2023 VIP Dairy gathering

The premier event for the largest dairy farms in Quebec and Eastern Ontario. Learn more about our speakers, who will share with you the latest technical and economic trends, their vision for agriculture and the dairy industry, and much more on November 16, 2023.

Luc Gagné, agr., Advisor, Farm Management, Groupement de gestion agricole de l'Ontario

Luc Gagné graduated from McGill University with a degree in agricultural economics and has been actively working with more than 75 dairy, grain, table egg, turkey and broiler farm businesses on an ongoing basis since 1995.

He has worked with dairy farms in Québec and Ontario, where he spends most of his time, as well as farms in New Brunswick, Manitoba and Newfoundland.

Luc specializes in farm business management and has been involved in the creation of several management groups and structures in the dairy sector. He was involved in the Manitoba management group (1996), Ontario’s CUMA Franco-Agri (1997), the Ontario agri-environmental management group, the merger of the three farm management groups in Ontario, the pilot project to create a management group in New Brunswick and the Rendez-vous des fermes de 100 vaches, an annual three-day event that brings together farms in Québec and Ontario (2009).

Luc has a passion for farm management and is the son of dairy farmers in the Lotbinière region near Québec City.

Nicolas Marquis, T.P., Agribusiness Strategy, Dairy Production, Sollio Agriculture

Nicolas Marquis graduated from the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire du Québec, La Pocatière campus, with degrees in zootechnology (1989) and farm management (1990) and has been with Sollio Agriculture for 33 years. Since his early days as a dairy and crop agri-advisor for Coopérative des Deux Rives in Normandin, Lac-Saint-Jean, Nicolas has combined technology and economics.

In 1992, Nicolas took his advisory role one step further and joined Sollio Agriculture as an agribusiness strategy advisor for the company’s dairy sector. Since then, he has worked with agri-advisors to provide technical and economic support to farmers, helping to ensure the growth and profitability of the network’s dairy farms.

In addition to his work as an advisor, Nicolas has delivered more than 40 technical and economic talks to farmers across Québec, eastern Ontario and the Maritimes since 2019.

Dr. Stephen LeBlanc, agr., DVM, DVSc, Full Professor, Department of Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College and Director of Dairy at Guelph - The Center for Dairy Research & Innovation at the University of Guelph

Stephen LeBlanc is a professor in the Department of Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, and Director of Dairy at Guelph — The Centre for Dairy Research and Innovation at the University of Guelph. He received a BSc (Agr) in Animal Science from McGill University in 1992, and a DVM (in 1997) and DVSc (in 2001) from the University of Guelph.

After five years of private dairy veterinary practice, he joined the faculty at the University of Guelph where he leads a research program and teaches veterinary students. His research focuses on dairy cow metabolic and reproductive health and management, precision technologies, and antimicrobial stewardship. With graduate students and collaborators, this work has resulted in over 190 peer-reviewed papers. He has given invited talks over 20 countries.

Stephen is a Director of the American Dairy Science Association (2022–2025). He is the past president of the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (2016–2022) and served six years as a section and senior editor for the Journal of Dairy Science.

Sébastien Hudon, Owner and co-shareholder of Ferme Jeandon, 3rd generation

Ferme Jeandon is a family dairy business that has been in operation since 1941. It was first run by Simone and Charles-Eugène Hudon, followed by the brothers Réjean and Claude. Today, Sébastien Hudon, Réjean’s son, is the third generation to ensure the farm’s prosperity. In less than 30 years, the quota has increased from 64 kg to 625 kg. This expansion is due to a number of factors, but above all:

Sound management, discipline and passion.

Sébastien is clear about his business objectives, and he remains focused on his strategic vision. He is both a passionate farmer and an experienced businessman. He sees and treats his dairy business like a football team.

He surrounds himself with the best players and gives them all the care they need to optimize their performance. He coaches and leads his employees, business partners and suppliers. Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, and they all perform them with the same dedication as Sébastien to achieve their goals.

A farmer and a manager, Sébastien is also an avid hunter, a father and a lover of microbrews!

We look forward to seeing you !