anthropogenic drivers of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Agroecology, organic farming and sustainable intensification have been proposed as alternative models to invert those trends. Diversity is highly valued in agroecology and organic farming, in which it is assumed not only to increase farm performance but also to strengthen farm resilience. Here, we examine how the diversity of system components and interactions among these components can increase productivity, resource-use efficiency and farm resilience in aquaculture, rabbit, monogastric and ruminant systems. In doing so, we reveal that the same processes can occur in very different systems. For instance, the higher performance of multi-species aquaculture or ruminant grazing systems results from (i) the complementary feeding habits of animal species that exploit resources from different ecological niches more efficiently; and (ii) facilitation or competitive exclusion, which results in a species increasing or decreasing resource availability for another species. The benefits of diversity are observed not only in relatively extensive systems but also in intensive indoor systems. For instance, genetic diversity is associated with herd and social immunity in rabbit production, while trade-offs between life functions play a major role in dairy herd performance. In the last section, we discuss how management options nested in system component diversity and their interactions can enhance system resilience. Strategic and tactical management of APS diversity can promote farm buffering and adaptive capabilities, respectively, via the abovementioned processes. By stabilizing the farm financial situation and facilitating access to short supply channels, transformative changes, such as a diversification of the animal species bred or development of a processing enterprise on farm, expand options for increasing the resilience of APSs to market price fluctuations and climatic shocks. However, the need for new technical skills and sometimes high initial investments can act as strong inhibitors of farm diversification. We conclude with a description of some of the research or action that is needed for these principles to be more widely implemented in commercial farms.

International audience; Diversified farming systems are proposed as a major mechanism to address the many sustainability issues of today's agriculture. Multi-species livestock farming, i.e. keeping two or more animal species simultaneously on the same farm, is an option that has received little attention to date. Moreover, most studies of multi-species livestock farming are limited, usually focusing on selected dimensions of farm sustainability and addressing lower organizational levels (i.e. within the farm) and rather limited time horizons (e.g. a few weeks in a grazing season). Thus, a comprehensive assessment of multi-species livestock farming in terms of farm sustainability is lacking. In this context, we outline and discuss potential benefits and limitations of multi-species livestock farming for livestock farm sustainability from existing literature and list issues on multi-species livestock farming requiring further research. We show that multi-species livestock farming has the potential to improve the three dimensions of sustainability reviewed - economic viability for farmers, environmental soundness and social acceptability by being respectful of animals and humans - as long as locally relevant farming practices are implemented, especially an appropriate stocking rate during grazing. If relevant practices are not observed, multi-species livestock farming may produce undesirable effects, such as competition for resource acquisition during grazing, parasitic cross-infection and more intense work peaks. Therefore, we identify four focal research areas for multi-species livestock farming. First, characterizing the management of multi-species livestock farms. To do this, we suggest considering the integration of production enterprises (e.g. cattle and sheep enterprises) within the farm from three perspectives: farming practices (e.g. grazing management), work organization and sales. Second, exploring the complementarity of livestock species on multi-species livestock farms. This is especially true for species combinations that have been largely ignored (e.g. ruminants and monogastrics), even though they may have potential due to complementary diet compositions and resource-acquisition strategies. Third, assessing the sustainability of multi-species livestock farm scenarios (current or alternative) according to the management practices and production conditions, which requires adapting existing methods/models or developing new ones. Fourth, characterizing conditions for success and obstacles for multi-species livestock farming along the value chain from production to consumption, considering stakeholders' objectives, work habits and constraints. Increasing understanding should help prioritize actions and organize them to scale up multi-species livestock farming.

