France : Asparagus is growing in the Loire Valley
Fleuron d’Anjou has a large number of references in bunches and bulk principally to meet the needs of the mass distribution network and wholesalers.
The Fleuron d’Anjou Cooperative organised its first Asparagus Technical Day in the Val-de-Loire region at the home of Guillaume Thomas, an asparagus producer since 2005. « This technical day was intended to present the asparagus development project for the cooperative and in particular the objective of reaching 1000 tons within 5 years », explains the organiser.
Being a major player in asparagus
In fact, the Fleuron d’Anjou cooperative increases its asparagus production every year. In 2024, the cooperative’s producer members produce 700 tonnes of white, purple, green and purple asparagus, some of which is organically grown, on a total area of 200 hectares. The personalised support it provides for specific equipment and labels accentuates this increase in performance. To reinforce their desire to be a major player, Fleuron d’Anjou is part of the producers’ association that is actively working with IDfel Val de Loire to create the specifications that support the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Asperges du Val de Loire project. This identification will promote the know-how of producers, the specificities of asparagus grown in the Val de Loire region and will provide consumers with traceability on the origin and superior quality of their product. The Fleuron d’Anjou cooperative hopes to respond to the consumer trend that is now focused on a France origin.
Three themes and technical workshops
Agrivaloire @ Engels Machines demonstrated their new ‘EcoSpader’ ridger. This ingenious machine revolutionises the ridging process in order to better meet the requirements expected with regard to the quality of asparagus, in particular its rectilinear shape and the purity of its colour.
Europlastic has an answer to the question of precocity through the use of various plastic films. This theme is an important economic issue for farms. For several years now, Fleuron d’Anjou has been conducting joint trials with this company, which now allow them to deliver results on techniques that are proving to be effective.
Sylektis presented its ‘AsperCut’, a selective field harvesting robot which will eventually be able to provide solutions to the labour problem that asparagus producers face every year.
