ACTUALITÉS et ressources

Découvrez les actualités et ressources
liées au Domaine de Graux

Winter at the Farm: Armand’s Story

Winter at the Farm: Emilien’s and Eve’s Stories

Winter at the Farm: Astrid’s Story

Biodiversity at Domaine de Graux Above and Below the Ground

Domaine de Graux: our vision

Regenerative Agriculture and Soil

Matt Chatfield – I’m too lazy to farm against nature

The Link Between Soil and Human Health

RETROUVEZ-NOUS SUR LES RÉSEAUX SOCIAUX

🐝🌿 We've installed a bee hotel at the Domaine!

Carried out in collaboration with @beeodiversity, this innovative initiative called BeeOmetrics uses these insects as bio-indicators, to assess the health of our environment.

We chose to work with this Belgian project for a number of reasons:

* Biodiversity monitoring: Bees help us to measure the diversity of plant species present on our land.

* Pollutant detection: They collect valuable data on the presence of pollutants in our ecosystem.

* Improving farming practices: This information enables us to adapt our methods to promote a healthier and more sustainable environment.

* Measuring our impact: We have taken a number of initiatives at the Domaine to promote greater biodiversity. These bees will enable us to measure whether these actions are already having an impact.

You too can take part in this initiative, whether as a farm or a company. Let's work together to create a more sustainable future!

www.beeOmetrics.com

After presenting the team, it’s time to focus on Marie, our General Manager. 🤗
The energy of the Domaine, a head full of ideas.

A passionate believer in sustainability, she ensures that we develop our activities according to uncompromising criteria. Transition: it’s here and it’s now!

She was sustainability manager at Delhaize for almost 10 years, before further affirming her commitment to sustainability as director of The Shift network. She now likes to put her boots on, get her hands in the soil and work concretely for healthier, more respectful food.

A guarantor of the estate’s agro-ecological principles, she ensures that each project promotes harmonious interactions between crops, animals and people.

A woman of action and conviction, she manages Domaine de Graux with passion and efficiency. It’s a pleasure to work alongside her!

Going on a hunt for edible and medicinal plants in our estate, harvesting and cooking our meals with our own fresh produce, plants and other products from the farm, and camping under the stars.

You’ve got to admit, this team-building program sounds pretty appealing, doesn’t it?

It’s ours, the one we organized with the Domaine de Graux and The Nest team recently.
We were accompanied by the inspiring @louis.de.jaeger .

Clearly the kind of event that makes sense, allows us to reconnect with others and with nature.

Contact us if you too would like to experience this kind of extra-ordinary day.

Autumn is starting to show its colors. Time to tell you what summer was like at Domaine de Graux : births, weather-dependent harvests, meaningful events, new jams to make your day…

It's also an opportunity to tell you about the harvest moon, which took place on September 18.

This full moon rises around sunset, meaning a short period of darkness. In the past, it was said that this period of autumn enabled farmers to harvest their crops even after sunset, hence the name given to this full moon.

At Domaine de Graux, we don't usually work at night. 😉 But this moon marks a moment of transition, before the start of a new cycle.

A peaceful autumn to you!

It's not only our Black Angus. Our hens also live in the middle of a small orchard!

We've planted raspberry, redcurrant, blackcurrant and grapevine shrubs in the middle of the henhouse.

This combination has several advantages:

- The hens protect the shrubs from pests and diseases, without having to use pesticides or fertilizers.

- The fecal matter helps to fertilize the soil, benefiting plant growth and health.

- The shrubs provide shade.

- This initiative is part of a wider ecosystem: at Domaine de Graux, all our actions, no matter how small, are part of a larger agroecological movement: (re)creating better quality soil, to harvest more nutritious food.

Have you ever thought of doing the same at home? :-)

Meet our trio: André, Gustav and Jacob.

Ecology also means repairing, reusing and maintaining. That's what we're all about here, thanks to our foreman and his team.

