100 years of passion

Farming in Quebec has long been a story of family businesses. Countless family farms have been handed down from one generation to the next, and each farm carries its own story. It’s a story that always begins with devoted men and women, and continues with the plans and hopes of the next generation.

There are still many family farms in Quebec today that were established many generations ago. The dedicated families who own and operate them take great pride in their work and the products they offer consumers. Many of these products are now exported all over the world, such as our maple syrup, pork products (distributed to over 80 countries), and blueberries.

Discover the histories of the families who have won the Fondation de la famille agricole’s “Farm Family of the Year This link will open in a new window” award since it started in 1957. These are inspiring stories of passion tell how knowledge and land has been passed on.

Women have always played an invaluable role in agriculture, but this role has not been properly reflected. Women have historically had to fight to gain recognition for their work and for being co-owners of farm businesses. To learn more about women in Quebec agriculture, visit the Agricultrices du Québec website This link will open in a new window.

For Quebec’s agricultural producers, nothing outweighs the importance of offering high-quality products. That’s why many value the chance to have direct contact with their customers through farmers’ markets, public markets, farmgate stalls and stands, and regional fairs and events. Connecting with their consumers face-to-face helps producers continually improve their products to stay up to date with what their customers are looking for. 

The farming profession requires passion and courage, and usually some amount of self-sacrifice. It also requires love of the land, of animals and of the people who will ultimately eat the food. Being an agricultural and forestry producer means rarely or ever taking breaks or holidays, especially for farmers who raise animals. It means your work and life depend on the whims of Mother Nature. It means wearing an astonishing number of hats: administrator, human resources manager, plumber, electrician, salesperson, mechanic, midwife, supervisor, cleaner, motivator, banker, groomer, buyer, negotiator, and more. It means that the pressure is on you to think of everything at all times—which means you often end up putting yourself second. For agricultural and forestry producers, maintaining mental health can be a challenge.

More than ever before, today’s farm businesses face complex circumstances and significant challenges. The year 2023, a particularly difficult one for Quebec agriculture, offers a good illustration of the realities our agricultural businesses now face: extremely high input prices due to inflation, rising interest rates, and erratic weather causing major crop losses—all against a backdrop of tightening regulations, labour shortages and immense pressure on farmland. These new factors (which are quickly becoming the new normal) create major instabilities, yet our provincial and federal policies remain unchanged. Despite the need, Canada has one of the lowest levels of funding among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.