French agricultural cooperatives invest in livestock innovation

Agricultural cooperatives in France are investing in modernizing livestock breeding through technological and structural innovations.

In Ordiarp, the Centre départemental d’élevage ovin (CDEO) has invested over 3 million euros to upgrade its facilities. The investment includes a new 200-meter building designed to house 600 breeding rams. The center is focusing on genetic selection to improve local sheep breeds, specifically targeting traits such as milk production, disease and parasite resistance, and drought adaptation. The new facility also features automated tasks to assist shepherds and a phenotyping platform to study the behavior of the Manex Tête Rousse breed.

In Brittany, the Cooperl cooperative has inaugurated its Farm Lab Observatory in Hénanbihen. This experimental facility focuses on the future of pig farming by testing new management practices. Researchers are exploring ways to balance animal welfare, working conditions, and environmental impact with economic performance. One specific area of study is “companion management,” a method inspired by wild boar social structures that allows sows and piglets to grow up together in the same environment rather than being moved through separate stages.