Gabriel Vinet – Les Fermes Longprés
Student Gabriel Vinet chose to work at Les Fermes Longprés Ltee, owned by the Dewavrin family in Les Cèdres, QC for his stage. Originally from an organic crop farm, Vinet was motivated to learn from the Dewavrins who farm over 600 ha organically, and who also own a mill that transforms their own flour for human consumption.
Greg and Matthew Dewavrin, who recently took over management of the farm with their cousin, Justine, are both graduates of the FMT Program (2009 and 2016 respectively).
Vinet was involved in all aspects of the fieldwork, including seeding, tillage, and mechanical weeding, and also helped with machinery maintenance and repairs, and learned more about the operation of the mill.
Reflecting on what abilities he developed over the internship, Vinet said “it made me discover how important it is to have a good teamwork and a good communication! I know that I need to develop this skill later when I’ll be working.”
Some of the lessons Vinet has learned include “different ways to farm and what it is like to work with other people than your own family. I [left] this stage more advanced than before. It is all new stuff I can bring back to my farm which I would not have learned if I had not done this stage.” Les Fermes Longprés is known for its ridge till [billons] method in particular.
“What I learned about the mill is that it provides a safer and more stable income and that it would be a great way to diversify a farm like our family farm.” Vinet observed. “One strength [of Les Fermes Longprés] is the autonomy of growing and transforming their own grain into flour.”
“I’m happy that I chose this place for my agricultural internship. The Dewavrin family are very passionate about farming and are an example to follow as an organic producer.” Vinet added.
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This article was originally published in the Quebec Farmers' Advocate September edition. It is reprinted here.