- English
Pépinière Boucher is a third-generation family business located in Saint-Ambroise, Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada. Approximately 20 million forest seedlings are produced annually. These seedlings are exclusively destined for reforestation programs in Quebec’s public and private forests. This production nursery stands among the most important and innovative companies in the sector.
Challenges such as manpower shortages, strong competition, and a desire to maintain a leading position in the market drive Pépinière Boucher to continuously modernize, increasing the mechanization and automation of its operations by drawing inspiration from the most efficient international companies.
The Preforma Advantage at Boucher Nursery
Since 1990, Pépinière Boucher has partnered with Jiffy to optimize its production. Currently, over 25% of their forest seedlings are sown in Preforma trays, and the company aims to increase this proportion. Forest seeds are expensive and challenging to transplant when using broadcast sowing. Preforma allows for better resource utilization by planting a single seed per cavity, resulting in substantial savings and aligning with the company’s goal of reducing waste. Using Preforma can reduce seed loss by up to 40%.
An Ideal Product for Transplanting
Forest seedlings do not develop a very strong root system capable of holding conventional peat into a clod.. They still need to be repotted after 40 to 60 days, making mechanized transplanting quite difficult. The bonded soil of the Preforma allows for the robotic transplantation of young plants while maintaining the integrity of the plug. Labor being increasingly hard to find, this is an undeniable advantage. Without Preforma, mechanical transplanting of forest seedlings would not be possible, making it the ideal product for Pépinière Boucher.
Jiffy’s ready-to-use format saves significant time and labor. The trays can be sown immediately after their arrival. Additionally, they can be adapted to most transplanting machine and equipment, ensuring uniform, high-quality production. This easy-to-use product allows the innovative and visionary Pépinière Boucher to continually improve its practices. Preforma provides a superior product while conserving valuable resources.
See how our Preforma plugs simplify and optimize daily operations at Pépinière Boucher in this video.
Let’s work together
Jiffy is a leading global supplier of premium growing media and solution thinking. We aim to serve you, our customers in plant propagation and cultivation, to achieve better results with fewer worries. We do this by continually improving, innovating, and working toward our common goals, based on scientific research, teamwork, and decades of experience. Let’s develop sustainable plant growing solutions together: Let’s start today!
