Agropur Names Its Milk Quality and Animal Welfare Grand Champions
Longueuil, February 13, 2025 – Agropur is proud to announce the Grand Champions of the Club of Excellence competition: Ferme Gagnonval in Sainte-Hénédine (Chaudière-Appalaches) is the Milk Quality award winner, while Ferme Roland Caron in Laurierville (Centre-du-Québec) has taken home the Animal Welfare award. The honours were presented during a ceremony at Centrexpo Promutuel Assurance in Drummondville as part of Agropur’s annual and extraordinary meeting.
Four decades of dairy production
Ferme Gagnonval won out over 13 finalists thanks to the exceptional quality of its milk, which was evaluated over a 12-month period. The dairy farm also passed a sanitary inspection with flying colours. It is the first time this farm has taken top honours.
Owned by brothers Marc and Daniel Gagnon for 40 years, the farm has 34 Holstein milking cows. The owners stood out for their methodical approach and attention to detail. They consistently apply good milking methods, which ensures the health of the milking cows’ mammary glands and yields high-quality milk.
“Being a finalist in this competition is already such an accomplishment in itself, and it is a testament to the excellence of our results. For us, every finalist is therefore a champion. We all share a common passion, and that is our love of animals. To produce high-quality milk, you have to love animals above all,” said Marc Gagnon and his partner, Brigitte Boivin, after taking the Grand Champion title.
Innovation and animal welfare: a family tradition
Meanwhile, Ferme Roland Caron won the Animal Welfare award for the exceptional care it lavishes on its herd—all at the same time it was crowned a regional Milk Quality Champion. It is only the second time in the history of the Club of Excellence competition that a farm has won both distinctions.
Owned by the Caron family for three generations, the farm today is led by Sabrina Caron and Danny Giguère, who manage 105 Holstein milking cows. In 2020, a fire destroyed the farm’s dairy facilities. Battered but unbroken, the owners opted to transform disaster into opportunity. They rebuilt and brought in major innovations, such as sand-bedded stalls and open stabling that gave the animals more freedom of movement. Particular attention was paid to the calving cows, who now give birth in deep-litter pens, optimizing the comfort of the newborn calves.
“Our decisions are always geared toward animal welfare, and this award is a fantastic acknowledgement of our work. We hope to inspire other members to make continuous improvement efforts and we want to encourage young farmers to take this path, too. Improving animal welfare is something that can be done by anyone, and it has a positive impact on the cows’ environment and their production. Even small adjustments can make a big difference in improving the health of our animals,” said Sabrina Caron and Danny Giguère.
Dairy Excellence: a reference for the industry
“These Grand Champions show how you can reconcile operational excellence with constant care for animal welfare,” said Agropur president Roger Massicotte. “Their methodical and proactive approach to dairy production yields exceptional results—results that meet the expectations of today’s consumers, who are looking for healthy and high-quality products. These award winners embody the road ahead for our industry.”
The award ceremony also highlighted the excellence of the regional Milk Quality Champions and Animal Welfare finalists. Since its creation in 1988, the Club of Excellence has welcomed over 2,000 recipients into its ranks. They have been selected from Agropur members in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Club of Excellence
Grand Champion – Milk Quality Award |
| Ferme Gagnonval (Sainte-Hénédine, Qc) |
Grand Champion – Animal Welfare |
| Ferme Roland Caron (Laurierville, Qc) |
Regional Champions – Milk Quality | |
| Farm | Location |
| Amber Hill Farm | Old Barns, NS |
| Ferme Alaben inc. | Saint-Elphège, Qc |
| Ferme Des Grands Prés inc. | Ayer’s Cliff, Qc |
| Ferme du Campus Macdonald | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Qc |
| Ferme E. Fankhauser inc. | Saint-Sébastien, Qc |
| Ferme Gagnonval | Sainte-Hénédine, Qc |
| Ferme JP & ML Forcier inc. | Saint-Louis, Qc |
| Ferme Karl Breu et Theres Fuchs | Lotbinière, Qc |
| Ferme M.P. Morissette inc. | Cacouna, Qc |
| Ferme Okadale inc. | Oka, Qc |
| Ferme Pierlie SENC | Saint-Adelphe-de-Champlain, Qc |
| Ferme Roland Caron | Laurierville, Qc |
| Les Fermes Laitières Poupe Ltée | Saint-Léonard-Parent, NB |
Regional Champions – Animal Welfare | |
| Farm | Location |
| Ferme Beauvide inc. | Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Qc |
| Ferme Clerjoye inc. | Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Qc |
| Ferme Desnette inc. | Warwick, Qc |
| Ferme Valley Clan inc. | Compton, Qc |
About Agropur
Agropur is Canada’s largest dairy cooperative and one of the leading suppliers of dairy products to the retail, food service, and industrial sectors in North America. Founded in 1938, the Cooperative is a source of pride to its nearly 2,700 members in Quebec, Ontario, and the Atlantic provinces, and close to 7,000 employees. Operating 29 plants in Canada and the United States, Agropur generated sales of over $8.8 billion CAD in 2024 and processed over 6.8 billion litres of milk. The Cooperative’s members and employees work together every day to achieve a shared vision, “Better Dairy. Better World.”, aimed at developing their communities economically and socially while respecting the environment and animal welfare. For more information: agropur.com/en
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To download photos of the winners:
From left to right: Brigitte Boivin (Marc’s spouse) and Marc Gagnon (photo credit: Éric Lajeunesse)
From left to right: Sabrina Caron and Danny Giguère (photo credit: Éric Lajeunesse)
Source:
Agropur Dairy Cooperative
Information:
Diep Truong, Exergue Communications
514 436-2121