August is a busy month for Joé Desjardins, a dairy farmer in Sainte-Croix, in Quebec's Chaudière-Appalaches region.

It's harvest season, when tomato plants hang heavy and Swiss chard grows dark and lush.

It's also Pride month in Canada, which means that for Desjardins, the president of Fierté Agricole, any moments not spent in the garden or with the herd he raises with his partner, Michel Desrochers, are spent at LGBT pride festivals across the region.

Fierté Agricole brings together LGBT Quebecers who share a common interest in agricultural and rural life. It was formed to address the loneliness that Desjardins says is pervasive among LGBT farmers.

It's a story that Desjardins often hears from the group's new members, who say that — between working dawn to dusk and living in the country — they don't get much opportunity to go out and meet other LGBT people, leaving them often feeling isolated and alone.

Fierté Agricole began in 2008, after Maria Labrecque-Duchesneau — a social worker and founder of a respite house called Au coeur des familles agricoles — brought a group of LGBT farmers together for a Christmas dinner after having heard from them about the loneliness they face.Read more via CBC