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00:00 What a beautiful 60th edition here at the heart of the Eurotech grey-haired SEA, my dear Johan, I'm delighted.
00:05 A president, we love presidents, two out of three when they are "hubloniers".
00:15 Exactly.
00:16 How do you become a "hublonier" in France?
00:18 Historically it was Alsace who...
00:20 That's it, that's it. And then precisely if you don't take advantage of the show to be able to talk about
00:23 jobs that we don't know too much about but that are essential.
00:26 And in this case, produce "hublon" to brew good French beers.
00:31 Because if we don't have "hublon" we don't have beers.
00:34 Yes, of course.
00:35 So no "hublon", no beers. And no farmers, no "hublon".
00:38 So today, what is the physiognomy of this agriculture in France in terms of "hublon"?
00:43 The "hublon" line is actually traditionally spread over Alsace, in the north.
00:51 And for a few years we have been many to settle in the territories of France.
00:55 So to be as close as possible to the "brasseurs".
00:57 Because you are in the islands.
00:58 I am in the islands, Yvelines for example, to be on two hectares in biological agriculture
01:03 and be really as close as possible to the "brasseurs" of France, of the islands of France.
01:07 We talk today, it's a plant because it's what, 4, 5 meters? It grows...
01:12 So that's it. First of all, the specific and exceptional side of the "hublon" is what we are passionate about in the Association "Houblon de France".
01:20 It is that this plant will grow 10 meters high, it will eventually grow 25 centimeters in a day.
01:26 Up to 10 meters anyway, it's incredible.
01:28 Up to 10 meters high and suddenly it is the production of the flower, it is the flower that we will harvest as a really aromatic plant for our beers.
01:36 It is true that you have independently shaped landscapes, that's a fact.
01:41 Also shaped, I would say, the physiognomy of our beers.
01:44 Because we have seen bloom for about a decade, thousands of local breweries, artisanal breweries.
01:51 It was an extraordinary wealth that is brought today and more and more these "brasseurs" are turning to producers like you, François.
01:58 Yes, I like your first sentence to say that the farmer is the first landscaper of France.
02:03 Yes, we have had a arrival of new microbreweries for a few years, quite exponential.
02:11 Today we are around 2,700-3,000 breweries in France.
02:16 So behind, we have to produce "Houblon" and we are looking for the local, we are looking for the direct link between the farmer and the transformer.
02:24 And to have with the consumer also more and more local products.
02:28 It is a long-term plant.
02:29 A long-term plant that can ...
02:30 It is there for what? 20 years, 30 years?
02:32 It can be 50 years, 60 years, 70 years.
02:34 Like a vine, you are a little ...
02:35 That's it, we often call it the vine of the north.
02:37 Hence the interest of working on the sustainable side of our production line and the idea that we want a "Houblon" of tomorrow.
02:45 And the "Houblon" of tomorrow is not the "Houblon" connected to the 4G or 5G.
02:48 It is a "Houblon" that is landowner in its territory and which is not dependent on phytosanitary products, for example.
02:58 Exactly, Johan, you just put the accent.
03:00 We talk a lot about water problems, in quotes.
03:03 It is a plant that deeply roots.
03:06 Yes, yes, yes, yes.
03:07 This is one of the issues of tomorrow.
03:10 It is that obviously with global warming, we see that we will have to be innovative on the irrigation side, water supply for the plant.
03:21 It is not a ...
03:22 The "Houblon" is not a big water consumer, but there are periods of the year when it absolutely needs it.
03:27 It must be able to.
03:28 Hence the idea of the "Houblon" of tomorrow where we must change our practices.
03:32 We can no longer have completely bare soil.
03:34 We can no longer have hydric loss as we do in our current practices.
03:40 It is precisely this rooting, it is necessarily the spirit, the soul of this subsoil that also characterizes the flower.
03:47 There is a specific subsoil typology for varieties of "Houblon"?
03:51 Yes, because necessarily the soil will be that of the soil, of its depth, of its acidity too.
03:59 An acidic soil will be more representative of a good plant health.
04:04 So we're going to look for very specific climatic conditions for the "Houblon".
04:10 Hence also our need in the field with "Houblon de France" is to improve our skills.
04:18 And so our association is there too to carry this value of a "Houblon de demain"
04:22 but also to accompany project bearers and be there in solidarity with project bearers
04:27 who must have a sustainable and livable installation.
04:30 There is this idea.
04:32 We see it, the issues are today present, committed to a future.
04:36 Here too, our local, artisanal, regional breweries.
04:40 It is a mutual with you, producers of "Houblon", "Houblonier de France".
04:45 It will make bloom in our consumers' minds beautiful synergies and beautiful passions.
04:51 Because I believe that we cannot dissociate the pleasure of production, of surplus,
04:56 in these years when agriculture is at the heart of our concerns.
04:59 That's it, with passion and activism. Exactly.
05:01 [Music]