Pour en savoir plus : https://www.psdr4-auvergne.fr/; -Understanding benefits of herbivore farming system diversityIn the last decades, the market context has increased the specialization of livestock farming systems and production areas. However, in the Auvergne region, ruminant production areas still display high levels of diversification as the result of history and contrasted pedoclimatic conditions. Among agroecological principles, it has been assumed that incorporating diversity into livestock farming systems could increase their multiperformance and enhance their resilience. Technical references are however still missing. Research-development project New-DEAL (2015-2020) provided technical and organizational knowledge on/for multi-species grassland-based systems and integrated crop-livestock systems. Research was conducted across spatial scales, from territory to system components (herd, resources and work organization), with a focus on fodder autonomy and system resilience. Various stakeholders were associated to this research: (i) extension agents that provide technical advice to farmers, (ii) teachers of farmer students, and (iii) organizations involved in territorial governance that define local agricultural policies. Two territories underwent extensive analyses: Bocage-Bourbonnais (03) where there is a high occurrence of beef-sheep, beef-saddle horse and beef-crop systems, and Pays de Saint-Flour where multi-species herbivore systems coexist with beef-dairy cattle systems.-A key role of farmer and consumer surveys in our researchIndividual surveys were conducted with farmers, consumers, and extension and supply-chain agents. These surveys provided quantitative and qualitative information at territory, supply-chain, system and herd levels. At territory scale, we applied the model of territorialized complex goods (or baskets of goods and services) to local consumption. Bundles of services were first analyzed based on previous reports and expert surveys (animal scientists, economists, local stakeholders). More than 120 consumers from these two territories were then directly surveyed for their revealed preferences and willingness to pay for local products. Novelty of our work is that we focused on consumers from rural areas, while most previous studies had investigated preferences of urban consumers. A total of 180 farms surveys were also conducted across the main diversified and specialized herbivore farming systems of Auvergne region. The same number of more focused surveys were sent by post or collected online. We also used a bioeconomic optimization model to provide further economic outputs and explore system resilence to market hazards. Two pluri-annual experiments were conducted at INRAE and IFCE facilities to test for the underlying mechanisms of mixed cattle-sheep and cattle-horse grazing. Finally, six cover crop species were characterized as alternative forages for ruminants. -Key scientific resultsSeveral major specificies were highlighted by consumer surveys in both territories: (i) an average basket consisting of a mixture of beef, pork and vegetable, and (ii) a willingness to pay for these products that was more related to territorial vitality, than to the landscape amenities provided by livestock farming. Mixed herbivore and crop-livestock systems were usually larger, for farm and herd size, than specialized systems of the same area. Enlargement of farm area led to a significant increase in equipments and may simplify herd and pasture management. However, a strong reduction of inputs in mixed-grazing and crop-livestock systems was shown to result from a better utilization of grasslands and dilution of parasite burden in mixed grazing systems. Mixed herbivore systems also had enhanced buffer and adaptive capabilities, and so resilience, thanks to opportunities related to housing facilities, animal feeding management and work organization.-Key valorization initiativesA set of 26 synthetic and illustrated support were produced that summarize our main results at different scales. They are ready to be disseminated to non-academic actors in paper and electronic form. Some began to be on social media. Outputs from New-DEAL have already been introduced in initial and adult teachings. The Community of Communes of Bocage Bourbonnais has relied on some of our work to develop its projects. The results of the project are also valued thanks to partnerships committed beyond New-DEAL partners.-Scientific publicationsA total of eight scientific papers (+ five others that have been submitted) have been published, to which add 16 communications in national or international conferences. These go beyond the classical audience interested in livestock farming systems. A number of technical communications were made in direction to farmers, extension agents, and sometimes a broader audience. Finally, one PhD and 16 Master reports were based on the research carried out in New-DEAL.; -Comprendre les atouts de la diversification des systèmes d’élevage herbivoresDans un contexte global qui a longtemps favorisé la spécialisation des systèmes et des territoires, les systèmes d’élevage d’herbivores conservent en Auvergne des productions variées du fait de la géographie et de l’histoire régionale. La transition agroécologique met en avant la diversification des systèmes d’élevage comme un des leviers pouvant répondre aux enjeux productifs, environnementaux et sociaux qui sont les leurs. Les références techniques et organisationnelles manquent pourtant. Le projet new-DEAL (2015-2020) visait à produire de telles références à des niveaux d’analyse allant du territoire jusqu’aux troupeaux, prairies et collectifs de travail qui constituent ces systèmes, afin d’accroitre la résilience et l’autonomie des élevages d’herbivores par leur diversification. Pour cela, un partenariat a été noué avec trois types d’acteurs indispensables pour développer des politiques agricoles territorialisées : les chambres d’agriculture qui accompagnent les agriculteurs et peuvent jouer sur les décisions de diversification, les lycées agricoles qui forment les agriculteurs de demain, et les collectivités territoriales qui développent leur stratégie agricole localement. Deux territoires ont fait l’objet d’analyses approfondies : le Bocage Bourbonnais (03) avec des élevages bovins-ovins viande, bovins-équins et des polyculteurs-viande, et le Pays de Saint-Flour (15) dans lequel on rencontre également des élevages bovins à orientation lait et viande. -Une démarche largement basée sur des enquêtes en exploitations ou auprès des consommateursL’approche par enquête individuelle (auprès d’experts locaux, d’éleveurs, de consommateurs), associant la collecte d’informations quantitatives et qualitatives, a été utilisée à différentes échelles d’analyse (territoire, système d’exploitation, filière, gestion du troupeau). A l’échelle du territoire, l'appréciation de la rente associée à la diversité de l’élevage local s’est faite en deux temps : l’identification des « bouquets d'aménités » associés à l’élevage à partir de l’analyse de documents et d’entretiens auprès d’experts zootechniciens, économistes, etc. ; l’évaluation, par une centaine de consommateurs interrogés dans les deux terrains, du consentement à payer pour différents paniers de produits issus du territoire. L’originalité est ici de questionner des consommateurs des petites villes alors que beaucoup de travaux antérieurs privilégiaient des citadins. Au total, 180 enquêtes en exploitations ont été réalisées dans les principaux systèmes d’élevage d’herbivores mixtes et spécialisés de la région, complétées par autant d’enquêtes postales ou par voie électronique. Un modèle d’optimisation sous contrainte complète l’analyse économique et permet de simuler la résilience des exploitations à des aléas du marché. Deux dispositifs pluri-annuels ont été suivis à INRAE et la station expérimentale de l’IFCE pour tester les hypothèses sous-jacentes aux atouts de la mixité bovins-ovins et bovins-équins. Six espèces de cultures dérobées ont été implantées à INRAE et à l’EPL de Moulins pour analyser leur valeur alimentaire pour les ruminants.-Résultats scientifiques majeurs du projetDans les deux terrains enquêtés, le comportement d’achat des consommateurs pour la viande provenant des élevages du territoire est motivé en premier lieu par la volonté de préserver l’emploi local. La présence d’un signe officiel de qualité pour un des produits du panier accroit le consentement à payer du consommateur. Dans toutes les filières analysées, les exploitations diversifiées sont en moyenne plus grandes que les exploitations spécialisées. La taille des collectifs de travail n’augmente pas proportionnellement à la taille des structures, ce qui entraîne de forts besoins d’équipements et un risque de simplification des pratiques. Toutefois, une réduction importante des intrants est envisageable dans ces exploitations grâce à une meilleure valorisation de l’herbe en pâturage mixte et du fait de la dilution de la charge parasitaire des animaux. La mixité d’espèces accroit aussi les capacités d’adaptation des éleveurs notamment pour la gestion des investissements, des pics de travail, et face aux évolutions du marché.-Principaux résultats de valorisationUn jeu de vingt-six fiches synthétiques et illustrées présente nos principaux résultats à différentes échelles d’analyse. Elles sont prêtes à être diffusées en direction des acteurs non-académiques sous forme papier et électronique. Certaines ont commencé à l’être sur les réseaux sociaux. L’EPL de Saint-Flour a intégré la thématique et la présentation des principaux résultats de New-DEAL dans des enseignements initiaux et pour adultes, et plusieurs chercheurs l’ont également fait dans leurs cours à AgroSup Dijon, VetAgro Sup, l’ISARA, ou à l’école chercheur agroécologie Agreenium-WUR. La Communauté de Communes du Bocage Bourbonnais s’est appuyée sur certains de nos travaux pour développer ses projets. La valorisation des résultats du projet se fait aussi grâce aux partenariats engagés au-delà du cercle des partenaires de New-DEAL : coopératives de commercialisation des produits ovins et bovins, Cantal Contrôle Elevage et Allier Conseil Elevage, Fédération des Eleveurs de Chevaux de Trait du Massif Central, etc.-Production scientifiqueLes résultats des recherches effectuées ont d’ores et déjà donné lieu à une valorisation scientifique par huit publications dans des revues à comité de lecture (+ 5 soumises) et 16 communications à des congrès nationaux ou internationaux dans des sphères non limitées au monde de l’élevage. Nous avons déjà fait plusieurs présentations au Sommet de l’Elevage, au SPACE, etc., ainsi que des interventions « grand public » (Nuit de l’agroécologie, etc.). Une thèse sur la mixité entre bovins allaitants et chevaux de selle a été soutenue, et 16 étudiants ingénieur ont finalisé leur formation dans le cadre du projet. Le projet PSDR4 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes new-DEAL (2015-2020) a été structuré et est porté scientifiquement par deux UMR clermontoises fortement investies dans l’étude des élevages d’herbivores et de leurs territoires. Il s’est appuyé sur un partenariat non-académique agricole et territorial.

