Ep. 43 Breeding Tomatoes and Talking Co-ops – Fred Thériault, Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm

Fred Thériault is a farmer and founding member of Tourne-Sol co-operative farm in Les Cèdres, Quebec, where they grow vegetables for 500 weekly CSA baskets and an acre of seed crops. I say "they" but I should guess I mean "we" because I farm with Fred at Tourne-Sol and we've been great friends for the last 25 years and have done all kinds of things together. Such as - Fred and I also co-authored the book Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers.

In this episode, we talk seeds, but I also brought Fred on to explore what it's really like to be part of a co-op. We dive into the challenges and rewards of shared decision-making, balancing individual and collective goals, and building a farm culture where collaboration supports both production and innovation. Fred shares practical insights on how cooperative structures can help farmers thrive while maintaining flexibility and creativity on the farm..

In the deep dive, we focus on on-farm tomato breeding. Fred explains how he selected the Ruby-Sol tomato from a red hybrid, honing in on earliness, yield, and flavor. We explore the trade-offs between production efficiency and experimentation, and the lessons he's learned from years of tomato selection.

I hope you enjoy this conversation.

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Episode links

Fred's Farm Co-Op Academy

Watch Fred's Free webinar: Start Your Agricultural Co‑op 101

Tourne-Sol farm's website

Tourne-Sol on instagram

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