Savoirs relationnels et « engagement » avec le vivant : les dimensions oubliées du métier d'éleveur?

Our paper shows how the representations and knowledge French sheep farmers have of their rangelands are embedded in the relations they build with their animals and the natural environment. These sheep farmers, who work and live in the causse Méjan, a low mountain area in southern France, describe their grazinglands not only as pools of feeding resources, but also as a set of more or less adequate ecological conditions for their animals' wellbeing. The perception they have of the rangeland heterogeneity involves a systemic and dynamic perspective that takes into account both these dimensions, and insists upon the importance of the seasonal changes which occur along the year in the natural environment. They learn the "milieu" to a great extent from observing their animals' feeding behaviour. We show that the modernisation process has not obliterated the importance of the affective and relational dimensions in the construction of animal herding knowledge, particularly regarding ecological knowledge. Scientists and extension services should consequently better take account of informal knowledge acquisition processes when seeking to understand the farmers' rationale and accompanying the transformation of this activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]