ALUS Montérégie is becoming increasingly active in the Haut-Saint-Laurent region, having recently completed a large-scale project at Ferme Erskine in Hinchinbrooke.
Nearly 3,500 shrubs were plants along the Rivière aux Outardes, both to curb land erosion and to limit the damage caused by increasingly frequent flooding. “During heavy rains or spring thaws, the Rivière aux Outardes and the Chateauguay flood a large part of the land. Large quantities of crop residues and soil end up in the river. This shrub barrier will hopefully help keep crop residues in the fields and away from the river,” says Noel Erskine.
The ALUS organization helps producers across Canada to establish facilities that meet needs identified by producers. “The ALUS Montérégie program enables farmers to receive compensation for the ecological services they provide to the community,” says Virginie Durand, the organization’s agri-environment advisor.
In 2024, more than 24 hectares of farmland were developed by 49 Montérégie producers to help promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
At the Erskine farm, the ALUS Montérégie team took charge of the planning, purchasing, and planting of the shrubs, at no cost to the producers. The Erskine family will also be entitled to a payment every year based on the land value of the landscaped plot, thanks to the organization’s financial backers.
Like the Erskine farm, Godmanchester’s Fermes Ajiro 1989 inc. launched a major project to widen 1.5 kilometres of riparian buffer strips in 2023 to counter the effects of flooding by the Chateauguay River.
According to co-owner Marie-Claude De Martin, it was the logical thing to do. “Since we have a section along the ditch on the shoreline, we are not allowed to farm. So, we thought, while we are at it, we will put in a riparian strip with trees and shrubs to guard the bank, so that our mineral elements stay as far away from the ditch as possible.”
This does not take into consideration the benefits of biodiversity for crops in the field, which represents a significant contribution. “It attracts beneficial insects, and as a result, we have fewer pests in the fields. It is a win-win situation,” says De Martin, who also benefitted from ALUS Montérégie funding for her project.
Durand says that recruiting new farms is not a problem for the organization. “Over the past few years, we’ve noticed that Montérégie producers are really interested in agri-environment projects.” She says the main challenge remains the financing of projects and the payments, which are sourced from private funds, including ALUS Canada, as well as contributions by private companies, several municipalities, and seven MRCs.
When asked why the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent is absent from the list of ALUS Montérégie partners, Durand explains that the MRC “has been approached in the past, and we plan to approach them again this fall. We hope that the MRC will be one of the financial partners for 2025.” She notes that representatives from the MRC have been invited to visit the Ferme Erskine and Fermes Ajiro 1989 inc. as part of a farm tour being organized on September 20.
For his part, Erskine hopes that, in addition to protecting the waterways, his landscaping will also help his overwintering cereals survive the cold weather by acting as a windbreak to better maintain snow cover. He plans to go even further with ALUS Montérégie to “contribute to the creation of a green corridor, enabling flora and fauna to move from wooded areas to the river.” He says this next project represents “a great opportunity to help the environment and improve growing conditions.”
Interested producers can find out more about ALUS Montérégie online at: monteregie.upa.qc.ca/producteur/agroenvironnement/alus-monteregie.