Hubert Steben-Chabot owns the Koasseux vegetable garden and sells directly to consumers. Anyone who rents land in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and who produces 35 to 50 baskets of fruit and vegetables per week uses technology in an ingenious way. A matter of survival!
“I don’t see myself as a tech farm. I don’t have a milking robot or a big tractor with all the cutting-edge technology you find in the dairy sector,” says Hubert Steben-Chabot. However, when he lists the innovations he uses, he finds that he is one of the few to use all these technological tools.
“In the winter, I do snow removal and my spouse, Andréane Robitaille, who is a partner with me, also has a job outside because we barely pay the bills for the company. So every expense counts,” says the producer. A year ago, he bought a 3D printer that he uses to replace equipment or to create custom ones. “I have a drill with about 20 wheels and each wheel costs me $45 to replace. Thanks to the printer, it’s $1. »
It is by consulting the thousands of files available for free online that the producer manages to find the pieces he is looking for. He also happens to take out his creative pen. “My hydroponic system is a homemade creation and the plugs I need don’t exist. Same thing for my bagger. So we drew them and my printer makes them. Every year, 50 to 60 pieces are printed, for savings he estimates at least $5,000.
The young producer has also set up a system in his chicken coop that allows the door to open and close at sunrise and sunset. “Considering how many hours I work per week, I couldn’t be there at 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. at night to let the poultry in and out. Now, a microcontroller takes care of this task. This year, the canopies of its greenhouses will switch to automation mode.
Hubert Steben-Chabot confesses that he is not a fan of computers and technology. “I have a love-hate relationship with computers. For him, the use of technology is a matter of “laziness”, but also of survival. “We installed an old container in the field that serves as an office. We don’t have electricity. We work with a few solar panels. We work non-stop. So, if I can simplify my life by entrusting a task that I do not want to a printed card, I do not hesitate. »
The future ? Hubert is passionate about agriculture, but he does not know how long he will be able to continue at this pace. The price of land makes it inaccessible and government subsidies are constantly being reduced, not to mention the issues of protecting the territory. “I wish I didn’t have to innovate and run a microcontroller with duct tape, but we have no choice if I want to get to sleep. It is innovating to survive. »
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