Terres de Jim · 2026

Agoris analysis · updated June 2026

Key takeaways

• Les Terres de Jim 2026 runs from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September at Metz-Magny (Moselle, Grand Est), on a 100-hectare open-air site, for the 12th edition of Europe's largest open-air farming festival.
• A touring event: Moselle hosts Les Terres de Jim for the second time, eleven years after the 2015 edition held on the former Frescaty air base. Moselle is the 2026 pilot department under the aegis of the Jeunes Agriculteurs union.
• The Finale Nationale de Labour (National Ploughing Final) remains the historic heart of the event: heir to the Jeunes Agriculteurs ploughing final (more than 65 years of heritage according to the union), it brought together 27 competitors in 2025 and will be contested at Metz-Magny by reigning champion Victor Duchaux, the first Moselle native crowned French flat-ploughing champion (2025 edition, Vieux-Manoir).
• A free, public-facing format: more than 100 activities, livestock and crop sections, machinery demonstrations, helicopter and hot-air balloon flights, an educational farm, and evening concerts. 1,200 volunteers mobilised, around 200 professional and agricultural exhibitors expected, with a target of 100,000+ visitors across three days.
• Friday 11 September dedicated to schools: an educational day reserved for institutions (primary, secondary and sixth-form schools, specialist institutes) with a strand on discovering agricultural careers.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

The event brings together all of France's agricultural sectors in a popular festival format: machinery exhibitors (tractors, combine harvesters, new and vintage equipment), the livestock sector (cattle, sheep, equine), the crop sector (arable farming, seeds), chambers of agriculture, cooperatives, unions, professional organisations (Crédit Agricole, Groupama, MSA), and agricultural education. Les Terres de Jim is not a classic B2B trade show: it is a showcase of French agriculture aimed at the general public, built around a flagship competition (the Finale Nationale de Labour) and a programme of activities.

Notable exhibitors

Official 2026 partners announced on the organiser's website: TotalEnergies, Crédit Agricole, Groupama, Chambre d'agriculture de la Moselle. Institutional partners: Région Grand Est, Département de la Moselle, Eurométropole de Metz, Ville de Metz. The Qualité MOSL brand (Moselle's departmental quality mark) is highlighted to promote local sectors and terroirs. The full list of 2026 exhibitors will be available on the event's official page.

Visitor quality

A mixed profile: a majority of regional general public (Grand Est, Luxembourg, border areas of Belgium), families, and schools on the Friday, but also agricultural professionals, elected officials and specialist press (Réussir, La France Agricole, regional agricultural press such as La Moselle Agricole, Est Agricole, Le Paysan Vosgien). The 2025 edition in Seine-Maritime drew more than 70,000 visitors across three days, attended notably by Édouard Philippe (the former Prime Minister visited on the Saturday). The 100,000+ visitor target set by the organisers remains a projection: actual figures vary with the weather and the appeal of the host department.

Activities & community

Conference and activities programme

A programme structured around several announced sections: an animal section (cattle, sheep, equine), a crop section, motorised activities (machinery demonstrations), les Halles de Jim (a gastronomy and terroir area), youth activities (educational farm, children's workshops), and helicopter and hot-air balloon flights. At the 2025 edition in Seine-Maritime, flagship activities included tractor pulling, a maize maze, Garden Cross, Moiss' Batt' Cross, Auto-Foot and helicopter flights. Evening concerts are a tradition of the event (in 2025: Let Dzur, Collectif Métissé, Black M); the 2026 musical line-up will be announced by the organisers in the months before the event.

Awards & accolades

Finale Nationale de Labour: the emblematic competition of Les Terres de Jim, a direct heir to the Jeunes Agriculteurs national ploughing final (more than 65 years of heritage according to the JA union, dating the creation of the JA ploughing contests to the 1950s). Two canonical categories: flat ploughing and in-furrow ploughing. In 2025 at Vieux-Manoir, 27 competitors took part. Victor Duchaux was crowned 2025 French flat-ploughing champion: he is the first Moselle native to win this title, which gives the event's return to Moselle a strong symbolic dimension. Selection of the 2026 competitors goes through the regional ploughing finals, including the Grand Est final.

Satellite events

Schools day, Friday 11 September: an opening partly reserved for educational institutions (primary, secondary and sixth-form schools, specialist institutes), with a strand on discovering careers and vocational guidance towards the agricultural sectors. Festive evening, Saturday 12 September: concerts open to the public. The three-day format combines an educational Friday, a festive Saturday and a competitive Sunday (the Finale Nationale de Labour as the highlight of the Sunday).

Community & networks

The institutional social network of the Jeunes Agriculteurs (national organiser) and the Jeunes Agriculteurs de la Moselle (local organiser), with a strong presence on Facebook (the official Les Terres de Jim account), Instagram and YouTube. Cross-cutting mobilisation of the national JA network at every edition: all departments take part in recruiting competitors for the Finale Nationale de Labour.

Regular specialist press coverage: Réussir, La France Agricole, Pleinchamp, and the host department's regional agricultural press. For 2026, Moselle regional press (Le Républicain Lorrain, Moselle TV, La Moselle Agricole, RCF Jerico Moselle) and institutional outlets (Moselle.fr, Région Grand Est) are active relays.