Ce document est constitué de 30 fiches - résultats sur la diversité de l'élevage intra-territoire et intra-exploitation.

L’elevage de ruminants presente une forte diversite inter-exploitation dans la region Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (AuRA). La diversite des ateliers et des produits intra-exploitation permet de faire face aux aleas du marche. Afin de mieux caracteriser cette diversite de l’elevage a deux echelles, les auteurs mobilisent la typologie d’exploitations Inosys. Il en ressort que 39 % des elevages de ruminants ont plusieurs ateliers et que la majorite des elevages dits « specialises » vendent plusieurs produits. La diversite inter- et intra-exploitation est aussi inegalement repartie en montagne qu’en plaine.

Dans cet article, nous analysons trois territoires à haute densité animale, différentiés par le contexte de production (densité et diversité des élevages), la sensibilité des milieux et les choix stratégiques et technologiques mis en oeuvre pour la gestion des effluents : i) la Bretagne, un territoire de polyculture-polyélevage avec une forte densité d'élevages et des zones particulièrement sensibles sur le plan environnemental, ii) l'Allemagne, avec la particularité d'un très fort développement de la méthanisation à des fins de production d'énergie renouvelable et iii) la Catalogne, un territoire marqué par un développement récent et très rapide de la production porcine dans un milieu où les surfaces agricoles disponibles pour l'épandage sont limitées. Ces systèmes se caractérisent par une production élevée par unité de surface et par unité de travail, à des coûts relativement bas, avec un recours important à des intrants, principalement pour l’alimentation des animaux. Malgré des progrès significatifs, les impacts environnementaux locaux, eutrophisation et acidification, constituent une limite importante dans ces systèmes. À l'inverse, les impacts globaux, comme l'émission de gaz à effet de serre sont faibles par unité de produit, compte tenu du type d'élevage et de l'intensité de production. Ils sont encore réduits avec la méthanisation. Ces systèmes font face à une remise en cause du modèle socio-économique dans lequel ils s’inscrivent avec des questions autour de la faible rémunération des éleveurs et du bien-être animal. Différents leviers d'action spécifiques à ces territoires à haute densité animale ont été identifiés pour mieux gérer les compromis entre les différents services.

