Quebec agriculture is called upon to transform itself, between the challenges of climate change, the global economy, labor shortages and animal welfare, to name a few. The new president of the Union des producteurs agricoles, elected in November, intends to place farmers at the heart of this forward march, without however rushing things.
Martin Caron’s dairy cows howl when strangers, such as a journalist and a photographer from the Duty, venture onto his farm in Louiseville, Mauricie. There are around fifty of them in the herd, slightly smaller than the Quebec average, which is 76 cows, according to the Quebec Milk Producers.
On one of the grain silos is inscribed the name of the Macha farm, a contraction of Martin and Chantal, his wife, with whom he took over the business in 1994. The dairy and grain producer nostalgically presents the modest property that once belonged to his parents.
“I was born in the gray house over there. Currently, it is my son who lives there, says the 56-year-old man. In the past, there were a few dairy cows, hens for eggs, pigs. It was diversified agriculture, and my mother had a garden that started from the road and ended at the end of the building here. “
“When you start in business, people say they are at the bottom of the ladder, but my father often said that their ladder had to be fixed. “, adds the president of the Quebec agricultural union group.
The house where he lives with Chantal is opposite the stable. He returns there to continue the interview in the dining room, brews two coffees and pours raw milk from his own animals into a glass creamer.
When Mr. Caron began to get involved in agricultural associations, some thirty years ago, it was to value those who, like his parents, toiled hard without much recognition.
“The organization was called the Future Professionals of Agriculture. We carried out activities to encourage people to buy products from Quebec, ”said the farmer.
A few years later, while he was president of the branch of the UPA in Mauricie, he started the campaign “L’UPA, c’est moi”, offering to the public, online and on posters, a description of its members. The mobile application and the website Eat Local, launched by the UPA in the summer of 2020, pursue the same objective.
“I want to bring consumer citizens to understand what we are going through, because there is a distance between the two”, says the one who still milks his cows on weekends, despite his almost full-time job at the UPA.
To respect the environment
Mr. Caron believes that agricultural practices must be reviewed to better protect the environment. He insists, for example, that it is generally counterproductive to cultivate the soil in the fall, as many growers do.
“You have to have plant cover in the fall to maintain the structure of the soil. If I leave my soil bare and there is heavy water, I may have reduced my pesticides, the soil will collect in the waterways, with pesticide and fertilizer residues. He describes.
Mr. Caron says he is making efforts himself. About fifty of the 250 hectares that it rents for the production of various cereals is devoted to “sustainable agriculture” of wheat, barley and oats. He therefore does not use pesticides or fertilizers on this portion.
“I learned a lot from organic producers. For example, we have a comb to remove weeds, ”he explains.
Its wheat is ground into flour and sold locally for human consumption, its oats are used to make porridge, and its barley is used by some microbreweries.
For adequate environmental actions to be taken by farmers, however, it is desirable to use the carrot rather than the stick, training and support rather than administrative obligations, according to Mr. Caron. Farmers are buried under forms to fill out for various ministries, he says, which eats up their time that they could devote to developing comprehensive strategies adapted to their reality and based on their expertise. Simplifying this paperwork will be one of the main battles of his mandate.
Under the sign of continuity
Sitting on the executive council of the UPA for ten years, the president of the UPA admits that his projects are in continuity with those of his predecessor, Marcel Groleau. To promote access to land for the next generation, he maintains that the division of land into smaller lots, as the provincial government intends to promote, is not a good solution.
“There are lots that are already there. Rather, we need to improve and update the establishment programs and bonuses intended for the next generation, ”believes the man who is also seeking to transfer his own dairy farm, since his son does not wish to pursue this path alone.
He also recalls that there is a glaring labor shortage in agriculture, so permanent immigration and the arrival of temporary foreign workers must be facilitated.
Regarding animal welfare, he stressed that practices evolve based on research and various consultations within the affected sectors. “How long should cows have to walk, for example,” he wonders in particular. “But we always have in mind to remain competitive. It is not fair to the producers to assume the costs related to that ”, underlines the one that his wife describes as“ a team guy ”.
Mr. Caron assures us that the UPA is more necessary than ever to bring producers of all types, large and small, to find solutions to their challenges and to pool their marketing, promotion and research efforts.
“On a daily basis, our people participate in a social project, that of feeding Quebecers. “