CowGestion defines itself as an expert in agricultural financial leasing. It is therefore a leasing solution but not limited to financing equipment. It is one of the alternative financing tools we are presenting to you.
CowGestion allows a farmer to lease cattle (or equipment) rather than simply owning it. The advantage is obvious: the farmer does not block capital for the financing of his herd and can therefore have more cash flow.
It is a solution for financing movable assets specifically designed for cattle farming.
CowGestion works somewhat like a participatory financing model by appealing to savers who wish to make a financial investment. These savings are used to buy the livestock or equipment which will then be rented to the breeder.
Guillaume DELORMEL, the founder of CowGestion, wanted to provide a solution that would help reduce farmers' debt because farms have low profitability in relation to the capital invested. This situation results in financing difficulties (obtaining an agreement to finance a project) and repayment difficulties (paying bank instalments and reducing the capital due to the bank). Cow leasing has therefore emerged as a solution to reduce the financial pressure on farmers.
The investor finances the purchase of a herd of cattle (dairy or suckler) or equipment via CowGestion, which rents them to selected breeders. The investment is accessible from €1,300 for a dairy cow or €2,000 for a suckler cow.
CowGestion is a member of the FAIR collective, a player in the field of solidarity finance, and also allows investors to benefit from a tax reduction.
The setting up of a livestock lease is accompanied by numerous guarantees to reduce the risk: compulsory civil liability insurance for the breeder, additional insurance covering the risks of epidemics, diseases and accidents, annual screening for diseases and vaccination, agricultural warrant, etc. Moreover, the renewal of animals allows a cow that has been culled to be replaced naturally by its offspring in the lease contract.
Cowgestion only selects breeders with official environmental certifications (organic farming, high environmental value, ...).
CowGestion intervenes in 2 ways:
By buying a herd and then renting it to a farmer
The principle is the same for the equipment, CowGestion can buy the equipment in place and then rent it to the farmer. Or buy equipment in place of the farmer and then rent it to the farmer.
Good to know: Cowgestion needs a history of the farm to set up a livestock or equipment rental. Also, they cannot accompany a project of installation, but can do it for a creation of workshop (on an existing farm) or the development of a workshop already in place.
The rent (about €50 per dairy cow per year) can be paid in cash or in kind by the delivery of heifers from the rented cows. The farmer can choose to regain ownership of all or part of the rented herd at any time by increasing the amount of his repayments.
This flexibility in the repayment terms is a strength of the scheme. The breeder has only one constraint, the contract, which is made for an initial period of 7 years, stipulates that at the end of these 7 years, at least ¼ of the herd must have been reimbursed to Cowgestion.
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