Andrew McClelland
The Advocate
When it comes to qualities that a young person needs to be an agricultural producer, determination is high up on the list.
And 20-year-old Maude Legault definitely has that in spades.
“Trying to make a living just out of agriculture can, in fact, be stressful for some of us young farmers,” said the cash crop producer from Godmanchester, in the Châteauguay Valley. “Especially when you know you could have chosen a more profitable career. But, in the end, it’s all about doing what you want to do.”
The young producer is a graduate of the Farm Management and Technology program at Macdonald Campus. In 2022, she received a Warren Grapes Agricultural Scholarship from the Quebec Farmers’ Association. Then, in her final semester, Legault was awarded the Médaille d’or du ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec and the Governor’s General Collegiate Bronze Medal (twin awards given out to the student ranked first in their graduating class) and the Union des producteurs agricoles bursary for demonstrating exemplary results in farm accounting, budgeting and administration.
Those awards were a boon to her confidence, but not as much as the accolades that followed from her instructors and peers.
“When I learned that I won those awards, I was in shock — but not as much as when my friends and teachers started congratulating me,” Legault said. “Their comments were so wonderful, ranging from ‘I saw you were hardworking right from the beginning, you deserved it,’ to being told by a teacher that I was a role model! I just couldn’t believe it. I was full of joy.”
It runs in the family
You would almost expect a young producer like Legault to win awards related to farm business management. Not only was she an exceptional student, but great farm management skills were modelled for her by her father and uncle at the family’s 2,400-acre cash crop operation.
Legault’s grandfather, Richard, established the farm in the 1970s, in the township of Godmanchester, just north of Huntingdon. In 1997, her father, Simon, graduated with a farm management degree from Institut de technologie agroalimentaire in St. Hyacinthe and started working on the farm full time with his brother.
“Since my dad and uncle already did the best they could to keep the farm in great condition, it’s hard for me to come up with ideas that will improve the farm extraordinarily!” Legault said. “I’m proud of what my family built and I want them to be proud of me when I start managing it.”
And working back on the family farm is exactly what Legault has been doing since her graduation. The Legaults cultivate about 1,000 acres of corn, soybean and winter wheat. That’s on top of managing 400 acres of custom planting and 1,000 acres of custom harvesting.
“We try to improve or at least take care of things on a regular basis,” Legault explained when asked about how the family makes decisions on the farm. “We managed to build a planter, improve our drying plant, build a megadome, change the combine, and buy other farm equipment in the last decade.”
Farm management a must
The family is also constantly revising its crop plan. They recently stopped producing buckwheat after winter wheat, instead seeding cover crops after winter wheat in a bid to increase corn yield and improve soil health.
Cover crops were something Legault learned lots about at Mac. And, as she works on the farm alongside her father and uncle, Legault has lots of opportunity to implement what she learned at school on the family farm. But for now, she’s taking the transition to being farm manager slowly and cautiously.
“I take part in discussions related to decision-making and try to bring ideas or useful thoughts, but I don’t necessarily make those decisions myself,” she explained. “I like to come up with budgets or cost calculations to have a clear view of our different options. I might not have enough experience yet to make major decisions, but I feel it’s my duty as the ‘relève’ to build positive management skills and a great sense of critical thinking.”
Choosing farming over career
That approach will serve Legault well as her experience builds and daily farm management increasingly becomes her role on the family operation. And for now, the variety of challenges and tasks that running a large cash crop offers is what keeps her interested in the agricultural life.
“When I chose to be part of the FMT program and take over the family farm, I knew I could make more money working somewhere else,” she said. “But still I chose to be a farmer because being a farmer is also being a mechanic, a welder, an electrician, a manager, a heavy equipment operator and lots more.”
With her skill set, Legault could absolutely pursue more lucrative off-farm work in research, agromony or business administration. But her vision and determination are focused squarely on the farm.
“I might not make a tonne of money living off the farm, but I am building myself an infinite amount of knowledge and skills. Plus, I’m confident that living just from agriculture is highly achievable with willpower, hard work and proper management.”