AgricultureID

Region · FR-BRE

Bretagne

A mild, wet oceanic (Cfb) climate on France's northwestern Atlantic peninsula, with cool summers, mild winters and few frosts.

Major crop systems

  • Forage crops — maize silage and grassland — grown to feed livestock
  • Field vegetables of the northern "ceinture dorée" (golden belt): cauliflower, artichoke, shallot and early potato
  • Cereals grown largely as animal feed

Major livestock systems

  • Pigs — Brittany is France's leading pig-producing region
  • Poultry (broilers and eggs) in intensive confined systems
  • Dairy cattle, a mainstay of the region's milk and cheese industry

Agricultural land: Brittany is France's foremost intensive-livestock region, with a dense network of farms tightly integrated with feed, meat and dairy processing. Irrigation: Abundant, reliable rainfall means farming is overwhelmingly rainfed; irrigation is limited to some high-value vegetable ground.

Agroecological zones: Cfb (Oceanic (marine west coast))

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Agreste — Ministère de l'Agriculture (SSP) — Official French agricultural statistics service; regional crop, livestock and land-use data.
  • INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement) — National agricultural, food and environmental research institute.
  • Chambre régionale d'agriculture de Bretagne — Regional chamber of agriculture; farm advisory services and technical references.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Bretagne are published by Agreste (Ministère de l'Agriculture) and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classifications follow the official ISO 3166-2 code FR-BRE.
  • Any production statistics are dated, source-specific and periodically revised; read them with their year and dataset version.
  • The high density of confined pig and poultry units makes nutrient management and water quality significant regional considerations.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]European Commission — Agriculture and rural development (opens in a new tab)

    European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture

    Authoritative

    Cited for: EU regional agriculture and market context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    European Union
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Crop and livestock production context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12