Ferme Genest
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Tuesday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Wednesday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Friday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Monday 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
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Country of origin:
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Geography:
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In 1830, the Lord of Lauzon gave Germain Genest a lot of 33 perches wide by 1.5 miles long, bordering the St. Lawrence River, in the municipality of St-Nicolas. It had to be logged, grubbed, plowed, harrowed and seeded. He built a house there, which is still there. Over the years, 5 generations of Genest farmers have succeeded one another on this lot. From some 4 cows, 3 pigs, 16 chickens and 4 sheep in 1945, it was Henri Genest and Élisa Laganière who made it an avant-garde and prosperous dairy farm. In April 1971, a violent fire destroyed everything, animals and farm buildings. Guy Genest and Nicole St-Hilaire further improved this lot to make it a prosperous and diversified horticultural farm. In addition, they innovated by focusing on agritourism. By developing this new form of agriculture, Guy and Nicole wanted to show their visitors all the work that goes into a small fruit or vegetable. The Genests have always wanted their visitors to be able to come and go to their place in order to reconnect with nature. Today, Ferme Genest represents 200 acres of vegetables and small fruits and a wooded area of 22,000 cultivated trees. It is also a pastry shop, a jam shop and a place where people pick their own berries. In 1996, the Genests added an educational component to their business. Ten years later, with additions such as Christmas at the Farm and Native American interpretation, the Farm welcomes more than 18,000 participants, young and old, for activities as varied as self-picking, tasting, the Elf Forest and new activities that are added to this list every year… In 2014, the Genest Farm is giving itself a youthful air by naturally integrating the youngest of the family. Indeed, after 3 years of courses at the Institut de technologie agricole de St-Hyacinthe, Laura joins us with her enthusiasm, her brand new knowledge about agriculture and with this constant concern to naturally produce the fruits and vegetables that have fed us for so long. It is with pride that we are adding a 6th generation to the Genest land.