Regional portrait

Animal production

In 2007, about 82% of the farms registered at the MAPAQ (ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec) were breeding cattle: mainly beef, dairy cows, sheep, goat and others.

Amongst the group, the cow-calf production was the most important with 65% of the farms.

Although this sector is the most important of the region, it is decreasing lately while others are on the rise. In 2007, the revenues registered by the cow-calf farms represented 41% of the agricultural revenues of the region while, in 2000, it was 43%.

That said, despite a tendency towards a diminution in the consumption of beef meat since a few years and a certain evolution in meat consumption letting us think that the demand for this meat might have reached its maturity, we notice for the moment few repercussions on the cow-calf producers that have managed to develop new outlets for their animals.

Like the cow-calf production, the dairy industry is also declining. In 2007, 11% of the region’s businesses were into the dairy production while, 7 years earlier, it was 14%. This production still brings $25 million to the Outaouais, representing 27% of the agricultural revenues.

The other productions, like sheep, horse, large games, pork, poultry and other animals are present in 13% of the region’s farms. These are productions that are in constant growth. Per example, the number of ewe has risen 40% since 2000. The breeding of large games like bison, red deer or wild boar has also appeared. Thus, we find in the Outaouais region many farms that are trying to diversify the economy with poultry, wild boar, bison and dairy goat and dairy ewe and so on. In 2007, these farms were 106 in the region and were bringing $7.3 million in revenues, comparing to the beef producers that were 607 and were bringing $37.5 million in revenues.

Horticultural production

Although about only 10% of the farms from the Outaouais region are dedicated entirely or in part to horticultural production, this is the agricultural sector that has, financially, known the biggest improvement.

In 2000, horticulture represented 9% of the agricultural revenues of the region while in 2007, it was 13%, a 62% raise. The horticultural productions generate a bit more than $11.5 million yearly.

Even if horticulture is one of the least developed agricultural sectors in the Outaouais, it is one that shows the most potential. In the last 10 years, this sector is the one that has the most evolved, mainly since it took its place on the region’s markets. Thus, the region puts a lot of efforts trying to develop it even more.

The horticultural sector is quite vast. It regroups the productions of vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants and turf. In the Outaouais region, it represents more than 1% of all cultivated land.

Most of horticultural farms are found close to water such as the Ottawa River, the Lièvre River, the Gatineau River or the Petite-Nation River. The horticultural producers of the region benefit from excellent biophysical and bioclimatic conditions. The soils go from sand to clay and many different climates are present, which gives place to all sorts of productions.

Innovative projects

Each year, different partners finance many projects that will enhance the diversification of products and the regional economy. Par example, some producers benefit from money from the Diversification and Short Chanel Distribution in the Regions program from the MAPAQ.

The project of production of haskap berry (a small fruit similar to blueberries) managed by the MAPAQ with the collaboration of the CLD de la Vallée-de-la-Gatineau is a good example of such innovative projects in the region. Other producers try also different productions like the Saskatchewan cherry, the shadbush, double-fruiting raspberries and strawberries and hop.

Different programs are available to support starting up projects that diversify our regional economy. It concerns namely supports to new crops trials and new production techniques in order to adapt them to the conditions that we encounter here or also to validate their profitability. Businesses interested can contact their local MAPAQ agricultural services center to have more information.

Geographic Distribution

In regards to the geographic distribution of the agricultural revenues, we see that the Papineau MRC is the one that brings more money to the region with $28.5 million, followed closely by the Pontiac MRC with $27.8 million and the Collines-de-l’Outaouais MRC with $16.2 million. The Vallée-de-la-Gatineau MRC and the Gatineau city are last with respectively $12.9 million and $5.3 million.

To have more information about the agricultural regional portrait and other interesting statistics, we invite you to visit the regional portrait of the MAPAQ (in French only).