The flagship Agropur cooperative has become one of the leading food processing companies in Quebec. Today’s successes are also the legacy of the work of yesterday’s pioneers. In fact, from the very beginning, the agricultural cooperative movement has evolved in symbiosis with the dairy sector, and this connection largely explains the success of both over time.
The first types of agricultural cooperatives in Quebec were in the dairy sector. In the 19th century, the conditions for butter and cheese production were rapidly changing. They required investments, processing equipment and supply volumes that forced producers to pool their resources. Pooling by farmers of modest means helped compensate for weakness in individual resources. Cooperation would appear as the ideal formula for owner-operators wishing to gain a foothold in the dairy market. A first cooperative was founded in Dunham in 1865, while another, in Athelson, Huntingdon, began making cheese in 1873. These were followed in 1883 by the dairy cooperatives of Baie-du-Febvre and Rivière-Ouelle. The formula had proven itself, and more and more dairy farmers were using it. The adoption of the 1908 act on the creation of agricultural cooperatives, the Loi des sociétés coopératives agricoles, provided an institutional framework for the sector’s future development.
One of the parent cooperatives of the Coopérative fédérée, the Société coopérative agricole des fromagers, was established in 1910 in Rimouski. Its daring action would be a major turning point in the marketing of local cheese. By asserting itself against unfair practices, it overturned the conditions imposed on it by brokers and exporters in Montreal, which granted them only a fraction of the price granted to Ontario cheesemakers. Poor quality Canadian cheese was systematically labelled “Quebec” while good quality products were labelled “Ontario.”In 1920, the cooperative dared to sell some of its best cheeses on the English market under the name “Quebec Farmers Cheese,” thereby putting a stop to the discriminatory practice. Action carries and success follows. In 1938, the Coopérative fédérée, driven by initiatives taken in previous years, produced 45% of Quebec cheese, and they were well on their way.