Raymond Levallois

Considered a leading authority in farm management in Québec, Raymond Levallois provided a unique and significant contribution for the advancement of the field as a researcher and instructor. He is recognized as the “father of farm management” in Québec professional circles. His achievements greatly enhanced the reputation of Université Laval and the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences.

Passionate about training the next generation

Dr. Levallois began his career at Université Laval in 1973 as a research fellow before becoming a full professor in 1991, a position he held until his retirement in 2020. During that time, he revamped farm management education in Québec by introducing numerous conceptual and educational innovations. He pioneered a pragmatic approach, combining technical, economic, and financial aspects in a down-to-earth approach.

Among other things, he introduced case studies into management education, helped establish a minimum 12-week professional internship in the Bachelor of Agroeconomics program, and created new courses to show the complex interactions linking technical choices, work organization, and financial management of farm businesses.

This passionate and dedicated instructor supervised many graduate students, influencing the careers of many of Québec’s agricultural professionals. Raymond Levallois, an outstanding educator and mentor, was named best professor in his department a number of times by the Agricultural Economics Students’ General Society.

Committed to knowledge transfer

Throughout his career, Raymond Levallois worked tirelessly to popularize science and pass on his knowledge to both farmers and the professionals who work with them.  In all, he delivered over 150 lectures and conducted more than 250 professional training sessions, directly reaching some 3,700 farmers.

Dr. Levallois published extensively, producing over 70 articles in professional journals. He is the author of three reference books on farm management. One of these books, Gestion de l’entreprise agricole: de la théorie à la pratique, is still used today for teaching not only at Université Laval, but also at CEGEPs and Institut de technologie agroalimentaire du Québec (ITAQ).

Raymond Levallois was involved in disseminating knowledge in farm management on numerous occasions, including as a volunteer on expert committees for the Québec Reference Centre for Agriculture and Agri-food (CRAAQ). He also initiated the Colloque Gestion symposium, a prestigious event overseen by CRAAQ and whose relevance is still highly recognized, even after 35 years. Over 20,000 people have enjoyed this event over the years.

He was instrumental in creating and strengthening the emerging field of farm business management when he began his career. In 1973, Raymond Levallois created a research group, Agri-Gestion Laval (now TRAGET Laval), focused on action research. He and his colleagues developed research in collaboration with the farming community. They also developed the first microcomputer farm software in Québec applying the results of their research.

In recognition of his work, Dr. Levallois received the Rivest Award from Fédération des groupes conseils agricoles du Québec in 1991, the title of Commander of Ordre du mérite agronomique from Québec’s Order of Agronomists in 2005, the Award of Excellence in Farm Business Management from the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society in 2005, and the Wilson Loree Award for farm management development and promotion from the Canadian Farm Business Management Council in 2008.