The farm will have 15 years in 2024 ! Where can I start to summarize our last 15 years? Well! Let's start with a man, François, who sometimes has surprising ideas like planting sea buckthorn plants for his retirement. A small fruit that few people knew about in 2008. So, François and his family planted shrubs in Pointe-Fortune on land not far from their cottage. Then Éric, a computer science student, decided to take a beekeeping course in Alma. Quite simply, by saying to himself, why not work on the land in Pointe-Fortune. And there you have it! The farm started in 2009 with 20 hives and a lot of motivation. François and Jeanne, Éric's parents, joined the company in 2013 and the construction of the honey house was completed the same year. 2013 was a big year, because Éric had his head in the clouds a little when he met me on the Agri-rencontre website. And yes, a dating site for lovers of agriculture. Ok, I admit it, I also got the beekeeping bug!
Here I am, Hélène, I joined the company in 2019 with the addition of market gardens. This will be my 10th season growing organic vegetables in Pointe-Fortune. It took a lot of sweat and hard work to succeed in this adventure of wanting to feed the world while respecting ecosystems. My childhood dream of having a farm has been realized and my social and environmental commitment has only grown over the years.
In Pointe-Fortune, they say that for every shovelful, there is a rock. That can give you an idea of all the work that has been done to prepare our beautiful gardens. We have removed endless rocks. 10 years later, there are still some left… Much less, but there are still some. As if to say that there are not only vegetables that grow in our fields…
Time passes incredibly quickly and slowly in agriculture. We don't see the days go by, but when we make a mistake, we often have to wait until next season to start again. We have had some good successes like offering guided tours of the farm starting in 2017, country dinners in 2019 or ice cream in 2022. The diversification of the farm is probably our greatest success. Over the years, we have also added the production of pastured eggs, as well as the production of pastured pig. This allows us to diversify income that can fluctuate greatly with the weather, the economy or, quite simply, a pandemic? Agriculture and being an entrepreneur also have their challenges and their less successful shots like sea buckthorn shrubs that died in large numbers in the first years, a high mortality of bees on a few occasions or the construction of a greenhouse in the middle of winter. Over the years, we have learned from our mistakes and rolled up our sleeves to improve the profitability of our productions, because I will not hide from you that you do not become rich in agriculture.
For Éric and I, our biggest challenge was certainly becoming parents in 2020. Our little Léo brings us the greatest joy, but being farmers and parents brings its share of challenges with our (over)loaded schedule during the high season. Luckily, he likes to come to the farm to eat mom's tomatoes and dad's honey! And if grandpa François is there, you will find Léo in the sea buckthorn grove with him to eat a phenomenal amount of fruit. A connoisseur if you meet him! Besides, he sometimes stays with grandma Jeanne in the honey house to greet you when you pass by the store.
In fifteen years, we have fed a lot of people and we have met some wonderful people. We have had the privilege of feeding, sharing our passion and welcoming enthusiasts and lovers of local products. Today, we are filled with gratitude for each exchange we have had with you and for the trust you have placed in us.
Dear customers, dear friends, we raise our glass in your honor, we say health and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are an essential part of our adventure by sharing with us the passion for authentic products and the land. It is with great joy that we look to the future, ready to continue to offer you the best of our farm. Together, let's cultivate even more happiness in our fields, for many years to come.
PSSST: Book a farm tour or find our products on our online store. We will be happy to welcome you to the farm ?!
A family business since 2009.
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