2025 marks 20 years of Les Fermes Valens, a local farm cooperative. It was started by a few regional farmers who shared a passion for sustainable agriculture and a respect for nature. According to the store’s website, “At a time when the speed of production dictates what we eat, our Montérégie farmers refuse to use synthetic chemicals and work harder, preferring traditional techniques to avoid diseases on crops or animals.” Part of this means they only feed their livestock 100-per cent vegetable feed, without antibiotics and growth hormones.
Judith Fouquet, the director of marketing and sales for the group, explains that the goal at the beginning was to make sure that the farmers were paid for the work they were doing while also respecting their values. They wanted the way they worked to be a win-win-win for the environment, the animals, and the farmers.
The products include veal, lamb, pork, beef, and free-range and organic chicken. They also make charcuterie, sausages, eggs, honey, and cold-pressed organic oils. All products are gluten-free, which was something they noticed was in high demand.
Because environmental sustainability is a core value for Les Fermes Valens, all products are born and raised close to home. “The animals that we have are born in Quebec, raised in Quebec, and slaughtered in Quebec …The animals aren’t travelling everywhere; it’s better for the animals and for the environment,” Fouquet says. “From the time that it was an animal to the plate of the consumer, those farmers took care of it every step along the way,” she adds.
Over the past 20 years, the enterprise has grown from the four founders to the 35 employees that they have today. They recently celebrated their anniversary with a party in July. “Everyone was there, the employees and the owners. It was a lot of fun to celebrate. Everyone was saying that these 20 years passed really quickly,” Fouquet says, adding that they all felt that it was important to celebrate such a big milestone and the work it took to get there.
Fermes Valens products can be found in many different grocery stores across various regions of Quebec. Since 2018 there has also been an online store, and sales were greatly increased by the pandemic when people made the push to shop locally. That push has continued recently, with the current trade situation with the U.S. “It’s even more reason to buy locally, because we don’t want to be dependent on our neighbours down south,” Fouquet says.