When did the farm start ?

The farm was created in the Landes region in 1990 and it currently has 15 hectares of maize and 20 hectares of forestry. My parents notably bred poultry there, which they used to sell on markets, particularly in Bordeaux. In fact, my mother Arkia was the one who started up the poultry farming. In those days, she used to produce about 400 fowl a week, which she sold live or slaughtered on the markets. She used to buy them from farmers at twelve weeks and resell them at fifteen weeks after fattening them on maize from the farm.

How do you work ?

After spending several years working in another field, I took over the family farm in 2004, when my parents retired. I developed the breeding, slaughtering and commercialization of free-range poultry, going from 400 fowl/week in my parents’ day to about 6 000 fowl currently, which represents 300 000 fowl a year. When I started, I decided to set up an abattoir, since we no longer had the right to sell live poultry at the time because of bird flu. I currently take delivery of free-range poultry at fourteen or fifteen weeks supplied by about forty farmer-breeders who regularly work with me and who have to respect the Label Rouge free-range poultry specifications. The fowl are raised outdoors in summer on grass runs, fed on whole maize with mineral and vitamin supplements, and slaughtered at 100 days minimum, although we often continue ten days longer in order to produce a firm, good quality meat. The maize I produce goes to my farmers because I breed less and less fowl on the farm as I used to do before so that I can meet the demand of the clientele and I am doing more and more direct slaughtering. Our annual growth is running at between 20% and 30%.

What is your production ?

My production represents 70% chicken (JA bare-neck yellow and JA black-leg), 10% guinea-fowl (Essor heavy breed with black leg), 20% festive poultry (capon, guinea-fowl capon, young male guinea-fowl, lean duck) and cock in season. These are Label Rouge free-range chickens form the South West, known for its firm meat, good taste and aroma, and suitability for cooking.

In the image of the region, free-range poultry from the South-West is a top quality product. Our abattoir covers just over 1 200 m2 and notably includes a slaughtering chain with manual gutting, two drying rooms, a cutting room, refrigerators, a packaging room, a rest room, a live unloading dock, a shipping loading dock and offices. How do you see your development ? Today, we notice that poultry consumption is growing and that there is a genuine demand for top quality, labelled poultry that meets traceability requirements. The consumer is ready to pay a little more as long as the product is excellent and prepared under the best conditions. But the consumer is also looking for diversity and line segmentation. This is why we are in the process of creating a cutting workshop, which will be operational shortly, to meet the demand of our different clients and to add value to all the poultry in the abattoir.

What do you think of Rungis Market ?

I’ve been supplying Rungis Market for over five years and it accounts for 40% of my volumes, including 7 000 festive fowl. I am all the more satisfied in that the Rungis operators are informed professionals who promote my products perfectly and guarantee me a large daily volume as a result. Rungis Market has really contributed to my company’s development. For me it is a real outlet and a true partnership has been established with the professionals I serve.