My name is Sylvain, I was born 20km from the farm and I have always lived there. I have never left my native land (except for professional training) and my village of Notre-Dame de l'Osier is a part of me. All my best memories bring me back to my region and to agriculture in general, I started young to learn the job with my father and the seasonal workers we had previously to collect the walnuts by hand.
Taking care of the walnut trees and making sure that they have everything they need so that they can develop perfectly, that's something I've had inside me since I was a child. I grew up with the walnut trees that my father and grandfather had planted and I have planted many others myself since then! I am the fifth generation of farmers in our family in Isère. Since 2015, I have chosen to stop breeding dairy cows that I had also taken over from my father, to devote myself exclusively to walnut trees and to be able to plant new orchards.
I want to get involved with consumers and get closer to them. I believe in and adhere to CrowdFarming's values and that's why I chose to be part of it!
Clémence, my partner, in professional retraining after 15 years spent in offices, joined me on the farm to support me and allow us to produce quality nuts and potatoes. We like to be outside, in permanent contact with nature and to be able to organize our days freely with the great variety of work to be done according to the seasons.
For Clémence, learning this new job is a daily challenge, but she is a very strong woman: she drives the tractors, clears the weeds and works the land. We are happy to feel useful by producing quality food for consumers.
Our production requires year-round maintenance:
December, January, February: shredding dead leaves, maintenance of equipment, pruning orchards, removal of dead trees, cutting wood for the boiler to dry the walnuts.
March, April, May: spreading manure and fertilizers, preparation of cultivated fields, pruning young orchard trees, planting potatoes, planting new walnut trees, crushing wood to make wood chips for the boiler to dry walnuts, micronutrient intakes.
June, July, August: installing mating disruption in the trees and traps to monitor insect pests, crushing of orchards, almost daily monitoring of pests and treatment if necessary, watering if necessary, harvesting potatoes.
September, October, November: last crushing of the orchards and manual shearing of the base of the trees with a brush cutter, preparation for the harvest (station and machines), harvesting, washing the walnuts, drying, sorting, packing, delivery of the products.