The Farming For The Future course is first and foremost a field experience! Let's go back to a great moment for our students: the work on the Chinon appellation and the discovery of this terroir.
THE FARMING FOR THE FUTURE STUDENT: A FIELD ENGINEER
Farming For The Future, also called F3, is one of the career paths offered to UniLaSalle Rouen students in Agro, Food & Environmental Engineering, an international path. Its objectives? To train international engineers in new agricultural systems: adaptive techniques on a human scale to meet the challenges of climate change, among others.
To address these new issues, 42 students in the F3 course worked for a week on four themes of interest for the future of the Chinon AOC: past climatic and viticultural developments and simulations of future climatic constraints.
This project was made possible thanks to the collaboration of two doctors in agronomy: Frédéric Levrault, an expert in climate change from the Chambers of Agriculture network, and Pierre-Yves Bernard, associate professor and director of the Agrobiosciences College at UniLaSalle Rouen.
The themes explored during this week were varied and appreciated by the students:
- Climatic and viticultural changes already observed in the Chinon appellation area. This topic sparked the interest of Anaëlle, who looked at the factors influencing the qualities of a great wine: "The topic that interested me the most was to see how exposure to the sun can change the characteristics of a wine completely. It's a question that will really concern the winemakers in the appellation, and I'm wondering about the techniques they will implement to preserve the taste of their wine."
- Future changes in water stress in the Chinon appellation area and ways of adapting is the subject Loïse chose; as the daughter of winegrowers, she is already familiar with the world of wine, and knows that future problems require ingenuity to respond in the best possible way: "in the current perspectives of the problems of blocking the vine and significant decreases in yields, the questioning of work habits in the vineyard is more than vital [...] It is therefore more than necessary to know the adaptation options available to us"
- Future changes in the risk of frost at bud break in the Chinon appellation zone and ways of adapting, chosen by Paul who wanted to "work on this subject because it is the most topical one as frost has been a problem for some time and is becoming more and more widespread".
- Future changes in thermal conditions during the harvest in the Chinon appellation area and ways to adapt
The work was obviously primarily bibliographical for our students, but also in the field! During their week, they were able to meet with professionals from the Chinon appellation to gather knowledge at its source.
TO KNOW AND TO ENJOY: TO KNOW THE WINE AND ITS COMPANIONS
To understand wine, it is obvious that one must also taste it!
Our students had the opportunity to taste Chinon vintages with the actors of the sector and their friends, giving rise to beautiful moments of camaraderie and sharing: a class united in the desire to do better and improve the future of the agricultural world. Our students recount "a timeless experience [...] local products, good wine, and moments of camaraderie [...] enriching encounters". In short, an exciting, enriching and dense experience for the 4A F3!
Finally, we asked three of our students to choose 3 words to define this masterclass, and here are the results:
- For Anaëlle: wine, tedious and adventure
- For Paul: exciting, instructive, dense
- For Loïse: wine, friends, perspectives
A big thank you to all the students for their involvement in this Chinon MasterClass, and to their teachers for the organization. These field trips are essential for our students and allow them to have concrete experiences.
And now, a toast?
Article written by Jules Houplon, a UniLaSalle Rouen student in his 3rd year as an international engineer.