L’élevage dans les espaces urbains et périurbains trouve actuellement un net regain d’intérêt en Europe du fait de l’intérêt croissant des consommateurs autour du « produire local » et du besoin de « nature » des citadins. Notre objectif est ici de synthétiser une littérature souvent fragmentaire et de structurer cette analyse grâce au cadre des bouquets de services. Pour les espaces périurbains, la littérature scientifique traite en priorité des enjeux d’aménagement pour répondre à l’approvisionnement alimentaire des villes. L’élevage en ville est bien moins étudié, ce qui nous a conduits à utiliser quelques travaux hors Europe et à consulter les sites internet de communautés urbaines et des sites associatifs. Les bouquets de services rendus par l’élevage et les freins à son développement sont très différents entre ces deux types d’espaces. Dans les villes d’Europe de l’Ouest le service d’approvisionnement reste minoritaire. La réintroduction des animaux en ville est largement motivée par une volonté de créer du lien social et constitue un facteur de réinsertion et d’éducation des citadins vis-à-vis de l’origine des produits qu’ils consomment. Les principaux freins sont liés aux nuisances et aux risques épidémiologiques occasionnés par les animaux. Dans les espaces périurbains, la contribution de l’élevage au service d’approvisionnement est plus importante et dynamisée par la vente directe. L’élevage d’herbivores maintient des prairies qui fournissent différents services de régulation et répondent aux attentes des citadins pour des espaces récréatifs à proximité immédiate des villes. Le développement de l’élevage est principalement contraint par la forte pression foncière qui s’exerce sur ces espaces. Nous concluons en proposant quelques pistes de recherches.

Les zones herbagères de moyenne et de haute montagne fournissent un bouquet de services équilibré qui comprend des services d’approvisionnement (produits de qualité et disposant d’une bonne image auprès des consommateurs), des services environnementaux et de vitalité territoriale. Afin d’expliciter les déterminants de cette diversité, quatre études de cas ont été retenues à des échelles géographiques différentes : AOP Cantal et Laguiole dans le Massif central, région de Franche-Comté, alpages suisses. Une même grille d’analyse a été appliquée à chacune de ces études de cas. Le contexte qui conduit à la situation actuelle est présenté dans une perspective historique, avant que soient analysés leurs principaux services d’approvisionnement, environnementaux et de vitalité territoriale. Chaque étude de cas est synthétisée par une formalisation inspirée d’une analyse en termes de système socio-écologique. Nous discutons par la suite des leviers permettant de mieux concilier les performances productives, environnementales et sociales de l’élevage dans ces territoires. Un levier biotechnique majeur est la recherche d’autonomie fourragère qui permet de réduire les coûts de production tout en bénéficiant à la qualité nutritionnelle des laits et des fromages. Il existe par ailleurs des liens forts entre la nature de la gouvernance des filières et le bouquet de services fournis. Une gouvernance territoriale de filières crée de la valeur en valorisant les ressources locales, et en régulant le système de production par des organisations dédiées ; elle bénéficie conjointement aux services de vitalité territoriale et de qualité de l’environnement. A l’inverse, une gouvernance sectorielle apparait moins favorable. Le développement de formes hybrides de gouvernance (par exemple alimentaire territoriale) constitue l’un des leviers importants.

Cet article propose une typologie qui décrit la diversité des territoires d’élevage européens, en s’appuyant sur deux critères simples et disponibles : la part des prairies permanentes dans la surface agricole utile (SAU) et la densité animale exprimée en Unité de Gros Bétail (UGB) par hectare de SAU. Appliquée aux données de l’Enquête sur la Structure des Exploitations Agricoles, cette typologie distingue six types de territoires d’élevage, que nous avons projeté sur une carte de l’Union européenne. En utilisant les données du Réseau d’Information Comptable Agricole (RICA), nous mettons en évidence la forte diversité des exploitations européennes d’élevage (en termes de structures, de niveau d’intensification, de productivité, de dépendance aux aides directes…) entre territoires et au sein de chacun d’eux. Ce travail apporte des éléments de cadrage aux autres articles publiés dans ce même numéro de la revue et ciblés sur des territoires ou des types d’élevage particuliers.

L’élevage et les produits animaux sont souvent examinés par domaine (environnement, économie) ou par niveau d’organisation (exploitation agricole, filière, territoire, pays) si bien qu’il est difficile d’évaluer simultanément la diversité des services et impacts issus de l’élevage dans les territoires. En cohérence avec la littérature scientifique sur les systèmes socio-écologiques, nous avons représenté l’élevage et ses produits à l’interaction de trois systèmes (écologique, technique et social). Ceci permet d’identifier la diversité des facteurs (interactions biotiques, pratiques, modes d’organisation) à l’origine des impacts et des services rendus par l’élevage. Nous en avons ensuite dérivé une représentation simplifiée, « la grange » qui permet de visualiser l’élevage (l’usage des terres, les animaux…) et ses impacts ou services sur cinq interfaces (les intrants, l’environnement et le climat, les marchés, le travail et l’emploi, et les enjeux sociaux et culturels), et les synergies/antagonismes entre services au sein d’un territoire. Nous définissons ensuite différentes formes d’élevage afin de représenter la diversité de l’élevage entre territoires, et d’identifier différentes voies d’innovation pour augmenter ses services et réduire ses impacts. Celles-ci se distinguent par l’insertion des élevages dans les systèmes alimentaires (mondialisés vs territorialisés), ainsi que par l’autonomie en intrants pour l’alimentation des animaux. Cette classification est mobilisée pour introduire les différents cas d’études analysés dans ce numéro spécial.

