TRURO – Nova Scotia farmers will converge on Truro today and tomorrow for their annual general meeting.
The session provides an opportunity for farmers to exchange ideas and hear from stakeholders.
“In an era of expected dramatic increased costs of energy the role of agriculture in the economy will expand rapidly,” said Richard Melvin, Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture president. “Major opportunities exist to produce more of our own food and energy in the years ahead.”
To make that a reality, aggressive planning and major investment by the farming sector and a “progressive” public policy framework will be needed.
Premier Darrell Dexter and Agriculture Minister John MacDonell will take part in the meeting with Dexter speaking to farmers this morning while the Tories and Liberals agriculture critics will also be in attendance.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture vice-president Don McCabe will discuss energy opportunities on the farm while Martin Gooch, of the George Morris Centre, will present information on a recent value chain research project.
The federation is expecting 250 delegates during the two-day meeting.