Home / Business / Because of a 21-year-old farming couple, Quebec garlic is obtainable in grocery shops year-round

Because of a 21-year-old farming couple, Quebec garlic is obtainable in grocery shops year-round

They’re 21 years previous, they’re already the biggest garlic producers in Quebec they usually would be the first farmers right here to cut back grocery retailer imports to supply garlic from our fields all 12 months spherical.

Their modern strategies of preserving garlic bulbs will permit them to provide IGA constantly from August twenty fourth, with the introduced purpose of decreasing imports from China and Spain to zero.

“We’ve been engaged on conservation methods for 3 or 4 years. We went to Europe to hunt recommendation on find out how to regulate humidity and temperature effectively and find out how to create a well-controlled ambiance throughout storage,” explains Nicolas Taillefer, co-owner of Une Touche d’Ail.

Together with his spouse Karine Fournier, the farmer cultivates an space of ​​85 hectares in Montérégie, virtually 3 times greater than final 12 months. The couple additionally doubled the scale of their Saint-Anicet warehouse to 10,000 sq. meters to serve the province’s IGAs.

“There wasn’t a participant from Quebec who was able to that. We have been able to make the mandatory investments,” explains Nicolas Taillefer, who completed the harvest on the finish of July.

Une Touche d’Ail began collaborating with Sobeys on its processed merchandise in 2021. Picture Pierre Paul Poulin

The journey with Sobeys began two years in the past with processed merchandise: gravy, mashed potatoes and garlic pesto. The previous managing director of Savoura, Marie Gosselin, was enthusiastic in regards to the younger farmer couple and gave the advertising a robust increase.

“Individuals are so impressed with what we try this we by no means get unfavourable vibes!” says Karine Fournier.

Entrepreneur at 15

The story of Une Touche d’Ail has one thing to seduce. Nicolas Taillefer grew to become an entrepreneur on the age of 15 by planting 1000 bulbs of garlic on his grandfather’s land. He offered all his manufacturing in his area’s public markets and invested his income in development to extend the acreage.

“At first I went to 5 markets per week. My dad got here to drive me residence with my garlic as a result of I didn’t have a automotive after I was 15. And I didn’t have an Interac machine to pay cash as a result of I used to be underage,” says Nicolas with a smile.

He knew Karine in her highschool bodily schooling program. At 16 they grew to become a pair. She got here to his support in the summertime and on weekends. They continued their scientific schooling at CEGEP. Karine grew to become a co-owner.

As a way to help the expansion of the corporate, she briefly dropped out of her accounting research at college on the essential second of the partnership with IGA.

The workweeks stretch over many hours as no subcontracting is used within the manufacture of the processed merchandise.

“We work, we simply try this. We’re collectively on a regular basis and have such a ardour that we take the world with us,” says Nicolas, who additionally prides himself on rising garlic with out pesticides or herbicides.

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