Benoit Desloges has been working with farmers for 15 years. Drawing on this experience, he is an expert mentor at Hectar and regularly takes part in juries for the Tremplin entrepreneurial program. We caught up with him to share his vision of the agricultural sector, and what has changed for farmers starting out today, compared to the start-ups of yesterday.
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Who are you?
My name is Benoît Desloges, I'm 36 and the son of a Breton farmer. I obtained my BTS ACSE (Analyse, conduite et stratégie de l'entreprise agricole) and my bachelor's degree from ESA in Angers. I've been working with farmers for 15 years. At the start of my career, I worked as an agricultural account manager for a bank, guiding them on banking matters. For the last 10 years, I've been working for an accountancy firm specializing in agriculture. I advise farmers on economic, tax, social, legal and financial issues. We also talk about business strategy, which means 360° support.
What difference do you see between the installations of a few years ago and those of today?
When I started out, the main challenge for new farmers was to produce. In most cases, the farm was passed on to the family, and the children took over the farm without changing the model, with the possibility of expansion as the opportunity arose. In terms of training, many of them had completed vocational baccalaureate or BTS degrees in agriculture. In my experience, this was the typical profile for more than 90% of new farms.
Today, these profiles still exist, but they are less in the majority. New entrants are less and less from the agricultural sector, especially since COVID, which has brought a quest for meaning, impact and values into our professional lives. Coming from other sectors, they are retraining, and most of them are doing a BPREA. They are no longer solely focused on global production, but go beyond it by wanting to be virtuous for the environment, global warming, biodiversity... These new parameters are taken into account in installation projects.
What has also emerged recently, from a social point of view, is work-life balance. Why shouldn't I, as a farmer, have the same living conditions as my salaried neighbor? Have my vacations, my weekends, spend time with my family.... This is increasingly important for those setting up in business.
What do returnees think of the farming profession? Are they surprised by all the skills they need to acquire?
Being a farmer is a challenge. You can't just become a farm manager, you have to have multiple facets and skills: nourishing the soil, caring for animals, managing your business, knowing how to sell, communicate, manage... It's all very varied, and that's what makes this job so charming too!
Do you think that someone who has previously had a job in another sector has assets that can help them in becoming a farmer?
People who are not from the farming world (NIMA) have assets, thanks to their previous experience. Where there is real added value is in communication, marketing and HR.
What has penalized agriculture for a long time is the lack of communication. It's not necessarily a farmer's first instinct to communicate, because his main job is to produce and run his business.
Profiles who have already managed in other functions, whether in an agricultural or non-agricultural setting, can benefit from their past experience. Recruitment is also crucial in agriculture, and it's not a question of salary: today, an agricultural employee can earn €2,000.
What have been the major trends in installations in recent years?
When people set up 15 years ago, it was always more: more means of production, more working time... Salaried farming was not as developed as it is today, so the burden on the farmer and his family was considerable. Today, more thought is given upstream to deciding whether to hire an employee or take on a partner to reduce or adjust the workload...
I've also noticed that investment amounts are returning to a human scale. It's not the majority, but it's a phenomenon that didn't exist a few years ago, for example in the dairy sector, where there are more project owners who want to manage family-sized structures. They no longer want to invest large sums in a sector with low added value. Millions of liters of milk just don't appeal to them in the way they used to, not to mention the workload involved in running a farm, and the difficulty of recruiting labor... Robotization has helped the sector a great deal, but it's not the whole story.
Economic profitability remains paramount, not only for production, but also for meeting environmental challenges. Without economic profitability, nothing is possible.
At the same time, we are increasingly trying to retain added value on the farm. This is a desire of young people setting up in business, but also of working farmers, who want to develop these processing and distribution activities. The aim is not only to be economically profitable, but also to meet all the challenges we face: environment, energy, transport...
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the agricultural sector?
Define your business strategy and ask yourself what you want to be in five or ten years' time? Will I be fulfilled if I have as much money as possible, if I can enjoy my friends' company... It may sound a bit clichéd, but it's important to think ahead, to ask yourself these questions so you don't get lost along the way, stay true to your aspirations and start off on the right foot.
You also need to remain curious, get trained, define your strengths so you can capitalize on them, and surround yourself with people who can help you with your weaknesses.
It's also important not to be alone: you can join exchange networks, get mentors like the Tremplin program at Hectar. If you have concerns or questions, this helps you to step back, debate and get outside opinions from people who have been through the same thing. Like any business owner, you quickly become isolated, so you need to surround yourself with people before you even start, because once you're set up, you're quickly caught up in the day-to-day. As the saying goes, "alone we go faster, but together we go further!"
