New Brunswick Agriculture Minister Ron Ouellette will hit the road in January and February to consult with the province’s agriculture sector leading up to his planned provincial ag summit in early April.
Regional consultations will be held in eight communities between Jan. 21 and Feb. 13, the province announced in a release Tuesday.
Ouellette’s plan for these pre-summit consultations is to “meet with industry stakeholders to gain a full understanding of the prevalent issues, perceptions and concerns,” the province said.
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The province has worked up a discussion document outlining the current farm income picture and the decline in the number of New Brunswick farms. Among several opportunities outlined for the province’s farmers in the near term and going forward, the document points to growing health-consciousness in eating habits; the province’s proximity to the northeastern U.S. market; and plans for a mechanism to release suitable Crown land for farming after the forestry industry harvests those acres.
Among the challenges for the ag sector, the document notes escalating costs; availability of land; lack of critical mass compared to larger competing farms in central and Western Canada; “corporate concentration” in the province’s ag value chains; lack of available labour; and raised expectations for farmers’ environmental accountability.
“The purpose of these (consultation) sessions will be to fine-tune the discussion document that will be made available to stakeholders in advance of the summit, prioritize the areas for discussion, and develop the summit process and agenda,” Ouellette said.
