Les Cèdres farmer Matthew Dewavrin is one of ten finalists in La Financière agricole du Québec's Tournez-vous vers l'excellence! 2023 competition. The Fermes Longprés entrepreneur will find out on November 22 if he has won. 

The winners will be announced at the Colloque Gestion organized by the Centre de référence en agriculture et agroalimentaire du Québec (CRAAQ). 

Who is Matthew Dewavrin? An agronomist by training, he joined the family farm in 2020. The farm has over 600 hectares of field crops and produces around 1,200 tonnes of organic white flour annually. His objectives and plans for the coming years are numerous: carbon neutrality, consolidation of existing assets, increased storage capacity, diversification of the product offering, and so on. As Matthew explains, "The three key attributes of our company are efficiency, autonomy and our ability to innovate." Determined to acquire new knowledge, Matthew takes part in various training courses and seminars every year. His very positive vision for the future of the company stands out in terms of financial, agronomic and environmental practices.

"I'm particularly proud to contribute to feeding the world in a healthy and environmentally-friendly way," says the finalist.

The competition's instigator, La Financière agricole du Québec, points out that the finalists were selected from among all candidates on the basis of the high quality of their entrepreneurial profile, their achievements and their managerial skills.

"Among other things, the finalists in this competition stand out for their dazzling career paths and the future they are charting with their businesses.Congratulations to Matthew Dewavrin and Pierre-Marc Paquette, for your dynamism and management talent; you have not only made your mark within your respective large family businesses, but you have also made your mark as outstanding entrepreneurs in our region. We're proud to see you among the 10 finalists; Matthew and Pierre-Marc, you can be very proud of your achievements," say Sonia Simard, Territorial Director, and Brigitte Paradis, Regional Director for the organization.

On November 22, over $13,000 in prizes will be awarded to the finalists:

- The grand prize winner will receive a $5,000 bursary, and two runners-up will each receive $2,500; 

- One candidate will receive a $1,500 bursary for his or her actions in the field of sustainable development; 

 - The Fonds d'investissement pour la relève agricole (FIRA) will be awarding a $1,500 bursary to one of the candidates who has distinguished himself/herself by the extent of his/her coaching or mentoring. 

- As with all participants, each finalist will receive a gift voucher worth $150, to be used for CRAAQ products or training. 

In 18 years, this competition has enabled nearly 450 young agricultural entrepreneurs to improve their business plans and raise the profile of their businesses.The competition has also provided financial support for the next generation of farmers, with grants totalling nearly $200,000 to date.