When we think of a typical farmer in the Pontiac, thoughts go back to Gordon bringing in the cows from pasture about daybreak to milk them, Bob out plowing with the ‘77 Oliver and a two furrow drag plow and Russell cutting corn with the Cockshutt 40 and a one row corn harvester.
Our Pontiac farmers used to have dairy cows, beef cows, hogs, chickens to lay eggs, oats, wheat, barley, and sometimes soup peas — which were tagged a sorry crop because if you had a bad crop you were sorry that you planted them at all. But if you had a good year for peas, it was a bumper crop that could pay off all your farm loans and you were sorry that you didn’t plant the whole farm in peas.

An agronomist friend of mine told me that when he did his work experience here as an assistant 60 years ago, there were more than 600 farms with dairy cows. There were butter and cheese factories as well as some small local dairies who bottled milk.
Now the small plants are all gone and there are only 23 dairy farms left in Pontiac. These dairy farms are still all family farms but much bigger and produce as much milk as 600 farms did 60 years ago.
Sixty years ago, most farms were mixed farms with a few milk cows, some beef cattle, a few hogs and a hen house to supply the house. Every week the extra eggs were taken to the egg circle in town.
Every farm had a garden to be envious of. They grew all the grain needed on the farm and sold what was left to pay taxes and other bills.
Joe milked a few goats by hand and supplied the hospital with goats milk which was easier for babies and other special needs patients to digest.
Many farms that supplied milk to the butter and cheese plants had their cows calve in the spring so that they could be on pasture and produce milk with less expense all summer but when the pastures dried up and the fall winds turned cold most of those spring calvers stopped giving milk.
A handful of other farmers had cows calving all through the year and supplied milk all year for the bottling trade and street sales. This year milk production was more expensive because top quality feed had to be stored for winter and more grain and concentrate had to be fed to keep a steady supply of milk throughout the year.
As years fly by, farms change too. When we look closely at the few full time farmers that are left, we notice that many of them now farm ten times the acres, ship milk by the truck load, their beef steers go by the tractor trailer load and we see grain being trucked with double grain trailers attached to a very powerful big truck.
One thing that has not changed is that farmers learn quickly to produce what people want. Local farmers markets are a success because consumers want fresh, clean produce that they can buy from the man who grew it and ask him how it was grown.
Some local greenhouses have been successful at supplying fresh vegetables all year round. Whether the wife’s birthday is in July or January she still enjoys getting a bouquet of fresh roses. Some farms now deliver a fresh box of vegetables every week right to your door in summer and winter. Some consumers will pay a little extra to get a steady supply of organic food.
Pontiac has also enjoyed global warming and now fields of grain corn and soybeans that couldn’t be found in Pontiac 60 years ago are now our main grain crops.
Experiments in rice production didn’t turn out but Pontiac is now the home of the largest hop producer in Quebec. The best local breweries use Pontiac hops to make their beer.
Pontiac’s first milkweed farm started two years ago. The silk from milkweed pods is used as an absorbent for large oil spills because it soaks up oil but not water. Milkweed silk is excellent filler for life jackets and other floatation devices. The military is even experimenting with milkweed silk filled parkas because it is warmer than down and it floats.
Apples have made a comeback because of Coronation Hall, Pontiac’s first cider mill.
As we drive through Pontiac we see several small fields of grapes growing in perfect straight rows. Several small wineries have started in Pontiac and do or soon will offer quality wines in whatever colour the customer wants. There are now 21 wineries within a short drive from Ottawa-Hull. At small vineyards, all grapes are hand picked by friends who appreciate quality wine; and bird nests, mouse nests, ladybugs and other non-grape things don’t get into the wine.
There are only a fraction of large farms remaining in our county but there are many new opportunities in agriculture still untapped in Pontiac.
You and your family can still experience the pride of farming with plenty of fresh air and hard work. Bragging rights seldom come easy.

Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon
on land that has been in his family
for generations