International audience; How easily can we obtain optimal trade-offs between conflicting ecosystem services (ES)? We studied this question by crossing metrics of optimality and robustness in a model simulating sheep/cattle mixed-grazing (mixed-grazing is grazing by more than one species). We hypothesized that mixed-grazing processes (complementary use of vegetation and parasitism reduction) would improve ES bundles by increasing meat production with limited additional environmental costs. We assessed bundle optimality with a production possibility frontier and robustness through a management density approach (bundles can be obtained by one or several management decisions). We modeled two provisioning and two regulating ESs and confirmed that mixed-grazing can potentially improve the monetary value of bundles. Optimal bundles were the most robust, because of the shape of the biological function driving animal growth, according to the sheep/cattle ratio. This function is humpshaped with a plateau that buffers small ratio deviations. It makes bundles optimal or quasi-optimal over a wide range of management decisions, which eases their optimization. For this reason, based on the principles of ergonomics and the definition of the adjective operable ('capable of being put into use, operation, or practice'), we considered mixed-grazing a 'Biologically Operable' practice.

International audience; Plusieurs travaux réalisés dans le cadre du projet PSDR New-DEAL apportent des connaissances sur la diversité de l’élevaged’herbivores. Une analyse de cette diversité en Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes à partir de la typologie Inosys révèle des imbricationsmultiples des principaux types de productions d’herbivores dans les territoires de la région (Rapey et al., 2018). Près de lamoitié des effectifs d’herbivores (46% des UGB) se trouvent dans des exploitations diversifiées en terme d’espèces animales(bovins-ovins) ou d’orientation des productions (bovins viande-bovins lait). Ces exploitations sont fréquentes autour desprincipaux bassins de production laitiers et de broutards de la région. Des enquêtes dans des exploitations d’élevageassociant deux espèces animales ont été réalisées dans le Bocage Bourbonnais (03) et le Pays de Saint-Flour (15)et montrent les opportunités permises par la mixité d’espèces et les freins à son développement.

This paper presents the support system that was developed by the authors in collaboration with the actors (dairy farmers and processors) of the Fourme de Montbrison PDO cheese. The article illustrates the usefulness of Knowledge and Experiences Sharing (KES) in deconstructing worldviews, and as a central vehicle for elaborated support. We address the difficulty of overcoming ingrained patterns of thinking that hinder collaboration in a collective effort. The description of the support provided reviews the different steps taken to create a common strategy among the actors in order to collectively develop a shared strategy for the future. Finally, the article discusses the perspectives that this process presents in terms of support for agricultural collectives and its theoretical and epistemic implications.

Pourquoi et comment évaluer les services rendus par les productions avicoles ?. 13èmes Journées de la Recherche Avicole et Palmipèdes à Foie Gras

Data used to propose a typology of European livestock production areas in Figure 2 are available online at https://doi.org/10.15454/O78MYF (Dumont et al., 2018). No software was generated at part of the outcomes of this literature review.; International audience; Livestock is a major driver in most rural landscapes and economics, but it also polarises debate over its environmental impacts, animal welfare and human health. Conversely, the various services that livestock farming systems provide to society are often overlooked and have rarely been quantified. The aim of analysing bundles of services is to chart the coexistence and interactions between the various services and impacts provided by livestock farming, and to identify sets of ecosystem services (ES) that appear together repeatedly across sites and through time. We review three types of approaches that analyse associations among impacts and services from local to global scales: (i) detecting ES associations at system or landscape scale, (ii) identifying and mapping bundles of ES and impacts and (iii) exploring potential drivers using prospective scenarios. At a local scale, farming practices interact with landscape heterogeneity in a multi-scale process to shape grassland biodiversity and ES. Production and various ES provided by grasslands to farmers, such as soil fertility, biological regulations and erosion control, benefit to some extent from the functional diversity of grassland species, and length of pasture phase in the crop rotation. Mapping ES from the landscape up to the EU-wide scale reveals a frequent trade-off between livestock production on one side and regulating and cultural services on the other. Maps allow the identification of target areas with higher ecological value or greater sensitivity to risks. Using two key factors (livestock density and the proportion of permanent grassland within utilised agricultural area), we identified six types of European livestock production areas characterised by contrasted bundles of services and impacts. Livestock management also appeared to be a key driver of bundles of services in prospective scenarios. These scenarios simulate a breakaway from current production, legislation (e.g. the use of food waste to fatten pigs) and consumption trends (e.g. halving animal protein consumption across Europe). Overall, strategies that combine a reduction of inputs, of the use of crops from arable land to feed livestock, of food waste and of meat consumption deliver a more sustainable food future. Livestock as part of this sustainable future requires further enhancement, quantification and communication of the services provided by livestock farming to society, which calls for the following: (i) a better targeting of public support, (ii) more precise quantification of bundles of services and (iii) better information to consumers and assessment of their willingness to pay for these services.

