Breeders’ portraits

Vincent Dages, from Bellevue Company in Gibret (Landes), son and brother of producer, works in a farm in the very centre of Chalosse.

As the French name means “Bellevue” (nice point of view), Vincent faces a magnificent landscape.
Gourmet, he turns his way to work into a production of quality as the French South West certified duck foie gras and the extensive breeding of cow meat.

Vincent, why this choice of working with Excel Company?

• I work with Excel Company since the beginning in 1993, as I was the third producer to join the founders.
• I am an old force feeder who used to slaughter at the farm and I met, especially in spring because of the high temperatures, technical problems.
• The Excel project, which consists in homogenizing productions’ techniques thanks to a tools’ rationalization and methods, was a goal for me.
• Thus I built buildings with cooling equipments, extraction and renewing air systems, forced-fooding systems more precise, better shelters for the animals.
• To finish, I knew Christian Lanuque, and the idea of sharing this new project with the production team who understand our wills, especially attracted me.

Did you live an important change?

• This way of working, quite new, made me get homogenate results and products with a constant quality.
• The proximity of the slaughter’s tools has eased the work and underlined the good choice of Excel Company.
• I also faced the problem to have to force-food all the year because I had every weeks new ducks to force-feed.
• The arrival of the unique band allows me to have break times, and so one week over three, thanks to this, I had been able to marry professional life with my family one.

I lived a real revolution as well technologic as my life organization.

Frederic and Martine CAMGUILHEM, from the GAEC LAMARQUE, live in Sallespisse, a very small city of the Atlantic region, situated on the first walls of Bearn.

The duck production, a new stage for the young force fooders, allowed the installation of Martine who worked outside and a diversification of their exploitation.

Which motivations bring you to work with Excel Company?

• We created our force-feeding room in 2006.
• We interested ourselves to Excel Company, which for us had a healthy way to trade, based on high quality products. It is not about discount prices.
• The proximity, was a second element of decision, concerning transport of course, but also to easier assist to the technical meeting and to invest ourselves much more into the Company’s life.

Were you strongly implicated in the new concept of building?

• Yes, of course, we built the first force-feeding building, new concept of Excel Company.
• We innovated to improve: the work comfort, the ambiance conditions, the longevity of the structures thanks to:
  • A cooling protected by an air arrival, this is against the weak closing of the animals’ space in winter.
  • An entry composed in two parts.
  • An important space to work for the force-feeding machines and for the ducks’ loading.
  • Two melting spaces: the space near to the cooling (fresher), less ventilated than the back of the room (near to the extractors).

This common thought with Excel Company technical department is a very great satisfaction.