A Visit to a Local Goat Farm

with Julie Boulanger

A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete

GOAT FARM The Does: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE DOES

As soon as I stepped through the gate, I was swarmed by a mass of baby goats and had a flashback to when I was five years old somewhere in Vancouver, Canada, looking down at a goat that had chewed a hole through my sweater.

GOAT FARM The Kids: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE KIDS

“Don’t goats eat clothing?” I asked Nicolas Navarrete, co-owner of the goat farm La Chèvrerie du Boulou and my host.

“Oh, no they don’t eat clothes,” he reassured me. “They just nibble them.”

Indeed they do. We were in the area where the kids are kept, and they were nipping at the pockets of my hoodie as if a teat would miraculously appear. Still, I was glad that my visit started with the kids (the actual proper word for baby goats). They were cute and playful and oh so soft!

GOAT FARM The Kids: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete

Their mothers looked at me with curiosity and intent. They stood a few meters away in another fenced area. We would be visiting them later. For now, Nicolas shared with me his family’s story (him, his wife Marie, their three children and their huge Patou dog – more on him later!).

Background

Both Nicolas and Marie are originally from Brittany and have moved around quite a bit. Nicolas studied business. Before moving to the P-O, he was the Operations Managers of the Escalquens Decathlon store, the biggest one in the Toulouse area. Marie also has experience in the retail sector. When they met in Paris, she was the manager of a Zara store. These past years she has worked in childcare.

Together, they came to the P-O for a simpler approach to life.

They opened the restaurant Aux Saveurs Bretonnes, a crêperie in the centre of Perpignan near the Castillet. On offer are crêpes, gauffres and salads all made with fresh produce, much of which is  organic. Dry goods are brought in from Brittany while fresh products is  sourced in the department. The Navarretes favour short-circuit retail (circuits courts), which in France is defined as produce bought directly from the producers. Their dedication to offering home-made dishes made of fresh local food is rewarded year and again by mentions in the Petit Futé tourist guides.



However, like many restaurants, COVID confinements put a heavy strain on their business. Unfortunately for them, things did not get easier once the pandemic subsided. One August night in 2022, one of their neighbours, the restaurant Le Mess, went up in flames. Because Aux Saveurs Bretonnes was within the security parameters, they were forced to close for several months.

It was time to think of different revenue streams.

How it started

Nicolas is very clear about their motivations: organic farming, animals, and human beings, and they wished to raise their three children in accordance with these values. When thinking about the next step, an animal farm seemed like a perfect fit.

GOAT FARM The Does: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE DOES

First, they took advantage of the pandemic-pause to train in the new skills they would need. Both Nicolas and Marie completed a BPREA (Brevet Professionnel Responsable d’Entreprise Agricole), which is the state vocational diploma needed to set up a business in livestock farming and/or agriculture.

Then, they found a business to buy. A goat farm on the hills off of Le Boulou was up for sale. They spent a year at the farm shadowing the owner and learning their new trade. In October 2023, they concluded the sell and christened their new business, La chèvrerie du Boulou.

GOAT FARM The set up: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE SET UP

The Business of a Goat Farm

“Why goats?” I asked Nicolas. I myself have never imagined starting a farm, not even in the depths of COVID, so the question seemed a legitimate one.

“Goats are great!” was his enthusiastic response. “They’re fun! They each have their own personality. Unlike sheep who  just follow the sheep that’s ahead.”

I decided to take his word for it.

GOAT FARM The set up: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE SET UP

Maintaining a goat farm implies three different professions:

  1. Breeder and rancher – All things involving the care of the animals.
  2. Cheesemaker – Transforming their milk into produce.
  3. Salesperson – Distributing and selling the final product.

A typical day starts off with a morning milking, followed by a few hours of working the milk into cheese. This is done on-site in a special closed-off facility (I wasn’t allowed to enter lest unwanted bacteria affect the wheels of cheese that were quietly aging).

GOAT FARM The set up: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE SET UP

Afternoons are grazing time. This involves walking their herd of 70 goats some 3 to 9 kilometers. Usually one of their children tags along as does Bluey, their Great Pyrenees dog. The female goats are raised to consider “their humans” as their parents and follow them everywhere, so their Patou is not needed for herding; he helps to ward off potential predators.

La chèvrerie du Boulou has 30 hectares of land. In addition to that space, the town of Le Boulou has granted them grazing rights over 90 hectares of adjacent land. This works out well for everyone. The goats have more land on which to feed, and their grazing creates fuel breaks. Effectively, by keeping the grass and shrubbery low, their grazing helps slow the spread of potential wildfires.

GOAT FARM The Does: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE DOES

So far, the Navarretes have been lucky with the breeding of their herd. This year their does birthed 35 female kids out of 45.



Nicolas explained the finances behind male kids.

If a farmer wants to sell a buck to the slaughterhouse, he/she would have to fatten the animal up to 12 kg (the minimum required weight). The farmer could expect 8 € for the buck, but it would have cost him 80 € to fatten him up, resulting in a loss of 72 €. Not financially interesting, which is why a “good year” for goat farmers welcomes many female kids and few males.

As for their ten baby bucks, they will be grazers and eventually used for mating.

Goat farmers in the department tend to pass around their bucks to avoid inbreeding health issues.

GOAT FARM The Does: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE DOES

For goats, go south of Narbonne!

Goats don’t fare well in humid weather. High humidity (above 60%) causes various sicknesses and hinders their ability to sweat, which causes them heat stress. As much of their energy is spent digesting, a goat experiencing heat stress will eat less to try to regulate its body temperature. This is not what a goat farmer wants.

The warm weather in the Pyrénées Orientales, blown dry by the Tramontane, makes this department an ideal place to raise goats. As most French farmers know…

Where can you buy their cheeses?

Being believers in short-circuit retail, their goat cheeses can be found in a 30-minute drive radius from their farm. Some of their points of sale are:

  • The Argelès-sur-mer market, in the village, Saturday mornings.
  • The Paysans de la mer et de la terre grocery store in Argelès-sur-mer.
  • The Helene Colls cheese shop in Perpignan.
  • The AMAP 4,  Anglet.

Their cheeses are also on the menu at Lac i Va Bé in Villeneuve de la Raho and at Mamma (Les Roches Brunes hotel) in Collioure.

Future Plans

As serial entrepreneurs, the Navarrettes have many plans for the future. Nicolas mentioned an “open farm” that people could come and visit, as well as a storefront at the farm where they could host cheese tastings and sell their products. He also seems keen to offer what he calls éco-pâturage, the possibility of hiking along with the goats during their daily graze-walk.

Currently, they are offering Sunday morning (from 10 to noon) visits of the farm.

GOAT FARM The set up: A Visit to La Chèvrerie / Fromagerie du Boulou to meet Nicolas & Marie Navarrete
THE SET UP

Just in case some readers fear dogs, I care to mention that you needn’t be afraid of Bluey, despite his imposing form. Before being assailed by the kids in their pen, he welcomed me at the door of my car. A huge fluffball of play and joy! I wouldn’t want to be in his bad books, but a graze-walk with him and his sisters sounds like a good afternoon to me!

And don’t forget to pop into Aux Saveurs Bretonnes next time you’re in Perpignan for a delicious sweet or savoury pancake

For more information, visit them on their Facebook page. Or email Nicolas and Marie at: Lafromagerieduboulou@gmail.com.



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