Livestock farming is criticized for negatively impacting the environment, concerns about animal welfare and the impact of excessive meat consumption on human health. However, livestock farming provides other underappreciated and poorly communicated benefits to society in terms of employment, product quality, cultural landscapes and carbon storage by grasslands. Few attempts have been made so far to simultaneously consider the services and impacts provided by livestock production. Here, we propose an integrated graphical tool, called the ‘barn’ to explicitly summarize the synergies and trade-offs between services and impacts provided by livestock farming. It illustrates livestock farming interacting with its physical, economic and social environment along five interfaces: (i) Markets, (ii) Work and employment, (iii) Inputs, (iv) Environment and climate, (v) Social and cultural factors. This graphical tool was then applied by comparing two contrasting livestock production areas (high livestock density v. grassland-based), and the dominant v. a niche system within a crop-livestock area. We showed the barn could be used for cross-comparisons of services and impacts across livestock production areas, and for multi-level analysis of services and impacts of livestock farming within a given area. The barn graphically summarizes the ecological and socio-economic aspects of livestock farming by explicitly representing multiple services and impacts of different systems in a simple yet informative way. Information for the five interfaces relies on available quantitative assessments from the literature or data sets, and on expert-knowledge for more qualitative factors, such as social and cultural ones. The ‘barn’ can also inform local stakeholders or policy-makers about potential opportunities and threats to the future of livestock farming in specific production areas. It has already been used as a pedagogical tool for teaching the diversity of services and impacts of livestock systems across Europe and is currently developed as a serious game for encouraging knowledge exchange and sharing different viewpoints between stakeholders.

International audience; AbstractRuminant farming systems are questioned for their contribution to climate change and feed-food competition. Here, we analyse the economic and environmental performances of five sheep farming systems optimised in terms of ewe productivity and feeding costs. Systems are located in contrasting biogeographical areas along a gradient of decreasing agronomic potential from Ireland to the French Mediterranean rangelands. Applying a mechanistic model of flock and farm operation management to evaluate these five systems made it possible to highlight trade-offs between their economic performance under standardised economic conditions, environmental performances, and feed-food competition, but also discrepancies between sheep farm strategy and meat industry demands. Different management strategies resulted in ewe productivity ranging from 0.82 to 1.66 lambs ewe−1 year−1 between farming systems and concentrate use from 0 to 148 kg ewe−1 year −1. The two systems relying the most on grassland and rangelands show the best economic and environmental performances while minimising feed-food competition. This results from a good match between animal feed requirements and forage availability; these systems, however, generate a high seasonality of production that does not meet the industry demand for a regular meat supply throughout the year. The Irish system also follows a forage autonomy strategy, but with poorer environmental and economic performance due to intensification, higher price of land, and lower meat price. Both the accelerated reproduction system with three lambing periods in two years and the organic system generate a more regular lamb supply, but require a higher level of concentrate feed, which negatively affects performances. These results highlight for the first time that optimising economic and environmental performances at farm level does not fully fit with the meat industry demand for a regular lamb meat supply throughout the year and lamb conformation. Low-productivity but fully self-sufficient fodder livestock systems can achieve excellent economic performance, but require both specific skills and marketing adequacy.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Territoires [TR1_IRSTEA]DTAM [Axe_IRSTEA]DTAM-QT2-ADAPTATION; International audience; Livestock is a major actor of rural landscape and economics across Europe. It has however focused various controversies as regards to its environmental impacts, and the consequences of industrial production systems on animal welfare. Bundles of services account for both livestock positive and negative effects that simultaneously occur within territories. Mapping ecosystem services at a large scale (from landscape to the European Union) reveals a frequent antagonism between provisioning services on the one hand, and regulating and cultural services on the other hand. These maps mostly account for the impacts and services provided by the main farming systems in each area. Analyzing trade-offs at a finer scale (from plot to landscape) reveals various opportunities to achieve 'win-win' situations that would preserve the environment while maintaining provisioning services. These are based on non-linear relationships between ecosystem services, grazing periods, spatial heterogeneity, system diversification, and organizational innovations between farming systems of a given area. Scenario exploration allows representing alternative dynamics for the European livestock sector in response to climate change, land use change resulting from shifts in livestock feeding, and/or a drop in animal protein consumption across Europe. We conclude by pointing out key research issues that would allow valuing the diversity of services provided by the livestock sector.; Les interrelations entre les impacts et les services rendus par l’élevage impliquent de ne pas considérer ces effets indépendamment les uns des autres. Dans cet article, nous analysons les approches qui permettent de décrire et d’analyser les bouquets de services fournis par l’élevage dans différents types de territoires. Nous proposons des pistes de recherche à approfondir afin de mieux valoriser ces différents services.

