2025 TESA Nominee Profile: Quebec—Frederic Lebel and Dominique Dumas A l’Herbe

Grass finished beef is key to regenerative agriculture operation

If you want to improve the quality and productivity of the soil, Frederic Lebel and Dominique Dumas say there is no better way than to do it with cattle.

It is not quite as simple as putting a cow on a patch of grass, but properly managed grazing is an important component of the regenerative agriculture farm they have developed over the past 18 years in southern Quebec.

They started with depleted, played out annual crop land they bought in 2007 that could barely grow weeds, but through the use of diversified forages, intensive livestock grazing, and purposeful manure management they've turned it into a productive and profitable cattle operation, that produces high quality, grass-finished beef marketed to about 350 households in the Quebec City area.

"It is not just about growing grass or producing beef, we have a developed a whole ecosystem," says Dominique. The diversified forages help to improve soil quality, grasses and legumes support beef production, and intensive grazing supplies manure and urine that puts nutrients back into the soil to support soil microorganisms and plant growth. Healthy soil and forages attract a wide range of beneficial insects, which in turn provides habitat that attracts diversified wildlife including many species of song birds. And the permanent pastures help to sequester carbon which also greatly benefits the environment—there isn't just one part that is important, it is an integrated biological system. 

To provide shade for cattle while they are on pasture, A l'Herbe uses portable shelters which can be moved from pasture to pasture.

The efforts of Dominique and Frederic over the past 18 years to develop A l’Herbe—grass finished beef—as a sustainable livestock operation earned them recognition earlier this year as the Quebec Cattle Producers' recipient of The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) for 2025.

Neither Frederic nor Dominique grew up on farms, but through family connections they had exposure to farms and developed an interest in agriculture at an early age. "I grew up in an urban area, but my dad developed a small hobby farm where he raised a variety of livestock species in a very non-economic way," says Frederic. "I enjoyed the animals so when I went to university I decided to study agriculture, but I didn't want to do things the way my father had farmed. It needed to be economical." Dominique's relatives had been dairy farmers.

Frederic and Dominique met at McGill University as they studied agriculture and discovered they both had an interest in being farmers. In the early 2000s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) had become a popular concept with farmers partnering or essentially selling consumers a share of the harvest that would be delivered to households  during the growing season. The concept was primarily geared around fruit and vegetable production.

They bought land in 2007 at Pont-Rouge about 25 minutes west of Quebec City and launched a CSA project with a partner who was running the vegetable production while the couple took care of their first few heads of beef cattle and in parallel worked off farm to support paying for the land.

"We started with the vegetables and soon realized what a benefit cattle were to the land and to improve the soil ecosystem," says Frederic.  They soon abandoned vegetable production and decided to use the CSA model with beef production. That wasn't an overnight transition however.

The 127-acre farm they bought—the land they could afford—was extremely depleted. "It had produced back-to-back corn and cereal crops for several years," says Frederic. "It was just about a desert." Dominique notes, "Even the weeds would barely grow."

They began seeding the annual cropland to permanent forages. At first it was a pretty simple seeding plan, but they later learned the value of forage diversity and began seeding forage blends. They commonly used a blend of 12 different species made up of 40 percent legumes and about 60 percent grasses. "We wanted permanent pastures with forages with diversity in the depth of their rooting systems that were resistant to drought as well as too much moisture and resistant to hoof action by livestock," says Frederic.

They grew forages, and gradually increased livestock numbers as the land became more productive. They also rented adjoining farmland, they manage under a similar production system, to increase their land base. "It took about 10 years to get the land back into production," says Dominique. "The cow is a beautiful animal to regenerate the soil. The microorganisms in the cow's digestive system work to feed the microorganisms in the soil. Every cow pie is like an inoculum that injects nutrients and new life back into the soil." 

Dominique who works full time on the farm while Frederic works for an energy company, says she also heard a podcast by Allan Savory of the Savory Institute around 2016 which described holistic management and the value of livestock in creating a regenerative agriculture system. "We were already on this path with our farming philosophy, but hearing the podcast just brought everything together," says Dominique. "That podcast helped to connect the dots and helped to confirm that we were heading the right way in developing a regenerative agriculture operation."

Since about 2016, Frederic and Dominique have operated a productive and profitable grass-finished beef business. A l'Herbe produces diversified forages on about 186 acres of deeded and rented land, pasturing 122 head of Angus/Simmental cross steers in an intensive rotational grazing system over a 190-day grazing season. The beef is marketed through a CSA system, with the farm supplying beef to about 350 subscriber families in the Quebec City area. To diversify their product line, they also raise about 60 pigs and a small flock of poultry to supply pork and chicken to clients as well.

