Over 30 years of sustainability and animal welfare at L’Ancêtre.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Fromagerie L’Ancêtre, a few members of our curious team set out to Bécancour, Quebec to visit the farm and atelier of our largest cheese partner.  

In the early 90s, you could count the province’s organic dairy farms on just two hands. But even if the demand wasn’t there yet, some farmers who’d inherited healthy land began making the early switch to more sustainable practices. Among them, nine families from the Nicolet-Bécancour region joined forces to create Ancêtre, and three decades later they’re leading the charge with organic butter and cheese.

The history of organic milk.

Meet Louis Fleurent, a sixth generation farmer and a member of one of founding nine families, standing beside Line and Luciole - two cows that were raised by teat.

After having to increase fertilization to simply grow grass, hay, and fodder for their herd, these dairy farmers started to inquire about the deterioration and health of their land. The decision to go organic was tricky, since the processing and distribution methods still all followed conventional practices at the time, impeding a fully streamlined organic process. And so, Fromagerie l’Ancêtre was born - out of a desire to create an all-organic production without relying on anyone else.

Louis grows his own organic fodder in a field beside his farm.

Unlike conventional farming where dairy cows often spend their entire lives in a concrete pen, Louis' animals graze outside at least 120 days of the year, bringing them inside when it’s too cold. The rest of the time, they live in a comfortable, well-ventilated barn.

Milk transformation.

Our team watched the artisan cheesemakers separate the curdled milk before molding it in the coagulation stage of the process.

Pascal Désilets, CEO of Ancêtre and member of one of the nine founding families, now sources milk from organic producers throughout the province. Pascal and his team craft 30 varieties of cheese that each have their own aging period ranging from a month to five years. The process is done onsite and is made up of acidification, coagulation, aging, cutting, and packaging.

Fromagerie L’Ancêtre prioritizes sustainability above all else, and instead of wasting whey (a by-product of cheese), the team dries it for different uses like dairy products, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, baked goods, and ice cream. And to curdle their milk, they mainly use vegetable rennet instead of a typical animal-based enzyme.

They then rinse this washed-rind Baluchon cheese during its 45-day aging period.

Ancêtre has been setting an example for three decades by using only the best milk from farmers like Louis. The small family business is now made up of a solid 75-person team spread over three production sites, including a new location (home to the famous Baluchon cheese) in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade. 

Check out their raclette cheese, the latest addition to their collection - aged 30 days.

Ancêtre has been offering some of the best, most sustainable dairy products from the get-go, while adhering to the strict sustainability standards of organic farming. Their range of grated, sliced, aged, fondue, and raclette cheese is booming and the future looks just as promising. With a brand new cutting, packaging, and maturing facility just across the river in Trois-Rivières, we can look forward to another 30 years of organic cheesemaking that respects their historic sustainability.