Little is known about how to manage grazing horses, including the thresholds under which energy supplementation is required. Here we investigated the effects of daily herbage allowance (DHA) and energy supplementation (ES) on daily herbage intake in lactating mares of light breeds grazing high-quality regrowth during summer. Three contrasting DHA, low (LOW), medium (MED), and high (HIGH), that is, 35.0, 52.5, and 70.0 g DM∙kg BW(-1)∙d(-1), respectively, were obtained by adjusting pasture strip width. Eighteen Anglo-Arab and French Saddle lactating mares were either supplemented with 2.6 kg DM barley/d (SUP group; n= 9) or left nonsupplemented (NSUP group; n = 9) throughout the experiment. For 3 successive 2-wk periods, 3 groups of SUP mares (n = 3) and 3 groups of NSUP mares (n = 3) grazed each DHA according to a 3 × 3 Latin square design. Pregrazing sward surface height (SSH) was similar between treatments (26.6 cm), but postgrazing SSH differed significantly between each DHA (2.9, 4.4, and 5.7 cm for LOW, MED, and HIGH, respectively; P < 0.001). Herbage DMI (HDMI) increased linearly from 18.5 to 23.4 g DM∙kg BW(-1)∙d(-1) with increasing DHA (i.e., 0.13 kg DM eaten/kg DM of herbage offered; P < 0.001) independently of ES and with no significant ES × DHA interaction. This increase in HDMI resulted from an increase in grazing time between LOW (961 min/d) and MED and HIGH (1,021 min/d; P < 0.01) and from an increase in intake rate between LOW and MED (11.8 g DM/min) and HIGH (13.6 g DM/min; P < 0.01). Total digestible DMI (TDDMI) and NE intake (NEI) increased linearly from 12.3 to 15.2 g DM∙kg BW∙(-1)d(-1) and from 136.6 to 165.8 kJ∙kg BW(-1)∙d (-1)with increasing DHA (P < 0.001), respectively. Total digestible DMI and NEI were significantly lower for NSUP than for SUP mares: 12.5 vs. 14.9 g DM∙kg BW(-1)∙d(-1) (P < 0.01) and 134.6 vs. 166.5 kJ∙kg BW(-1)∙d(-1) (P < 0.001), respectively. Whereas SUP mares always met their energy requirements, NSUP mares no longer met theirs when DHA fell below 66 g DM∙kg BW(-1)∙d(-1) (i.e., 39 kg DM∙mare(-1)∙d(-1)).

Session 2-B : Alimenter les troupeaux à partir de ressources variéesSession 2-B : Alimenter les troupeaux à partir de ressources variées; Cette proposition émane d’un collectif interdisciplinaire mobilisé dans le cadre d’une expertise scientifique collective réalisée par l’INRA sur les « rôles, impacts et services issus des élevages en Europe ». Au-delà d’une synthèse exhaustive de la littérature, cette expertise a conduit à deux productions originales : -Une cartographie des principaux territoires d’élevage européens selon les densités animales et la part de « l’herbe » dans l’alimentation des animaux d’élevage, - Un cadre d’analyse sous forme d’une « grange » afin de représenter et d’analyser les synergies, antagonismes et compromis à mettre en œuvre pour assurer une meilleure durabilité de l’élevage selon les territoires. Ici, nous nous proposons de présenter ce cadre d’analyse et de le décliner dans quatre territoires le long d’un gradient de densités animales : la Bretagne, l’Irlande, les zones AOP du Massif central et les systèmes transhumants de Méditerranée. Nous discutons ensuite des leviers à mettre en œuvre selon les territoires pour aboutir à des solutions « gagnant-gagnant » conciliant les performances productives et environnementales des systèmes d’élevage. A l’échelle du système, il s’agit i) de préserver des prairies riches en légumineuses et en diverses, ii) de conserver les infrastructures agro-écologiques et iii) de repenser la gestion du troupeau en lien avec la pousse de l’herbe. A l’échelle du territoire, les principaux enjeux concernent i) le maintien et le développement de filières de qualité, ii) le développement de cercles d’information et de lieux d’apprentissage, et iii) la préservation des organisations paysagères complexes assurant la connectivité des milieux.

Évaluer les impacts et services issus des élevages en Europe

L’agro-écologie utilise les processus naturels et les ressources locales plutôt que des intrants chimiques pour assurer la production tout en limitant l’impact environnemental de l’agriculture. A cette fin, des innovations en génétique sont nécessaires pour disposer d’animaux productifs et adaptés à des contextes locaux variés. Pour toute filière d’élevage, réorienter les programmes de sélection actuels semble plus utile que développer des programmes spécifiques qui peineront à être efficaces en termes de coûts et de progrès génétiques attendus. Améliorer la robustesse des animaux vise à promouvoir leurs capacités d’adaptation en intégrant de nombreux critères de sélection, en particulier de reproduction, santé, et d’adaptation à des ressources alimentaires peu digestibles et au changement climatique. Cela amène à considérer les interactions génotype-environnement dans la prédiction des valeurs génétiques et à évaluer les performances des animaux dans des systèmes à bas intrants pour sélectionner ceux qui sont adaptés à des conditions limitantes. La standardisation tant des animaux que des conditions d’élevage paraît antinomique avec les principes de l’agro-écologie prônant une adaptation des animaux aux ressources et contraintes locales dans des systèmes peu artificialisés et très liés à leur environnement physique. Il n’y a donc pas UN animal type agro-écologique, mais DES animaux aux profils variés permettant de répondre aux attentes de l’agro-écologie. Face à la diversité des milieux et des systèmes d’élevage, il faut conserver une diversité génétique importante intra-race, mais aussi préserver la diversité génétique entre races. Cela nécessite une caractérisation phénotypique et génétique des races locales. Enfin, il s’agit de favoriser l'appropriation par les éleveurs et les techniciens d’élevage des outils et des ressources génétiques disponibles pour répondre à leurs besoins., Agroecology uses natural processes and local resources rather than chemical inputs to ensure production while limiting the environmental footprint of agriculture. In this context, breeding innovations are necessary to obtain animals that are both productive and adapted to a broad range of local contexts. Whatever the animal sector, reorienting current breeding programmes seems to be more useful than developing programmes dedicated to agroecological systems that will struggle to be really effective in terms of costs and expected genetic progress. Breeding for robustness aims to promote individual adaptive capacities by considering various selection criteria including reproduction, health, and adaptation to rough feed resources, warm climate or fluctuating environmental conditions. It leads considering genotype-environment interactions in the prediction of breeding values. Animal performance should be evaluated in low-input systems in order to select those animals adapted to limiting conditions. Standardization of both animals and breeding conditions appears contradictory to the agroecological paradigm that calls for an adaptation of animals to local opportunities and constraints in weakly artificialized systems tied to their physical environment. There is thus not a single agroecological animal type, but animals with various profiles that meet the expectations of agroecology. As well as supporting the value of within-breed diversity, we must preserve between-breed diversity to maintain numerous options for adaptation to a variety of production environments and contexts. This may involve to phenotypically and genetically characterize local breeds. Last but not least, improved assimilation by farmers and farm technicians of available genetic resources and breeding tools is necessary.

