-Hello Vincent, can you briefly introduce yourself for those who don't know you yet.
Hello, my name is Vincent Lauler, I have been a farmer for 10 years in Saint-Pierre-Bois.
I took over a beef cattle farm where I offer meat packages all year round, minced meat and frozen products.
My parents own the Lindgrübe farm in Breitenbach where they produce dairy products.
I attended dairy and food processing school in Mamirolle, so I am also active in Breitenbach.
-Can you explain to us what the name of your farm means? Is it related to the place name where the farm is located?
In fact, the Hutten district is the district that is right next to the farm.
I chose this name because I would like to have a local connection and an identity of the area where I have my farm and the area where I work.
-Can you tell us about your cows?
You started with a crossbreeding of two breeds of cows, are you still going with that?
Initially I raised Salers cattle with a Charolais bull.
Today the Charolais bull is no longer here, I made the choice two or three years ago to go back to pure Salers.
In terms of meat quality, it's a little bit finer than the crossbreed, a little finer than the Charolais, it remains a meat breed, these are animals with carcasses that are still quite developed.
I recently brought in some Vosges cattle, so there may be some Vosges meat in my packages or in the mince.
-Do you produce anything other than meat, or is that all you do?
No, that's all I do in Saint-Pierre-Bois.
I say Saint-Pierre-Bois because in fact half of my time is in Hutten and the other half is in Breitenbach where I give my parents a good helping hand.
-Do you practice organic farming like your parents?
Yes, I've been in the organic field since June 2015.
So I took over the farm in 2009. I'm a firm believer in organic farming, so it was only natural and logical that I switch to organic. However, things need to be done gradually, without rushing, and that's why I took my time.
The previous owner had his ideas and ways of doing things, and little by little I adapted them, changed them a little to suit my taste.
-During the lockdown period we are going through, how and where can your customers buy your products?
As all year round, there is the sales premises at my parents' house in Breitenbach where I keep the stock of my frozen products.
There is minced meat, offal (liver, heart, head, tongue, calf's head…), I have some merguez and some chipolatas currently and otherwise I offer a delivery every two months of fresh meat for packages of 5 to 12 kilos.
During the lockdown period, I'm offering to do deliveries for those who are interested. The condition is that orders are grouped together, by neighborhood or family, because I can't manage going door-to-door.
I offer this service for meat or dairy products.
Alternatively, there is also the vending machine at the farm in Saint-Pierre-Bois.
-How did you come up with the idea for this vending machine?
We used to do a delivery route in Saint-Pierre-Bois for people in the neighborhood and surrounding areas, but we stopped because it wasn't well-known enough and there weren't enough customers. I was looking for a way to ensure people still had access to good products directly from the source, and that's why I set up a vending machine.
It's really an experiment. It's an old machine that I found in Paris, that I refurbished and that cost me quite a bit of money, but it allows us to meet a demand that we could no longer meet otherwise.
Inside you will find dairy products from my parents, Lysiane's goat cheeses, it's not a huge amount but it helps a few people and it's good to have a presence in the valley below.
I am not on site, I do not have a sales premises, so this distributor is still an effective solution for everyone.
For now it only accepts coins, we'll see if one day the machine becomes more efficient.
-To finish, I propose a little Chinese portrait exercise.
1-If you were an animal you would be …… a cow from the Hutten farm
2- If you were a year, you would be… 2020… after the lockdown, hoping that the planet is better respected and the population better fed.
3-If you were a tree you would be… An oak or a chestnut tree.
4-If you were a song you would be… The Olive Tree
5-If you were a hashtag – or a motto – you would be… Let’s find a solution to move forward together.
6-If you were a woman you would be…..Good question!
7-If you were a wish you would be… Local, regional agriculture.
Thank you very much, Vincent. We wish you all the best for the future.