Significant Investment by Sollio Agriculture in Its Poultry Sector

New breeding farm in Saint-Jude and increased production at the Côté hatchery

Sollio Agriculture continues to make significant strategic investments in its poultry infrastructure, thereby supporting the organization’s continued growth in this key sector. Following a $1.2 million investment earlier this year at the Côté Hatchery to install new incubators and hatchers, Sollio Agriculture inaugurated the M23 breeding farm in Saint-Jude, Montérégie, on April 25. The facility, which includes overhead egg collection systems and heat recovery units, represents an investment of $3.5 million.

“These business decisions reflect Sollio Agriculture’s commitment to continuing and expanding its operations in the poultry sector. They also demonstrate the significant efforts made in recent years to enhance the performance of our breeding farms and the quality of our chicks in order to meet the needs and expectations of farmers,” said Casper Kaastra, CEO of Sollio Agriculture. “Our goal remains to be the partner of choice for poultry farmers, both in terms of quality and reliability.”

M23 Breeding Farm

On April 25, Ms. Julie Vignola, director of the constituency office of the Member of Parliament for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton; Ms. Annick Corbeil, mayor of Saint-Jude; Mr. Benoît Fontaine and Ms. Richelle Fortin, respectively president and executive director of Éleveurs de volailles du Québec, and more than a hundred people, including farmers, farm managers, members of the network’s cooperatives, employees, and partners in the poultry industry, participated in a tour of the new M23 facilities. The M23 farm is located on the same site as Sollio Agriculture’s M21 and M22 breeding farms. The eggs produced there will be sent to the Victoriaville hatchery, where they will be incubated before the chicks are delivered to farmers.

Ahead of the arrival in May of 18,000 hens—2,000 more than at neighboring farms—this event provided an opportunity to showcase the existing equipment and its layout. For example, a work area on the mezzanine level has been set up to facilitate loading at height and reduce egg handling, thereby limiting the risk of microcracks in the shell. In addition to providing a more ergonomic work environment for employees, this design reduces incidents and the risk of injury to employees.

“The M23 facility also includes a heat recovery system that improves the building’s energy efficiency by transferring heat from the outgoing exhaust air to the incoming fresh air during the winter, thereby contributing to better air quality and increased comfort for the birds,” explains Pascal Élie, Director of Poultry Operations. “This new building replaces the M7 and M8 laying houses. These two aging buildings, particularly in terms of structure, ventilation, and airflow, were demolished. Some equipment was recycled, while other parts can be used as spare parts if needed.”

Côté Hatchery

At the Côté Hatchery, the addition of new incubators and hatchers increases production capacity by 5 million additional chicks per year. In fact, the first chicks were already delivered to farmers last March.

“The construction of the Côté Hatchery in 2018 was designed with this opportunity in mind—to utilize the infrastructure to its full potential,” explains Mr. Élie. “Being able to increase our production capacity by optimizing the existing infrastructure represents a clear competitive advantage in the context of growth in the chicken consumer market. This increase is due, in particular, to the growing number of farmers who source from Sollio Agriculture because of the quality of our chicks.”

This increased production complements that of the Victoriaville Hatchery and will enable us to serve a greater number of local farmers in the Montérégie region and elsewhere in Quebec.

“These investments in the poultry industry clearly reflect our commitment to strengthening and expanding our presence in this sector and support our ambition to increase our operational capacity in order to effectively meet the needs of farmers,” concluded Mr. Kaastra.

For more information contact:

Samar Gharib
Vice President, Communications
Sollio Agriculture
Samar.gharib@sollio.ag

About Sollio Agriculture

Sollio Agriculture, the Agri-business Division of Sollio Cooperative Group, is a Canadian leader in the agriculture industry. It specializes in supplying farm inputs and providing value-added services to benefit farmers, cooperatives and partners. Its business model combines the strength of a local approach with the power of a national presence to offer innovative products and solutions, to support the adoption of sustainable farming practices, helping local farming families prosper. Present across the country, it has close to 1,200 employees and generated $2.56 billion in revenue in 2025.