In the minds of most people, Sherbrooke is certainly a city, the sixth largest in Quebec in terms of population.
But Sherbrooke is also an agricultural area. I noticed this last September 26 while participating in the agri-food tour presented by the City of Sherbrooke and the local UPA union of Val-Saint-François and Sherbrooke.
This tour aimed precisely to raise awareness and mobilize citizens and elected officials about the importance of the role of agricultural and forestry activity for the population. Our group was made up, among others, of elected officials, stakeholders in the agricultural sector, agricultural producers and processors.
So we all happily set off, on a beautiful rainy fall morning, to explore Sherbrooke's agricultural territory aboard a beautiful yellow bus. We walked for a full afternoon from North to South and from East to West to cover the entire territory. We met passionate agricultural producers who told us about their reality.
After a stop at Ferme Sainte-Catherine which produces apples, vegetables, fruits and flowers, we continued our visits to the Fernand and Ginette Breton dairy farm in the Brompton green zone. On site, we noticed the dynamism of the operator when he presented his herd and his installations to us, including a milking robot.
We also went down to the Bibeau farm which produces garlic, beef, sweet corn and elderberry. How lucky we are to be able to count on these producers to supply us locally!
Indeed, the contribution of these producers is more important than ever. We increasingly appreciate local products. We want to know the origin of our food and know that it has not traveled thousands of kilometers before reaching us. This is why it is so important to recognize their contribution and to collectively support those who have made the choice to produce what we put on our plate.
In 2015, the city of Sherbrooke had 71 registered agricultural operations. This number represented a drop of 28% compared to 1993. This clearly illustrates the importance of being proactive in supporting local agriculture to ensure its sustainability.
Despite this, did you know that the agricultural zone of Sherbrooke currently accounts for 37% of the territory? And that 80% of this territory is made up of soil considered favorable for agriculture? So good growth potential!
Furthermore, Sherbrooke also has a lot of forest. The forest cover occupies 50% of the territory, 35% of which has excellent maple potential. Isn't it wonderful to think of all that maple syrup that could be produced in our own backyard!
I encourage you, too, to take a tour of our agricultural territory. You will then realize that this is also Sherbrooke.
Note: The quantitative data presented here comes from documents provided by the tour organizers.