Why do we have sheep and cows in the vines ?

Each Winter until the beginning of Spring, at the first buds, we welcome cows and sheep in our vineyards. Do you know why ?

The first interest of agro-pastoralism is the mowing between the rows of the vines. These animals can eat the grass all around the plant more precisely than a mechanical tool. It is interesting to have cows and sheep because they do not have the same way to eat, and not always the same plants. Then, the animals bring organic matter which stimulates and enrich the microbial life of the soils. Moreover, the manures made from different animal excrements are completing each other. All along Winter, animals alternate between vines and garrigue, in order to diversify their food and to find shelter in case of extreme cold.

Agro-pastoralism is a part of the global vision of biodynamic farming: we are looking for a balance and a complementarity between animal kingdom and vegetal kingdom. The goal is not to have a dominant production on our terroir. We would like to promote polyculture and to maintain a link with other local farmers. In the same time, we welcome bees in our vines until the end of Winter, when thyme is blossoming. We also sow alfalfa or cereals between two plantations.

More information about biodynamic farming here