Rotor

A friend is serious about renting a small holding / farm in the Brittany region , he`s an experienced spud/cattle farmer and would be looking for 40-100 acres (16-40 ha) with house and buildings , he has a Missus and kids, anyone have experience of renting a farm in France ? where would one look for farm tenancies?

EuroTrash

His best bet would probably be to start by contacting the MSA and SAFER in whichever départment of Brittany he is considering. They would know of any farms to rent but apart from that, he will need to register with the MSA and get their approval for his project so the sooner he opens the dialogue the better, really.
Farming is quite tightly regulated in France.
French agricultural system - The Mutualité Sociale Agricole – Agricultural Social Mutual Fund
http://www.safer.fr/missions-safer.asp

Rotor

Thanks for that , re regulations , its the same in the UK , most laws being made in Brussels

PS Its in English as well!, Cheers.

Chatter Static

Imho now is not a good time to start farming here, the suicide rate in farmers here has gone up dramatically as heaps of them are in dire financial postions due to markets prices. Supermarkets are making good money but not passing it on either way..

Rotor

I hear what you are saying but farming (in the UK) has been like that for decades , my mate wont have to go on the bank and he has plenty of experience in the industry ,he realises theres no fortune to be made, just a quality lifestyle, I think he will be okay .

Pulaski

EU laws are enforced locally (in each EU country), by "enabling legislation" passed in each country, and how different countries enforce each "EU law", or even whether they bother to, can vary significantly between countries. It is certainly not appropriate to assume that you know the laws and regulations in France just because you know the laws and regulations for the same activity in the UK.

Rotor

No **it Sherlock, So you are a farmer as well as a gas fitter now

EuroTrash

Pulaski does have a point you know. Farming may be farming but the social and regulatory context is significantly different in France, as your friend will discover. For instance as per the link, anyone who makes their living from the land in France has to pay cotisations to the MSA, this is not optional. If you farm on a largeish scale and pay high enough cotisations, that will at least also cover your healthcare and that of your dependants. Small-scale farmers / smallholders whose cotisations are relatively low don't qualify for healthcare from MSA and will have to find, and pay for, another route to healthcare. (Healthcare isn't free in France, for each route there are criteria to meet in order to qualify and contributions to pay if you do qualify.) Quality lifestyle yes but it can happen that farmers have a bad year/make bad decisions and end up liable for cotisations in excess of their actual profit, and that tends to be when they decide life isn't worth living.

Rotor

I hear what you are saying and are fully aware that EU legislation is translated differently in every EU country , I had 5 years in business in Spain and still have interests there ,its nothing like doing business in the UK as I`m sure you know, I think the best way to go is have professional advice available from the equivalent of DEFRA and the likes in my friends case , he wants to rent and sees it as dipping his toe in the water , if he`s happy in say 5 years he could buy , agricultural land in France is realistically priced, much cheaper than the UK and massively cheaper than Spain , he`s in it for the long term.

Tweedpipe

Whether one wants to believe it or not, Pulaski's comments are bang on target.
You are indeed correct in saying that most laws are being made in Brussels, but the way those rules and regulations are interpreted & enforced in France are like chalk & cheese compared to the relative ease of UK.
There has been dissatisfaction here for years amongst the farming/agricultural fraternity, but never as serious as it is at the moment.
The following article gives an insight into these current very real problems.
Occitanie� : Un millier d’agriculteurs défile � Montauban pour le maintien d’une aide européenne

We had a regular forum member here who was a beef farmer in Montrichard - believe it was L'Acajou. Haven't seen a post from them in ages which doesn't give a particular warm feeling re farming here. Unless they may still read here, and wish to comment......

I've just noted that after contributing more than 300 posts, L'Acajou last posted here in Dec 2013. I wonder why.

dmu

Hi, how old are your friend's children? From experience, in rural areas, the parents will find themselves taxiing them around on Wednesday afternoons and at weekends for out-of-school activities and a social life. Re schooling, not recommended to throw children older than about 10-11 in the deep end if they don't speak French. Get your friend to read the Schooling Thread (and others) in the above Read-Me: Moving to France FAQs.
Do the parents speak French? (to cope with all things Administrative/Legal/Fiscal, and to communicate with the locals).
Apart from the farming side of which I know nothing except for what the media reports about farmers' general lot (not encouraging), your friend should research on his potential income and his children's education.
I would say go for it, if it were just a couple, but with children in tow, it's a hazardous venture...
P.S. Why not consider being employed by an established farmer? He would have a regular salary/healthcare coverage as an employee and could "dip his toe in the water" without drowning in all the bureaucracy involved in doing his own thing.

Rotor

Kids are under 8 , I would rate the wifes French at 6/10 .

dmu

OK, no problem, the kids would go to the village Primaire and/or Maternelle (or nowhere!)!! Just being the Devil's Advocate, wanting to eliminate potential problems!!

EuroTrash

That's because SAFER controls the sale of all agricultural land and to an extent the price. SAFER has first refusal on all agricultural land that comes onto the market, and can block a private sale to a non-farmer if one of its members is interested in the land. MSA and SAFER are very powerful, they take with one hand (solidarity payments, social payments) and give back with the other hand by protecting farmers' interests in all kinds of ways. I think the differences between farming in the UK and farming in France basically stem from that; AFAIK Defra and the NUF don't have such a powerful role and farmers have more leeway.

Rotor

DEFRA are a government agency and the NFU are the National Farmers Union.

https://www.nfuonline.com/home/

https://www.gov.uk/government/organi...-rural-affairs