Houville la Branche, France

Ferme de Bulas

Harvesting Wheat Hand in Hand with Nature

High-quality wheat for baking and seed production is the main crop at Ferme de Bulas. Located in the important cereal region of Beauce, the farm has been managed by the Petillon, family for three generations. To ensure a successful harvest the farm uses high-quality seeds with traits and seed treatments best suited to their specific soil, water and climatic conditions and minimize pest and disease damage. A strong focus is put on integrated weed management focusing on a well-balanced combination of crop rotation, cultural methods, and diversity in chemistry. This enables plants to develop their full potential and in turn, it helps to optimize the use of natural resources like soil and water. Digital tools help analyze crop growth on the farm using satellite or drone images. This helps the Petillon, family make better decisions for their crops as well as optimize the use of their resources. Further, low-drift nozzles target applications more efficiently towards the crop and avoid drift to field borders or water bodies. Overall Ferme de Bulas works hand in hand with nature. While cultivation must preserve biodiversity, they also benefit from the health of the surrounding ecosystems. Shelters and flowering plants provide food and accommodation for pollinators and beneficial species.

  • Location: Houville la Branche, near Chartres, France.

  • History: Ferme de Bulas has been family-run for three generations. This legacy continues as Jérôme, the son of Pascale and Dominique, joined the farm in 2016.

  • Farm size: 440 hectares.

  • Crops: Cereals, oilseed rape, sugarbeets, pea protein, potatoes.

  • Soil: Mostly silty clay.

  • Notable partnerships: Fédération des chasseurs d’Eure-et-Loir (Eure-et-Loir hunters’ federation), beekeepers, Hommes et Territoires (sustainability in agriculture association), Laboratoire d’Eco-Entomologie d’Orléans (Orleans Eco-Entomology Laboratory), Axereal (grain cooperative).

Our day-to-day challenge is dealing with the vagaries of the weather while meeting the requirements of our customer specifications, thereby maintaining our technical and economic results while progressing with the other aspects of sustainable farming. This flexibility is built into our DNA, as we are the third generation to manage this farm. Our watchwords? Providing quality, diversified production while building a sustainable legacy. We not only want to communicate better, but also to progress, and that chimes perfectly with Bayer ForwardFarming. This path allows us to constantly question and evaluate our practices using a systemic approach.
Dominique
,
Jérôme and Pascale Petillon, Petillon Family

Smart Wastewater Management

Improving on-farm water preservation was the first project undertaken when Ferme de Bulas joined the Bayer ForwardFarming network. With the help of the company’s sustainable agriculture engineer, an Aquasite© diagnostic offered by the Arvalis technical institute made it possible to better manage wastewater. As a result, a sealed sprayer filling and cleaning area has been created. This sealed platform, with an underground tank, recovers all the effluents from the washing and rinsing of tanks, sprayers, and containers. Wastewater is stored and directed to a Phytobac® biological treatment system. This system contains microorganisms in a biological bed, which degrade the residues within five months.

 

Contact us

We're happy to connect with you! Contact Guillaume Chancrin with any questions or inquiries.