Young farmers
Cooperative Fund to help young farmers
Annually, the Fonds coopératif d’aide à la relève agricole (FCARA) welcomes sixty or so aspiring producers from all over Quebec.
This three-year program, administrated by participating cooperatives in the Sollio Cooperative Groupe network, enables young cooperative farmers to benefit from financial support with the collaboration of Desjardins Group, professional support and range of skill-development opportunities.
At Uniag Cooperative, we care for the development of young farmers. They always had a special place within the cooperative and we want to continue to focus on them in the years to come. Therefore, we are proud to participate in the FCARA proram. As a matter of fact, in the last 10 years we have supported 15 young farmers in their establishment projects.
Young farmers, supported by their local cooperative, can get financial support from the FCARA. The support is available for a maximum of 3 years and is non renewable. The program has 3 components:
(Benefits and obligations apply to successful applicants only.)
Special succession discount
10% of the value of qualifying input purchases, proportional to the applicant’s interest (shares) in their business up to a maximum of $7500/year per agricultural company.*
* In order to qualify for this component, the member’s input purchases must be made primarily at the local cooperative. See list for eligible input purchases.
Professional support
Free access to Shepell, a program that provides professional services in psychology, law, and administration.
Skills Development
Each recipient will be required, for the duration of their assistance, to commit to developing their professional skills through the provided training (total of 21 credits) and their participation in certain community activities.
For the duration of their assistance, the candidate undertakes to earn a minimum of seven credits per year in training recognized by the Board of Directors of the Fonds coopératif d’aide à la relève agricole. The recipient can choose from a dozen courses based on their interests and needs.
For the duration of their assistance, the participant agrees to take part in a minimum of two community activities per year. The recipient may choose from the list of associative activities recognized by the Funds’ Board of Directors.
How to benefit from the Fund?
To meet eligibility requirements, the candidate must :
- Be a member of a local (farm) cooperative, of the Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec (FRAQ) (candidate), and
- of an affiliate fund of the Desjardins Group (farm or personal);
- Be between 18 and 40 years old;.
- Hold at least 20% of company shares;.
- Hold a degree (specialized agricultural training (DVS, DCS, Bachelor)) or equivalent training;
- Allocate most of their time to and get most of their income from their agricultural business;
- Reside in Quebec, Ontario, or New Brunswick and be selected by their cooperative to be part of the Fonds; and
- Develop their professional skills through training recognized by the Board of Directors of the Fonds coopératif d’aide à la relève agricole.
For any question regarding our young farmer support programs, please contact:
Communication department
at 450-245-3308 extension 25802 or by email at communication@uniag.coop