AgricultureID

Region · FR-CVL

Centre-Val de Loire

A mild oceanic (Cfb) climate with a slight continental influence over the open plains of the Beauce and the Loire valley.

Major crop systems

  • Cereals — winter wheat and barley — across the Beauce and neighbouring plains
  • Oilseed rape as the main break crop
  • Wine in the Loire Valley (Sancerre, Touraine, Chinon and Vouvray)
  • Maize, sunflower and seed and vegetable crops

Major livestock systems

  • Sheep in the Berry and on lighter ground
  • Goats supplying the Loire Valley goat cheeses (such as Selles-sur-Cher and Sainte-Maure de Touraine)
  • Some cattle

Agricultural land: Home to the Beauce, one of France's great cereal plains ("the granary of France"), the region is dominated by large, open-field arable farming. Irrigation: Irrigation from the underlying Beauce limestone aquifer supports maize and seed crops, and abstraction is actively managed to protect groundwater.

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 Centre-Val de Loire — Regional chamber of agriculture; farm advisory services and technical references.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Centre-Val de Loire 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-CVL.
  • Any production statistics are dated, source-specific and periodically revised; read them with their year and dataset version.
  • Large-scale cereal cropping dominates land area, but Loire-valley wine and goat cheeses carry disproportionate value.

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