Quebec’s Farms Are Growing
According to L’Union de Producteurs Agricoles, in Quebec, 42,000 people farm for a living, on 29,000 farms. All of this occurs on less than 2% of the land base, which is quite astounding as 45% of land in the neighboring United States is farmland. Quebec’s farmers are up to the challenge of being more productive with less land. Many are working today on a small scale. For instance, the average dairy herd on a Quebec farm is just 64 head of cattle. While Quebec is known internationally for its maple syrup, providing more than 70% of the world’s products, field crops and hay are the primary crops in Quebec. However, corn and soybean crops are both increasing, and so are apple orchards.
Quebec’s farms are diverse and strong, and while farm operators have been confronted by challenges such as flooding in the past decade, they continue to adapt their practices and products to ensure that they have a robust plan for fulfilling market needs in Quebec and beyond.
In Quebec, farm operators need a wide variety of equipment as crops are very diverse. This equipment includes:
- John Deere tractors for plowing, hauling, and harvesting food for people and livestock.
- Combines to harvest a wide variety of grain crops such as wheat.
- Loaders and backhoes to move raw and processed foods.
- John Deere excavators for trenching and use in the farm and forest industries.