Founded in 1993 by Alain Bioret, a French dairyman, and taken over in 2007 by his son, Jean-Vincent Bioret, Bioret Agri is a family company specializing in the design, production, and trading of rubber for animal comfort.
Since the beginning, eco-designed in France and with added value, Bioret Agri technical solutions have been linked to the physiological needs of animals and in particular the dairy cows.
Interview with Pauline Guéganno, Export Manager at Bioret Agri.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Pauline Guéganno: Since many years now, Bioret Agri is part of the group Bioret corp which recycle elastomer products, with a focus on performance, high service, and sustainable innovation. Bioret corp gathered 4 areas of activity focused on the design, manufacture, and distribution of flexible flooring for breeding, industry, government, and leisure made from recycled materials from the industry. Bioret corp is a family business on a human scale with 68 employees in France but also in Germany, Canada, Poland, Russia, and Taiwan.
The Bioret Agri main’s area of activity is the agriculture and our specialization in the dairy cow allow us to be expert in this area. Indeed, by studying and researching the dairy cows, we are able to know their needs and our ambitious goals are to improve their health, longevity, ingestion, fertility and lactation as better as we can thanks to our products.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
P.G: Our permanent objectives are innovation and quality. We continuously invest in research and development by creating new products for animal well-being designed with and for dairymen.
Our work is regularly awarded prizes by professional organizations everywhere on the planet.
Our last release awarded at the Eurotier 2021 is the Delta X alley flooring. This solution aims to provide an unslippery flooring for the cows that will automatically drain outside the building urine and faeces. This will provide healthier dairy cows as cows’ hoofs will be drier. Besides an automatic separation of the dejection will reduce by 70% the Ammonia emitted having thus a positive impact on the environment. By separating the phases, wastes will be better valued in manure spreading strategy and each form, solid or liquid, can be supplied at a different and optimal time based on crop needs. Greater accuracy can also be achieved. By avoiding the formation of slurry, DELTA X greatly reduces barn emissions of ammonia and produces both precious organic enhancement as well as concentrated organic fertilizer, both free of charge.
Combining synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, the un-emitted nitrous oxide exiting the barn and the reduction in methane emissions from solid waste, the total benefit for the planet is estimated to be around 3 to 4 tons of CO2 per cow per year. This is excellent news for the dairy farming community which is increasingly under pressure in the global warming debate.
In addition of all the prizes we can get, Bioret Agri is grateful to be labelled by Solar Impulse for 2 of its innovative products – the AquaClim Thermodynamic waterbed and the Delta X.
After having accomplished its historic flight around the world without fuel, Bertrand Piccard’s SOLAR IMPULSE foundation promotes 1000 innovative, efficient and profitable technological solutions to address environmental challenges without compromising economic growth. It distinguishes them with its EFFICIENT SOLUTION label.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
P.G: Thanks to its unique know-how, Bioret Agri is the leader of seamless mattresses in Europe and the only French cow mattress manufacturer! With its wide dealer network, Bioret Agri distributes cow mattresses and protective rubbers worldwide.
Our 3 ranges of products – bedding, flooring and barn environment – address all the challenges of sustainable dairy farming. They realistically deal with the key factors for success: heat stress reduction, ammonia emission control, bedding comfort, limb and tissue safety, hoof health and even the cow’s mood.
All our cow mattresses are developed to provide an optimal comfort for the dairy cows while they lay down at least 12 hours a day. Their comfort while lying is essential for a good milk production. Our range include waterbeds (Aquastar and Aquaclim mattresses) that have a proven effect on the cows’ well-being. The water pouch offers an optimized blood circulation thus reducing the pressure point for the cows and enhancing milk production. Thanks to the water in our mattresses, we provide a cooling effect on the cow by refreshing her through direct contact in heat stress period.
Our alley flooring rubbers are custom made & in rolls for a longer durability. They are design first to avoid cow’s slippage and protect their joints. Our Magellan alley flooring additionally provide drier and thus healthier hooves thanks to its collection grooves and allows a 40% ammonia reduction.
Our barn environment products, such as our Dairy Scratchy, a protective and massaging rubber pad with studs installed on walls or barriers, and our Cyclone fans, to fight against heat stress, are designed to complement our range to provide cows’ well-being
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
P.G: As per Bioret Agri’s worldwide dealer network we are active in different markets with different levels of readiness to our products. Bioret Agri adapt its products to the various markets it is on to make sure cows’ get what they need following the market’s regulations.
Bioret Agri’s recognition as an innovative leader in rubber for dairy cows allows us to be well integrated on key milk producer markets. Bioret Agri’s customers are looking for solutions that will benefit both cows and farmers.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
P.G: The European agriculture market is more and more pressured by the society as well as governments “breeding should be done in the respect of the animal conditions, and the world challenge is to reduce pollution”.
Bioret agri has been investing in R& D for years in orders to provide dairy cows an optimal comfort and solutions that will reduce dairy barn gas emissions.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
P.G: We can say that all our products are innovative because there are no other brands who do the same than us on the market, but we are very convinced that a healthy and studied living environment is the key to the success of the dairy farm.
We call it the Dairy Succes, and it gathered 4 Bioret products which can, all together, answer the needs of dairy cow.
The products are:
- the Aquaclim, the first climatized waterbed to fight heat stress. In heat stress period cows have difficulties to regulate their body temperature what has an impact on the cow’s metabolism and
- completed with the self-draining Magellan rubber flooring, which provides unslippery surface thanks to its design & grooves that drains off the liquid. Cows’ hooves will remain above the liquid, will therefore be drier and healthier. The Magellan flooring has proven Ammonia reduction by up to 40% favoring the cow’s health and the environment.
- the Feeding Step is a feed platform installed along the headlocks ensuring that cows are no longer interrupted by the passage of the scraper allowing an optimal feed intake. Dividers installed every 2 cows allow the platform to keep clean and avoid the disturbance between the dominee and dominant cow.
- the Cyclone 360, a recirculation fan for high-speed ventilation against heat stress.