Reversing the trend of aging farmers starts by teaching students how to grow their own food.
That,
according to 25-year-old Dave Wolpin who runs a farm in Bloomfield,
which is located just outside of Hampton. Wolpin tells Tide News he
believes it all comes down to education, saying the first subject of the
day should agriculture and nutrition.
Stats
Canada reporting the structure of agriculture has changed significantly
over the last twenty years with fewer but larger farms and the average
age of farm operators increasing from 47 and a half years old to 54
years old.
The
spruce budworm is only one and a half centimetres long, but if measures
aren't taken this tiny caterpillar could spell big trouble for our
forests.
Population outbreaks of the bug happen about every thirty years and one is thought to be coming.
UNB
Professor in the faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management David
MacLean tells Tide News the insects, which feast on spruce and balsam
fir trees, are devastating in big numbers. He says during an outbreak of
spruce budworm, you go from barely being able to find the insect to
seeing hundreds on a single branch.
MacLean
says their numbers have been growing in Quebec and they're expected to
move east. The last big outbreak in New Brunswick hit between the late
'70s and early '90s and half of the province's forests were defoliated.
He says
an intervention strategy would involve intensive monitoring and early
detection. $18-million being allocated by the federal government for an
intervention programme.
A heads up to those of you who plan on traveling on the Route 7 highway today.
RCMP
telling Tide News the highway is very slippery. They say there's black
ice on the road from Saint John to Fredericton so you should be
extremely careful when driving.
City Police investigating an assault on the West side of Saint John.
They
tell us a woman was screaming in an apartment in the Duke Street
area around midnight and had to be taken to hospital, while another
person was taken into custody and will be appearing before a judge.
Police say the woman's injuries are not considered serious.
