Martine Bourgeois: A Legacy of Innovation in Poultry Nutrition and Farming

Martine Bourgeois, an agronomist specializing in animal nutrition and poultry management with Shur-Gain, Trouw Nutrition Canada, and Ferme Saint-Ours, will be inducted into the Temple de la renommée de l’agriculture du Québec in October 2026. Le Bulletin des agriculteurs profiled the agricultural leader ahead of her upcoming induction, highlighting her decades of contributions to poultry nutrition, organic egg production, and knowledge transfer across the agricultural sector.

Early Agricultural Roots and Diversification in Saint-Ours

Martine Bourgeois grew up in a prominent agricultural family in Saint-Ours, where both her grandparents and parents previously received the Ordre national du mérite agricole. In 2018, the Marcel Bourgeois and Solange Préfontaine family was named the Famille agricole de l’année. Rather than solely taking over the established family dairy farm, Bourgeois, alongside her partner Serge Lefebvre and her sister Chantal, chose to venture into poultry production.

My parents were offered the opportunity to convert the farm to produce table eggs. In 1993, we bought the land, the building, and then we bought quotas. recalls Martine Bourgeois regarding the founding of Ferme Saint-Ours.

Career in Animal Nutrition and Global Innovation

While managing the expanding farm alongside external employment, Bourgeois built a 44-year professional career with Shur-Gain, spending 22 of those years as director of poultry nutrition. Her career allowed her to travel abroad, study different international approaches to nutrition and technology, and adapt those methods for Canadian agriculture. Among her developments, she formulated recipes to enrich eggs with omega-3 fatty acids.

Through my work, I was able to train abroad and develop my network of contacts. I brought back many ideas from other Canadian provinces and other countries. explains Bourgeois.

Transition to Organic and Free-Run Poultry Production

The innovations gathered abroad directly shaped operations at Ferme Saint-Ours. In 1998, the farm began transitioning toward organic egg production by adapting feed for an initial small flock of chickens. By 2016, the farm introduced free-run systems utilizing aviaries. Today, the enterprise maintains 14 organic barns, four conventional aviary barns for laying hens, and four breeder barns, alongside involvement in maple syrup production and field crops.

Current Knowledge Transfer Initiatives

At Shur-Gain, Bourgeois currently focuses on transferring her decades of accumulated knowledge to the next generation. She has developed more than 50 online training modules covering nutrition, physiology, water quality, and farming management in English and French, with some content translated into Spanish.

I have always tried to seek out innovation so that I could bring it here, adapt it to our conditions, and improve livestock farming in Quebec. notes Bourgeois. We don’t have to reinvent everything; we can learn from others.