With them, nothing is impossible! They have ideas for everything and provide essential support for everyone working on the domain.

Day after day, they take part in the collective project with a constantly renewed energy, gold in their fingers and a great sense of nature. Many thanks to them!

🌱 Do you know the difference between organic and ABC farming?

Organic and Conservation Agriculture (ABC) means much more than organic.
It combines advanced agroecological practices, with a focus on biodiversity and soil conservation. The goal? Sustainable production that respects our environment.

Unlike organic farming, which focuses primarily on the absence of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, ABC farming goes further: it incorporates holistic methods to revitalize agricultural ecosystems. Crops, animals and soils are cared for at the same time.

This is the type of agriculture we favor at Domaine de Graux. But we're not alone: associations like @farm4good, @terres.vivantes.trvi and many others are also working in this direction and are sources of inspiration.

Farm for Good's Open Compass tool, for example, makes it possible to objectively assess farming practices and create a common benchmark for organic conservation farming. Have a look at their work and discover the ABC farms and their projects !

Want to know more about our work? Visit our website to discover more about our philosophy.

This week, our market gardener Armand is harvesting carrots from open-source, locally-produced seeds. Why?

* Using seeds produced in Belgium encourages our food sovereignty. Open-source seeds can be produced by anyone. They are free to use and have not been manipulated in labs.

* They have been selected on local organic farms and gardens depending on their performance. They are therefore better adapted to our terroir and climate. This ensures they’re hardy plants, more resistant to the diseases and parasites of our regions.

* They offer great genetic diversity and are generally selected for their resistance, but also for their taste.

We use these seeds because they foster more biodiversity, more local endorsement and more natural and nutritious food production, perfectly in line with our values...
And, who knows, we might inspire you or other producers to do the same! Food change starts with the soil and the seeds 🙂🌱

They move regularly!
Our Black Angus livestock don’t stay in the same meadow all the time. After a few days - the exact number depends on the weather, the season, the type of soil... - we move them to another paddock.

Rotational grazing is one of the principles of agro-ecology.

It involves moving the cattle regularly between several plots to avoid overgrazing.

At the Domaine, they even graze between the trees in our orchards.

The benefits?

🌱 The grass grows back more optimally, without drawing on the soil’s reserves.

🌱 This increases pasture productivity: the grass is richer in nutrients when it grows back.

🌱 Soil health is improved: the grass acts as plant cover and acts as a shield against all the elements that can degrade the soil (the sun, which dries out lessons, heavy rainfall).

🌱 The presence of animals helps plants to resist disease and pests, without the use of pesticides or fertilisers.

🌱 This encourages life in the soil, which is crucial to its porosity.

🌱 Faecal matter also helps to fertilise the soil.

🌱 Rotational grazing frees up a hunting ground for birds of prey, which help us to eradicate rodents that are harmful to our fruit trees.

This creates a virtuous circle, with a fine balance between trees, crops and animals!

—
@domainedegraux is an agroecological farm. We’re convinced that the future of mankind and the planet depends on a better harmony between agriculture and ecology. And we’re determined to get our hands in the soil and show that this is not just a pipe dream. 🧑🏽‍🌾

🌿 Stay in touch! Subscribe to our Domaine de Graux page to find out about upcoming news, events and talks related to agroecology and regenerative agriculture

#agroecology #regenerativefarming #sustainability

Meet Pascale, who has quickly found her place at the Domaine since she arrived a few months ago.

A Tournaisian of heart, she knows the region like the back of her hand! She's interested in agro-ecology, organic farming, nature, cultivation, wellbeing... Her desire to understand the current issues at the Domaine, combined with her experience in the private sector, enables her to orchestrate the administrative and operational work of the Domaine.

Thanks to her, everything runs smoothly at the office: she takes care of the team needs and ensures a nice working environment, she follows-up the accounting and is the central contact point for many internal and external stakeholders!

We feel lucky to have her in the team! 🤩

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