Saint-Anicet agricultural producers France Brunet and Sylvain Gascon received Canada-wide recognition at a ceremony held in Niagara Falls on December 2nd.
Well known in the Haut-Saint-Laurent region, they were presented with the W.R. Motherwell award which is given to an individual or a couple for their outstanding leadership in promoting the values of excellence and progress in Canadian agriculture.
They were honoured with this award as part of the Canadian final for the Outstanding Young Farmer’s competition.
France Brunet and Sylvain Gascon were accompanied by their five children, their children’s partners and their granddaughters to accept this award. « It’s important to highlight how proud we are to be farmers and to explain the positive aspects of our work. Throughout our career, we have often said: farmers are part of the solution, not the problem, » they said before an audience that included a number of former winners of the Outstanding Young Farmers of Canada National Recognition Awards competition.
« The Outstanding Young Farmers of Canada Program has changed our lives. This is a group of farmers in all types of production and from all over Canada who form an invaluable network of contacts that are both professional and personal, » added Sylvain Gascon.
Gascon and Brunet have won this distinction for their ability to bring public awareness, whenever there is opportunity, to the reality of farming in Québec. Sylvain Gascon, who was President of the OYF Awards competition between 2007 and 2009, has also brought his considerable expertise to promoting agro-environmental practices.
The first francophone to head the Canadian component of the OYF, his mandate was notable for the expansion of bilingualism within the organization. The couple from Saint-Anicet have also been recognized for their visit to some 70 agricultural businesses during a three month trip to Western Canada to learn about and share innovative practices in agriculture.
They are the second family from the Haut-Saint-Laurent to win the prestigious W.R. Motherwell prize since it was established 11 years ago. William and Lynn Bryson from Ormstown also won this award in 2006. (M.P.-C.J.)
