100 years of history

Talks continued for a few years, but failed each time. In 1921, the three cooperatives were faced with an economic crisis that resulted in a significant drop in agricultural commodity prices. At the same time, the head of the Coopérative centrale des agriculteurs entered politics and sold the Bulletin des agriculteurs, which upset the Minister of Agriculture at the time. In retaliation, the minister replaced the co-op's leaders with members of his choice and submitted a bill to create the Coopérative fédérée de Québec by merging the three cooperatives.

In addition to ending competition between the cooperatives, the merger had many advantages. The respective functions of the three organizations allowed for better use of manpower and premises, and the group thus benefited from better bargaining power with suppliers.

With the advent of electricity in rural areas, the milking machine has become very popular because of the time it saves producers. Their popularity is so great that the Coopérative fédérée de Québec is struggling to keep up with demand! The available milking machines will be placed in as many parishes as possible, often at the home of a prominent person in the village.

Modernization and mechanization of the Cooperative's poultry and feed milling facilities.
 

The former agricultural mechanics department was reorganized in 1945. In addition to butter and cheese making equipment, it was now able to equip candling and poultry slaughterhouses and Quebec flour mills.

The petroleum business, less specifically agricultural than the other services provided by the Coopérative fédérée de Quévec, was born out of a need expressed by the farmers. Farmers were not familiar with the product and therefore had difficulty in trusting distributors. The cooperative entered the sector by purchasing the Piette & Frères company in Joliette. After 1970, the market changes with the arrival of diesel tractors and the Coopérative fédérée de Québec adopts a policy of opening service stations to serve rural populations.

Hardware products are more and more in demand by farmers and the Coopérative fédérée de Québec wishes to distribute a wider range of products to the agricultural stores of cooperatives. The Quincaillerie Co-op banner was created and was a great success from the start. 

In order to consolidate the pork processing sector, Sollio creates Olymel Limited Partnership by merging its activities with those of the Olympia Group.

Olymel's dominant position in the Quebec market and Alberta's strategic location explain this desire to expand westward. At the time, the province was experiencing an increase in pork production and its proximity to West Coast ports made it possible to gain a few days for export to Japan. Olymel thus helped establish the reputation of Québec pork abroad, which resulted in increased exports. In fact, the company is the leading Canadian exporter of pork, especially of value-added products.

La Fédérée and its network of affiliated cooperatives have adopted a new brand image that is rooted in the values of the past and firmly focused on the future. The new black-and-green graphic signature showing the furrows of a field symbolizes the company's fundamental vocation since 1922, and the name chosen to designate it is now "La Coop fédérée". By highlighting its main trademark, "CO-OP", the company is positioning itself with both its members and the public.

The Crop Production Sector is striving to increase its service offering, but it is also expanding considerably outside Québec with the purchase of two Ontario companies: Agronomy in 2008 and Agrico in 2011. These major acquisitions enabled La Coop fédérée to increase its penetration of the Ontario and Maritime markets. It has thus become a major player in the sale of crop production inputs in Eastern Canada.

An agreement was announced whereby BMR Group acquired a stake in Lefebvre & Benoit, a leader in the distribution of building materials to contractors.   

Ensuring the world has a sustainable future

La Coop fédérée and its divisions subscribe to the UN’s six sustainable development goals (climate action, decent work and economic growth, zero hunger, good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, and responsible consumption and production).

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sollio Cooperative Group launched the From Us to You initiative—later joined by 17 agricultural cooperatives across the network—to donate more food and funds to organizations that help people in need across Quebec and Eastern Ontario.