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In France, only one in five farmers is younger than 40.
Between 1997 and 2010 the number of new farming establishments decreased by 38% and two thirds of the farming establishments without someone in the family to hand down to did not find a buyer. However, in this period of agricultural crisis some sons or daughters of farmers do choose to work at their parents’ farm and to continue the family work.
Years of working together can be a source of tension and conflict across generations. The family hand-over can also be a weighty inheritance to bear.
However, the family hand-over can also generate great feelings of pride and involvement provoking emulation between parents and children. It is in fact an advantage for the upkeep of the farming culture and allows for the handing down of production tools as well as patrimony, values, organization of work and an identity.

Captions:

01 – Henri and Benjamin – 62 and 30 years old – Sheep, cattle and goat farming – Hautes-Pyrénées
02 – Jean and Vincent – 56 and 32 years old – Mixed farming, livestock – Ariège
03 – Christian and Mickaël – 54 and 25 years old – Sheep farming – Ariège
04 – Delphine and Marie-Jo – 84 and 55 years old – Sheep, pig and poultry farming – Hautes-Pyrénées
05 – Jean-Pierre and Émilien – 62 and 33 years old – Cattle farming, apples – Haute-Garonne
06 – Élie and Daniel – 87 and 57 years old – Grain – Haute-Garonne
07 – Marie-Christine and Simon – 51 and 23 years old – Grain, baker-farmers – Gers
08 – Jean-François and Clément – 43 and 19 years old – Élevage ovin – Ariège
09 – Isabelle and Solène – 51 and 20 years old – Cattle farming, milk production – Lot
10 – Gérard and Manu – 58 and 29 years old – Sheep farming – Ariège
11 – Jacques and Arnaud – 61 and 38 years old – Mixed farming, cattle and poultry farming – Gers
12 – Bernard and Damien – 62 and 35 years old – Mixed farming, poultry and deer farming – Gers
13 – Renate and Robin – 62 and 32 years old – Cattle and pig farming – Ariège
14 – Eric and Paul – 58 and 31 years old – Sheep farming – Ariège
15 – Gérard and Lilian – 65 and 31 years old – Beekeeping – Gers