How Maude Destrijker chose farming on her own terms

This is part of a series of profiles of young egg farmers. They are all young leaders taking part in Egg Farmers of Canada’s national young farmer program, an initiative designed to prepare the next generation of industry leaders.

Maude Destrijker

Plessisville, Quebec

Every morning before school, Maude Destrijker’s father would make her the same simple breakfast: two eggs and toast. Years later, that small ritual would come to define not just what she valued, but the life she would choose to build.

For a long time, though, that life didn’t seem to include farming. Raised on her family’s farm in Quebec, agriculture was always part of the backdrop, but so were expectations that pointed elsewhere. A strong student, Maude chose to pursue a career in health care, eventually enrolling in biochemistry at Université Laval. It didn’t take long to realize something was off. The turning point came during the pandemic, when she began reassessing how she wanted to live and what kind of future she could see for herself. The answer brought her back to something simpler: family, presence and the rhythms she had grown up with.

“I’ve always dreamed of having a family,” she says. “I wanted to be present the way my dad always was for me.”

So, she pivoted and tried out a couple of new courses. Next, she switched to a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and took on a contract as a relationship manager at Farm Credit Canada. The schedule was relentless—long days at the office layered onto early mornings and evenings on the farm—but it confirmed what she had started to suspect, that the farm was where she really belonged.

Today, Maude is back full-time, working alongside her father, Emmanuel, whom she describes as her mentor, confidant and best friend.

Her perspective is being shaped beyond the farm itself. As part of Egg Farmers of Canada’s national young farmer program representing the Fédération des producteurs d’œufs du Québec, she’s connecting with industry peers across the country—an experience she describes as both energizing and eye-opening.

“It’s exciting to be part of that next wave,” she says. “You’re learning from each other, seeing different approaches and realizing how much opportunity there is to do things better.”

That sense of momentum is mirrored by the farm itself, which is rooted in a similar leap of faith. In 1981, her grandparents left Belgium, trading careers as a computer technician and a medical secretary for a new life in Quebec. They sold everything and started over, building the original farm in Saint-Ludger, which is now run by Maude’s uncle, Frederic. Emmanuel, Maude’s father, then took on part of the original farm and started, in Plessisville, what would become Ferme Hellebecq, named after his hometown in Belgium. Today, the two farms remain closely connected. In Plessisville, Maude and her father raise pullets and produce eggs, and also raise pullets for her uncle’s farm.

Meanwhile, Maude is continuing to lead the farm’s next chapter.

“We’re building three new barns this summer, which is my project,” she says. In the interest of sustainability, the new barns will be mostly electric and equipped with advanced ventilation systems and heat exchangers that recover energy that would otherwise be lost—improving efficiency, air quality and supporting animal welfare.

It’s the kind of forward-thinking approach her family has long embraced. That entrepreneurial mindset is what resonates most with Maude.

“There’s this old image of farming as just long hours and hard labour,” she says. “But you’re running a business. You’re making decisions. And you see the tangible impact of your work every single day; you can see the product you give to consumers. Knowing families across Canada rely on the eggs we produce is really meaningful.”

She’s also thinking beyond the day-to-day. With 700 acres of forest on the property, the farm is investing in long-term sustainability, managing the land as a future resource. Through ongoing community involvement—supporting local businesses, contributing to meals for those in need and backing youth sports—Maude is already stepping into a broader leadership role that reflects the values she was raised with.

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