Brenda O’Farrell
The Advocate

The Marquis family of Ste. Croix – just north of Laurier Station, west of Lévis – was named the Farm Family of 2023 by La Fondation de la famille agricole during the Union des producteurs agricoles’ annual Congrès Général in Quebec City earlier this month.

The family, headed by Émilienne Dion and André Marquis, who married in 1962, had six children – Carl, Simon, Brigitte, Nicolas, Bernard and Marie-Andrée – and now count three generations who are active in farming.

Dion was raised on a farm, while Marquis followed in his father’s footsteps and was a butcher. Together, they had a modest beef farm, where they launched a small grocery store that featured a butcher’s shop that marketed beef they raised themselves.

In 1980, they expanded their operation, purchasing a forested area, where they launched a modest maple operation, tapping about 450 trees, collecting sap in buckets.

As their children grew, so did their family’s farming ambitions.

The couple’s oldest son, Carl, at the age of 19, married and with the financial aid of his parents,  purchased what was considered at the time a rather rundown farm. It is here, at what would become known as La Ferme Lorka, where the family builds dairy, forestry and maple operations.

This expansion also inspires Carl’s brothers to pursue their livelihoods in agriculture.

Brother Simon found employment with a dairy equipment company and became an entrepreneur specializing in farm building construction. He also bought Holsteins that were kept at La Ferme Lorka. He eventually bought his own farm in St. Charles de Bellechasse, where he raised beef cattle. In 1992, with his wife, they launched their own dairy operation, creating what they would christen La Ferme Sika.

The third brother Nicolas became a dairy consultant, and continues to work for Sollio Agriculture.

The fourth brother, Bernard, became an agronomist. Today, he is vice-president of strategic projects for Sollio Group Coopératif.

Now, as the family’s third generation grows into adulthood, the future of both La Ferme Lorka and La Ferme Sika are destined to be transferred to an all-female leadership.

Carl’s daughters Catherine and Justine both aspire to taking over their parents’ farm in Ste. Croix, while Simon’s daughter Laurence aims to take the reins of operations in St. Charles de Bellechasse.

Carl’s other children are also very active in the world of agriculture – Élaine is a veterinarian, while Guillaume has a 4,000-tap maple operation.

As for André Marquis and Émilienne Dion, they are enjoying their retirement as they continue to watch their children and grandchildren build and expand prosperous farming operations. They sewed the seed that has developed strong roots in a farming tradition that continue to grow.

Cutline: When the three generations of the Marquis-Dion family get together it is a large and boisterous gathering.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Union des producteurs agricoles