Pierre-Luc Barré and Virginie Bourque from Yves Barré Farm of St-Damase will represent Québec at the National Event of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer competition in Toronto, Ontario in November 2025. They recently won the provincial competition at the Congress Centre of St-Hyacinthe. 

In 2010, after completing his studies, Pierre-Luc Barré joined his father’s enterprise to gain experience. He has been involved in all activities, from fieldwork to management. In January 2023, he became the principal shareholder.

He’s a graduate of St-Hyacinthe’s ITA in horticultural, vegetable, and fruit production. When he arrived at the farm, the crops included onions, hot peppers, sweet corn, and field corn. In 2012, he decided to start potato production, which has now become their most important crop. He now cultivates 158 hectares of field corn, 46 hectares of beans for processing, 14 hectares of fresh sweet corn, 67 hectares of soya, and 171 hectares of potatoes. This diversification of crops allows crop rotations in addition and reduces financial risk.

He is the father of three little girls with his partner, Virginie Bourque, who took the decision to leave her job at Desjardins in 2016 to lend a hand to Pierre-Luc. In addition, Virginie has taken charge of the administrative management of the enterprise and is involved in business decisions. Pierre-Luc’s vision is to continue to expand the farm, increasing the cultivated areas. He is aiming for 200 hectares of potato cultivation, but in order for him to achieve this, he will have to increase the enterprise’s cultivated area to more than 1,000 hectares, either by purchasing or renting new plots.

Pierre-Luc continues to invest in his training and is also actively involved at the Union Producteurs Agricole (UPA) within the federation of Québec potato producers and holds a leadership role in the pre-pealing committee within the executive committee. 

Held annually, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers competition rewards farmers who demonstrate excellence in their profession and promote agriculture’s huge contribution to the economy. Open to participants aged 18 to 39 years old whose major source of income comes from agricultural sources, participants are selected from seven regions in Canada, and two national winners are chosen each year. 

 

Source:  Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers January 20, 2025 news release