An innovative market garden operation near Quebec City, and a progressive ranching operation in southeastern Alberta with a focus on direct meat sales to consumers, won the hearts and votes of judges in November as they were named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers (COYF).
Simon Plante and Alison Blouin, owners of Polyculture Plante from Sainte-Petronille, just east of Quebec City, and Lorin, Daniel and Barry Doerksen, fourth-generation ranchers and owners of the Gemstone Grassfed Beef retail outlet in Calgary, shared the honours of being named the national outstanding young farmers for 2024.
These two farming operations were among seven regional honourees from across Canada vying for the national title at the competition, hosted this year by the Alberta OYF committee and held in Lethbridge.
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“It was certainly an honour for Alison and me to receive the recognition,” Plante says. “We really didn’t know what would be involved, but it exceeded our expectations. We met so many great people at the national event in Lethbridge.
“Our English isn’t perfect, but there were translation services, and everyone was very patient. It is interesting to note each of the honourees from across Canada all farm and produce crops, livestock or products in different ways, but at the same time we have so much in common.”
‘Quebec City’s garden’
Polyculture Plante was started as a fruit and vegetable operation by Simon’s parents Pierre and Huguette in the 1980s. Sainte-Petronille is on Île d’Orléans, a 75-square mile island in the St. Lawrence River, about 15 minutes from downtown Quebec City.
“With good farmland the island is sometimes referred to as Quebec City’s garden,” Plante says.
He joined the farm full time in 2009 while completing a technical degree in business management from Collège François-Xavier Garneau. Alison joined the farm after completing a program in agricultural business management and technology.
Polyculture Plante’s land base today includes 327 cultivated acres, of which 172 are owned by the Plantes. The farm produces 100 acres of summer strawberries, 32 acres of fall strawberries, three acres of raspberries under tunnel, two acres of blueberries, 30 acres of apples, 32 acres of sweet corn, four acres of field tomatoes, an acre of onions and four acres of squash and pumpkins. The company also operates a maple grove with about 6,000 trees tapped annually to produce maple syrup and other processed products.
Produce is marketed through a number of outlets, including an on-farm store carrying a wide range of fruits and vegetables and other products. They also sell products through the Grande Marche of Quebec, a major farmers market in Quebec City — and, with three to four truckloads delivered daily, they supply products to more than 60 retail and wholesale outlets across Quebec. In recent years they’ve been selling berries into Ontario and northern U.S. states as well.
They have just started an ambitious program of covering the strawberry and raspberry acres with tall tunnels that will allow them to grow more plants per acre, extend the growing season and increase yield in a more controlled growing environment. The tall tunnels are metal-framed hoop-type structures, about 15 feet tall, covered in plastic. Outfitted with irrigation systems, the tunnels provide a similar growing environment as a greenhouse, although crops are not fully enclosed.
“I don’t know anything about ranching or beef production or growing grain or grapes, but it was interesting to talk to others and learn about their farming operations,” Plante says. “It was an awesome experience. You get to meet others who are also passionate about what they do and are willing to share their knowledge with others.”
Plante says he and Blouin made arrangements to stay connected with the other honourees.
A gem in Alberta
With a whole different farming enterprise in southeastern Alberta, the Doerksen brothers also agreed it was an honour to be recognized by the COYF program — and a great opportunity to meet many successful producers.
“It is humbling to meet and get to know so many progressive young farmers,” says Lorin Doerksen. “We were together for four full days and we got to know each other quite well. We had the opportunity to hear each other’s presentations and that stimulated a lot of conversation, which also expanded our knowledge and understanding about a wide range of agricultural enterprises.”
Along with their father and uncle, the Doerksens operate Gemstone Cattle Co. at Gem, about an hour north of Brooks. It’s a diversified farm and ranching operation that today includes a 600-head commercial cow-calf operation, a 300-head purebred beef operation producing both Red Angus and Hereford breeding stock, an on-farm feedyard, and cash cropping geared mostly to forages produced under irrigation for sale as hay and silage.
In 2018 they launched a program to produce grass-finished beef, and in 2022 launched Gemstone Grassfed Beef, a retail meat market that’s part of the new Calgary Farmers Market West.
Doerksen says one of the key messages heard during the four-day COYF program was the importance of farmers sharing their stories with consumers.
“With a meat retail outlet in Calgary, that is certainly something we try to do and we know we can probably do a better job of,” Doerksen says.
“At the Calgary market customers are always asking about where the products come from and how it was raised. More recently there has been a great deal of interest in the nutrient density of foods.”
(“Nutrient density” refers to foods’ content of beneficial micro- and macronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre and healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids.)
Consumers ask about the quality and want assurance they can get their nutrients from the food they buy, he says. “We’ve been adopting more regenerative agricultural practices on our farm in a bid to produce high quality meat products with high nutritional value.
“Research has shown that grass finished beef is more nutrient-dense than beef finished on a high grain diet,” he says. “We have people calling from all over looking for grass-finished beef, asking for assurance that it is indeed finished on grass.”
A forage-based diet produces very flavourful beef as well, he adds.
All cattle from the commercial cow-calf operation — steers, heifers and good-quality open heifers that meet specifications — are channelled into the grass finished beef program to be finished on grass, then processed as early as 21 months and up to 30 months of age. The Doerksens also source calves for the grass program from other nearby producers following a similar program with similar beef genetics.
“As farmers we can sometimes get sidetracked in our farming operations, so getting out and being part of the OYF program helps you connect with more of the world,” Doerksen says. “You begin to appreciate the value of being part of, and helping to support, industry organizations and help give the industry a voice to consumers, and to the government at various levels.
“It does take some time to collect the information about your farm a program like COYF is looking for and then prepare presentations,” Doerksen says.
“But it is also a great opportunity to make you think about your farming operation and reflect on your business accomplishments as well as objectives. It has been a very worthwhile experience.”
Along with the national winners, the other regional honourees for 2024 were:
- Geena Luckett, Luckett’s Vineyard, Wolfville, N.S.;
- Matt Bergman and DJ Wassenaar, Haybury Farms, Ont.;
- Marcus and Paige Dueck, Four Oak Farms, Man.;
- Cyle and Erika Stewart, Pine Ranch, Sask.; and
- Tristan and Aubyn Banwell, Spray Creek Ranch, B.C.
Celebrating 44 years, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers program is an annual competition to recognize farmers who exemplify excellence in their profession and promote the tremendous contribution of agriculture.
Open to participants 18 to 39 years of age who make the majority of their income from agriculture, participants are selected from seven regions across Canada, with two national winners chosen each year. The program partner is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
The program is sponsored nationally by CIBC, John Deere, Bayer, Sollio Agriculture, CN and Meridian Manufacturing, plus media sponsors Glacier FarmMedia and WS and video sponsor Bamboo Shoots, and is supported nationally by BDO.
For more information on the program, visit the COYF website.