Grazing management is an important tool to preserve insect biodiversity. Although literature has discussed the importance of grazing pressure adjustment to support grassland insect communities for the ecosystem services they provide, little has been published on the economic sustainability of such management adjustments to date. This study compared continuous grazing (CG) to an innovative rotational grazing system (the biodiversity-friendly rotation – BR), where a subplot was excluded from grazing for two months during the main flowering period. The effects of grazing two different species (cattle and sheep) within both systems were also evaluated. The aims were to assess the effects on butterfly, bumblebee, and ground beetle assemblages, along with the impact on herbage mass and animal performance. The BR enhanced both the abundance and species richness of flower-visiting insect assemblages and it was observed that cattle provided better results than sheep grazing. A multivariate redundancy analysis highlighted that most of the flower-visiting species (including almost all the endangered and locally rare species) were favoured by BR-cattle treatment, mainly due to the high percentage of flower cover and sward heterogeneity involved in this treatment. However, grazing system and grazer species did not affect ground beetle species richness or abundance. Moreover, herbage mass and animal performance (live weight and body condition score) were comparable between CG and BR throughout the grazing season. The BR could be a useful management system to enhance grassland flower-visiting insect assemblages whilst meeting farm production objectives, especially in protected environments where insect conservation is a major target.

Epub ahead of print; International audience; The spread of anthelmintic resistance in equine strongyle nematodes has become a major problem, advocating for the development of alternative control for strongyles. Our study consisted of both in vivo and in vitro experiments. We investigate for the first time the efficacy of a short-term consumption of tannin-rich sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) or extra proteins in naturally infected horses. We used 30 horses allocated into three groups of 10 individuals that received for 18 days either (i) a tannin-rich diet with 70% DM sainfoin pellets (Sd), (ii) a protein-rich diet with 52% DM Italian rye-grass pellets and 18% DM grinded linseed expeller (Pd), or (iii) a control diet with 45% DM barley and 25% DM cereal-based pellets (Cd). The three diets were isoenergetic, covering 94% of animal energy requirements on average, and the Sd and Pd diets were isoproteic and provided extra proteins (227% of protein requirements v. 93% for the Cd diet). Pd and Cd were compared to test for benefits of receiving extra proteins, while Sd and Pd were compared to account for the effect of sainfoin secondary metabolites. There were no between-diet differences in faecal egg counts (FEC) or in worm burden evaluated from worm counts in faeces of drenched horses at the end of the experiment. However, coprocultures from the faeces collected in each group at the beginning and at the end of the experiment suggested a lower rate of strongyle larval development in the Sd group at the end of the experiment (Sd=8.1%, Pd=30.5%, Cd=22.6%). In vitro tests using sainfoin solutions evidenced the influence of sainfoin on strongyle larval development: adding 29% of sainfoin pellets to faeces reduced the strongyle egg development into infective larvae by 82% (P

Chapitre 10; A framework for the design of agroecological livestock farming systems

Livestock and Agroecology: redesigning animal production systems in the 21st century. Regional Symposium on Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in Europe and Central Asia

Agroecology offers a scientific and operational framework for redesigning animal production systems (APS) so that they better cope with the coming challenges. Grounded in the stimulation and valorization of natural processes to reduce inputs and pollutions in agroecosystems, it opens a challenging research agenda for the animal science community. In this paper, we identify key research issues that define this agenda. We first stress the need to assess animal robustness by measurable traits, to analyze trade-offs between production and adaptation traits at within-breed and between-breed level, and to better understand how group selection, epigenetics and animal learning shape performance. Second, we propose research on the nutritive value of alternative feed resources, including the environmental impacts of producing these resources and their associated non-provisioning services. Third, we look at how the design of APS based on agroecological principles valorizes interactions between system components and promotes biological diversity at multiple scales to increase system resilience. Addressing such challenges requires a collection of theories and models (concept-knowledge theory, viability theory, companion modeling, etc.). Acknowledging the ecology of contexts and analyzing the rationales behind traditional small-scale systems will increase our understanding of mechanisms contributing to the success or failure of agroecological practices and systems. Fourth, the large-scale development of agroecological products will require analysis of resistance to change among farmers and other actors in the food chain. Certifications and market-based incentives could be an important lever for the expansion of agroecological alternatives in APS. Finally, we question the suitability of current agriculture extension services and public funding mechanisms for scaling-up agroecological practices and systems.