AgricultureID

Region · FR-NOR

Normandie

A mild, moist oceanic (Cfb) climate on the English Channel coast, favouring permanent grassland in the western bocage and arable cropping on the eastern chalk plains.

Major crop systems

  • Cereals (wheat and barley) on the eastern chalk plains of the Pays de Caux
  • Cider apples in the bocage, notably the Pays d'Auge (cider and Calvados)
  • Fibre flax (linen) — the Caux and lower Seine are among the world's prime flax-fibre areas
  • Sugar beet and oilseed rape

Major livestock systems

  • Dairy cattle, including the Normande breed, supplying butter, cream and cheeses such as Camembert, Livarot and Pont-l'Évêque
  • Beef cattle on the western grasslands

Agricultural land: A region of two faces — grassland-based dairy and orchards in the western bocage, and intensive arable farming on the fertile Pays de Caux plateau in the east. Irrigation: Reliable Atlantic rainfall keeps grassland and arable cropping predominantly rainfed, with little need for irrigation.

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 Normandie — Regional chamber of agriculture; farm advisory services and technical references.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Normandie 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-NOR.
  • Any production statistics are dated, source-specific and periodically revised; read them with their year and dataset version.
  • The grassland-and-orchard bocage west and the arable chalk east are distinct systems that regional totals combine.

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