"We have slowly been able to increase the productivity of the land and along with that gradually increased cattle numbers as well," says Frederic. "It takes time, but with diversified forages, proper grazing and manure management we have developed a sustainable, regenerative farming system that continues to improve in productivity without added inputs." 

Frederic and Dominique have worked with two well-established nearby cow-calf operations to source year-old steers for their grazing operation. These are spring/early summer-born calves that stay with their mothers until the following year, being weaned in February and March before arriving on A l'Herbe in April at between 700 and 750 pounds.

The farm has a 60 x 120 foot "megadome" for receiving the yearling cattle. "It is our fencing school," says Frederic. For about four weeks, until the pastures are ready, the yearlings are fed hay and controlled with a single strand electric fence inside the dome so by the time they are turned out to pasture they have "learned to respect" the significance of that wire.

With usually wet conditions in spring, pasture turnout is determined not only by grass growth, but also by ground conditions—the soil needs to be dry enough to support the hoof activity of cattle.

Over the years, the farm has modified its grazing system going from moving cattle once a week in a rotational grazing system, to a very intensive mob grazing system which involves moving the herd every four hours. "As forage production increased we increased cattle numbers and found that mob grazing made the most efficient use of available forages," says Frederic. The farm is divided into about 40 pastures, which each of those pastures cross fenced with portable electric fencing that is moved several times during the day.

"Cattle are concentrated on a small area for a few hours, so there is no opportunity for selective grazing," says Frederic. "They have to eat what's there and then they move onto the next area of pasture." Each move takes about half an hour.

"Through this system they are always eating forages in a vegetative, high quality state," says Dominque. "Plants are grazed quickly, manure is deposited on the pasture and then the cattle move on allowing plants to regrow." 

The farm has reached a good balance between forage production and cattle numbers, although has to change management depending on growing conditions. In a dry year they may have to supplement pastures with hay so forages aren't overgrazed. In a wet year it can be a challenge to keep up with forage production. They may have to skip a pasture or two in the rotation to ensure cattle are grazing forages at the optimal time. Those skipped pastures will be cut for hay that can be used either in early spring or in fall as the grazing season winds down in October.

On the marketing side, customers place their beef orders at the beginning of the year. At the end of the grazing season as steers reach about 1,100 pounds, the processing phase begins. The farm joined with several other beef producers in the area a few years ago to form a butchery co-operative. The butchery is a carcass aging, cutting, wrapping and meat storage facility. Along with aging and cutting room, it also features a full-scale commercial kitchen as well as commercial freezer and cold storage. It employees between five and 10 people depending on the time of the year.

Since A l'Herbe is one of the largest operations in the co-operative, it has most access to the butchery through fall and early winter. "The butchery can process up to 10 head of cattle per week," says Frederic. "So starting in September, we begin processing eight head per week, leaving room for other co-op members to process a couple head of cattle as needed." The cattle are slaughtered at a nearby abbatoir, with the carcasses brought back to the butchery for aging and then cutting and wrapping.

As each group of eight animals is processed and meat cut and wrapped according to customer specifications, A l'Herbe develops a schedule to meet clients at a specific location each week for meat pickup. That system of processing eight head per week carries on until all cattle are processed and meat is delivered, usually by mid-December.

Dominique says the successful grass-finished beef business is just part of a sustainable and biodiverse farming operation. As forage production improved, and with use of no chemicals on the farm, it helped provide an environment for the reintroduction of beneficial insects. "There are earth worms in the soil, for example, and dung beetles have returned," she says. "As manure is deposited on the fields, with insect activity it disappears within a couple days, helping to return nutrients to the soil."

Many species of song birds have also returned as the farm provides not only a food source but nesting habitat. Birds also help to control insect pests. Frederic says during a dry growing season, for example, grasshopper numbers were exploding, but then thousands of birds showed up to help control the pest.

Frederic and Dominique say they plan to continue with their regenerative farming practices. If forage production continues to increase, they may be able to increase cattle numbers somewhat on their existing land base. However, with other competing farming operations nearby it is difficult to find affordable land for expansion.  

"We would like to expand the operation in coming years," says Frederic. "We just have to watch for opportunities. We may have to look to establish a second farming operation of 100 to 200 acres some distance away, where we can apply regenerative farming principles as well."

Frederic Lebel and Dominque Dumas with their family. From left: Émilie 18, Xavier, and Justin Lebel, 13. Unfortunately, Xavier died in an accident at age 13 in 2022— this is the last family photo. Xavier remains strong in the hearts of his family.