Michel Lemire is a dairy farmer, Holstein breeder, and agricultural industry leader who has given his industry an excellent example of competence, accomplishment, and generosity. Having started on the family farm, Michel purchased his own small place, then later a larger farm in1986. He involved himself in milk industry organizations, both provincially and federally. He served as an advisor to government. Despite all of this activity, he still managed to raise a family of six children, most of whom have stayed in agriculture.
From his early days as a dairy producer, Michel was concerned about the milk industry. He became a director of a succession of local cooperatives, leading eventually to his directorship, vice-chairmanship, and then chairmanship of Agropur during the long period 1975 – 1990. He also served the wider industry as a director and eventually first vice-chairman of the Coop fédérée 1987-1990. For 14 years he represented the Coop fédérée on the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and on many committees in the industry.
His role as a breeder really began when he joined the Holstein Association in 1963. He expanded Ferme Micheret in 1986 taking his wife and two sons into the business. The same year he won his first Master Breeder award and a second one in 1998. He became a judge in 1974 and also showed cattle with great success winning over 50 Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor banners. He judged abroad, including the prestigious Quimper Festival in France in 1985. In 1988 he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the Minister of Agriculture of France for his accomplishments as a breeder.
Because of Mr. Lemire's commitment to the industry, and contribution to many decision-making bodies, he was appointed a member of the advisory committee of the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Canada 1987-1990. He was also a member of the advisory committee of the Deputy Minister of State responsible for cooperatives, and a similar committee for the National Bank of Canada.
Michel was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1991, awarded the Commemorative Medal on the 125th Anniversary of Confederation, and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. Within agriculture, Mr. Lemire won the gold medal of the Mérite agricole du Québec in 1976, and was inducted into the Québec Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1998. Ferme Micheret was named the Québec Family Farm in 1996. On June 7, 2007, Michel was named Chevalier de L’Ordre nationale du Québec.
