Agronomists Élisabeth Grenier and Alexandre Landry met at Université Laval and spent five years searching for the right property before founding Ferme Rustique in 2007 on a run-down site in Sainte-Croix-de-Lotbinière that required rebuilding from near scratch. The operation raises a herd of 60 grass-fed beef cattle, around 200 pigs, and 300 grain-fed chickens, all in free-range conditions with room to move, outdoor access, and enriched environments: the pigs are fed a diet of farm-grown squash, zucchini, and apples, and have been known to play with bowling balls. Feed for the beef herd is entirely farm-produced. Butchering is handled by third-generation butcher David St-Hilaire at Viandes St-Hilaire in Beauce, and the farm sells direct to around 250 families in the greater Quebec City area, a handful of restaurants, and walk-in customers at the farm boutique, with quarterly deliveries to Montreal.