91社区

Ferme Coop茅rative Tourne-Sol, founded by five 91社区 graduates, supplies fresh, organic produce to about 700 families, and, with its seed business and planning tools, is giving a boost to fellow farmers and gardeners

By Fran莽ois Shalom for the 91社区 Reporter

鈥淲e鈥檙e a Quebec business, we feed Quebecers. About 700 Quebec families eat well thanks to us. They eat organic, locally grown food鈥攈ealthy food鈥攁nd that鈥檚 important.鈥澛犅�

Daniel Brisebois, who has an agricultural engineering degree from 91社区, founded Ferme Coop茅rative Tourne-Sol in 2004 along with four other 91社区 grads; four of the five studied at Macdonald Campus. Their seven-hectare farm is in Les C猫dres, just west of Montreal. The co-operative鈥檚 mission is to do its part to make high-quality, innovative and healthy organic produce available throughout Quebec. Having grown over the past two decades despite sometimes difficult circumstances, today the award-winning co-operative counts 11 members and nine employees.聽聽

The co-operative鈥檚 success has led Brisebois and another of the founders, Fr茅d茅ric Th茅riault, to develop second careers for themselves as farming educators.聽

鈥淎t the beginning, the focus was mainly on market gardening. We sold baskets of organic produce to subscribers and also sold our produce at the market,鈥� explained Brisebois.聽

Tourne-Sol no longer sells at markets, but now delivers more than 500 baskets of vegetables and other organic products to its subscribers each week, at about $40 per basket.聽

Seeds adapted for use in Quebec聽

Eventually, Tourne-Sol branched out into the seed business. It produces some of the seeds itself and buys some from other producers, selling them across Quebec.聽聽

鈥淲e sell to farmers, but especially to gardeners, garden centres and natural-product boutiques,鈥� Brisebois said.聽

Packets of Tourne-Sol鈥檚 seeds for arugula, carrots, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes, herbs, flowers and so on, all meeting budding gardeners鈥� demand for seeds suitable for use in Quebec, can be found at about 200 points of sale throughout the province.聽

Co-founder Fr茅d茅ric Th茅riault explains the Quebec market requires highly specialized seeds. Winter arrives earlier and lasts longer than it does in many other places, so varieties are needed that mature quickly.聽聽

This is especially true for tomato seeds, which most commonly have been developed for the United States, where the climate is much milder. When planted in Quebec, those seeds produce tomatoes whose quality and taste are often disappointing.聽

The solution? Th茅riault and Brisebois recommend early seeds developed by Tourne-Sol specifically for the climate of southern Quebec.聽聽

鈥淲e began with two hybrid tomatoes,鈥� said Th茅riault. 鈥淎nd we were about to develop a seed that genetically was improved in terms of colour, taste and shape; a variety of tomato resistant to certain crop diseases present here. One thing led to another, and after experimenting over several years, we created a unique, cold-resistant variety that is particularly well adapted to Quebec.鈥澛�

Economic and social benefits for Quebec聽

Th茅riault, who has a Master of Science in agricultural and environmental science, stresses the benefits offered by a business like Tourne-Sol, not only in terms of jobs and good nutrition, but also other economic benefits that help build stronger communities in Quebec.聽

鈥淧eople talk about the social benefits鈥攂etter health that translates into savings for our health-care system鈥攂ut don鈥檛 forget all the money we spend on supplies from local businesses, something that creates additional jobs. We spend quite a bit in hardware stores, for example.鈥澛�

Sustainable agriculture that contributes to food sovereignty聽

The fact that Tourne-Sol meets pretty much all of the objectives in the Quebec agricultural ministry鈥檚聽聽is among its many virtues.聽聽

Brisebois notes that one lesson of the pandemic, during which borders were sometimes closed and supply chains disrupted, was just how valuable food sovereignty is to Quebec.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to be able to feed ourselves as a people, and seed producers play a key role.鈥澛�

And it shouldn鈥檛 be forgotten that, unlike with major industrial food producers, organic foods鈥� economic benefits almost entirely remain with the local producer, a considerable economic benefit for Quebecers.聽

Planning tools to help farmers聽

Over the years, Brisebois and Th茅riault increasingly have taken on an educational mission.聽聽

Brisebois created and developed tools鈥攖wo spreadsheets鈥攖hat help farmers plan their crops and manage their businesses. He also has developed training programs for seed-growers. These activities have come to occupy almost half his time.聽聽

鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 choose agriculture because they love managing. They want to work with their hands, be outdoors鈥攖hey like tractors. So, I provide tools to make the managing side of things a little easier,鈥� said Brisebois.聽

He offers two levels of software: a basic spreadsheet and one for those who want to track things in a more detailed way.聽

Brisebois also has a new book coming out this fall,聽The Seed Farmer: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Selling Your Own Seeds, and is confident that he will also be able to find a publisher for a French version.聽聽

The benefits of the co-operative model聽

For his part, Th茅riault, in addition to his management responsibilities for Tourne-Sol, conducts training, publishes a newsletter, produces videos and leads workshops for adults and children.聽

He notes that the co-operative model has advantages:聽

鈥淭he wages are viable; decisions are made collectively and it鈥檚 good for assuring that there will be others to take over; it assures the co-operative鈥檚 future. Those are also benefits to Quebec.聽As well, it will be easier for me to retire, because the co-operative model allows us to gradually prepare the business鈥檚 next generation, and our successors won鈥檛 have to make massive investments.鈥澛