What's new in 2026

A return to Moselle eleven years after 2015 (Frescaty), with a twofold symbolic effect: Moselle is home to the reigning Finale Nationale de Labour champion, Victor Duchaux. The event takes place during a 2026 placed by the Département de la Moselle under the "sign of agriculture" (in the words of its president Patrick Weiten, Moselle.fr): preserving farming practices, developing local sectors, and the challenge of water resources. There is a stronger emphasis on the Qualité MOSL mark on local products exhibited and tasted on site.

On site: what you need to know

• Venue: the open-air site of Metz-Magny (a district of Metz, Moselle, Grand Est region). A touring format: Les Terres de Jim moves to a different department each year, and the chosen site is an agricultural area of around 100 hectares laid out for the event (not an exhibition centre). The precise address and access plan are published by the organisers in the "practical information" section of the official website as the event approaches.
• Access: Metz is served by motorway (A4 Paris-Strasbourg, A31 Luxembourg-Nancy) and high-speed rail (Metz-Ville at 1h22 from Paris-Est, LGV Est line). The Eurométropole de Metz is a 2026 partner, and local shuttle services and dedicated car parks can be expected as the show approaches (to be confirmed on the official website).
• Accommodation: Metz and its conurbation (2-4 star hotels, rural guesthouses, campsites). Book early, as September is a busy month in Metz (start of the university year, festivals). The Luxembourg and German borders are nearby for international visitors.
• Opening times: Friday 11 September reserved for schools for part of the day, with Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 open to the general public all day. Precise times to be confirmed on the official website.
• Free admission: the event is traditionally free for the general public (a model funded by institutional and private partners). 2026 admission arrangements to be confirmed on the "practical information" page of the official website.
• Services: on-site catering (les Halles de Jim, food trucks, Qualité MOSL tasting area), educational farm, children's areas, helicopter and hot-air balloon flights (by booking and at specific prices).

Planning your visit

For the exhibitor or partner

• 12 months out: make contact with the Jeunes Agriculteurs de la Moselle organising committee (national JA network) to join the exhibitor programme or a partnership
• 9 months out: confirm the terms of attendance (space, activity format, machinery demonstrations), book a pitch
• 6 months out: stand, demo and equipment logistics
• 3 months out: team briefing, regional press pack, coordination with JA volunteers
• 6 weeks out: final confirmation, team accreditations

For the ploughing competitor

• Finale Nationale de Labour competitors qualify via the Jeunes Agriculteurs regional ploughing finals (notably the Grand Est final for ploughers in the area). The qualification calendar runs in the spring and summer before the event.
• Two categories: flat ploughing, in-furrow ploughing.

For the general-public visitor

• Free entry (to be confirmed on the official website as the event approaches)
• Favour the Saturday for the full activities + concerts programme, and the Sunday for the Finale Nationale de Labour
• Friday is partly reserved for schools
• Bring outdoor footwear (a 100-hectare agricultural site) and dress for open-field weather
• Large-scale on-site parking (to be specified on the official website)

Policy & CSR initiatives

Les Terres de Jim carries an implicit positioning that promotes French agricultural sectors, sustainable livestock farming and terroir products, with a strong educational dimension (a dedicated schools day, an educational farm). The 2026 edition highlights the Département de la Moselle's Qualité MOSL mark, a departmental label for local and sustainable products, as well as Moselle agriculture within an "eat healthy and local" approach. The president of the Département de la Moselle, Patrick Weiten, has placed 2026 "under the sign of agriculture", with an announced focus on preserving farming practices, developing local sectors and managing water resources (Moselle.fr).

Beyond the institutional messaging, the Jeunes Agriculteurs does not set out a structured, public CSR policy on the official Les Terres de Jim page (no dedicated environmental commitment report, no Net Zero Carbon Events signature). The open-air, touring nature and volunteer mobilisation place the event within a logic of local proximity, but its footprint (visitor travel, machinery-demonstration energy, waste management) is not publicly documented.

How the show has evolved

Trajectory analysis

Launched in 2014 alongside the Mondial de Labour in Bordeaux, Les Terres de Jim quickly established a stable formula: one host JA department per year, three days in September, the Finale Nationale de Labour as the competitive heart, a broad public-facing programme (activities, livestock, machinery, concerts) and a dedicated schools day. The touring model helps cover the country and mobilise the JA network locally, but it makes edition-to-edition comparison tricky: attendance depends heavily on the agricultural density of the host department, its tourist appeal and the weather.

The 2025 edition in Seine-Maritime drew a reported 70,000-plus visitors, a solid figure for a department where the event had never been held. The 2026 edition at Metz-Magny takes place in a territory that already knows the event (2015 at Frescaty) and is home to the 2025 Finale Nationale de Labour title-holder, Victor Duchaux. Potentially doubling attendance (the 100,000+ target) will rest in particular on the proximity of the Luxembourg and German borders, on the Duchaux ambassador effect and on the mobilisation of the Département and the Eurométropole.

The format remains typical of a touring, public-facing farming festival: no international B2B ambition, no classic "trade show" model, but a solid media and institutional showcase for the Jeunes Agriculteurs union and for the French agricultural sector.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (lesterresdejim.com).