Agriculture in Nova Scotia

Agriculture in Nova Scotia is the production of various food, feed, or fiber commodities to fulfill domestic and international human and animal sustenance needs. Nova Scotia is a province in Atlantic Canada totaling 55 284 km² of land and water bordering New Brunswick.^[1] This province houses approximately 3795 farms averaging 262 acres per farm. The total land area used for farm lands in Nova Scotia is 995,943 acres.^[2]

There is a large range of crops and animals raised in the province and it is a large part of the economy in Nova Scotia. The Department of Agriculture is responsible for the overview of the agricultural practices in Nova Scotia.^[3]

History

The name Nova Scotia originates from the Latin for New Scotland this reflects the history of the early settlers.^[4] Historically much of Nova Scotia was covered with forest, much of this has been reduced by the actions of the settlers.

The first peoples of Nova Scotia, the Mi’kmaq, lived as hunters and traders. The Norse adventurers discovered Nova Scotian coasts but it was the Europeans that reached the first agricultural settlement.^[4]

In the early 19th century much was developed in Nova Scotia including the fishing and lumber businesses. Since 1950 there has been a financial struggle, the fishing industry (lobster and shellfish) has helped maintain Nova Scotia.^[5]

Major agricultural products

Crops

Some of the major crops include Barley, Alfalfa, Carrot, Broccoli, Apples, Grape, Blueberries as well as a variety of greenhouse grown fruits and Vegetables.^[2]

Blueberries are a particularly important crop for Nova Scotia since it is a more unique crop in the fact that it is naturally occurring and it requires the more acidic and sandy soils, like the ones found in Nova Scotia. These blueberries are usually cultivated on abandoned farmland or other land that is seen as unproductive land.^[6] There is over 1,000 producers and over 40,000 acres which makes this the blueberry the largest fruit crop in Nova Scotia.^[7]

The grape production in Nova Scotia is a growing field that is attempting to increase production in recent decade,^[8] the government of Nova Scotia has spent $1 million in 2015 to double grape production by 2020. there is currently 632 acres of cultivated land for grape.^[9] Production is projected to triple by 2020.^[8] Nova Scotia has cultivated a variety of grapes in order to create a variety of wines such as L'Acadie Blanc, Castel, Cayuga, Ortega, and many more. Nova Scotia is also known for other fruit wines such as apple, blueberry, and cranberry.^[10] Many of these varieties are French hybrid varieties in order for the crop to survive in the cooler climate in Nova Scotia.^[8] This industry is still very new to Nova Scotia thus many measures have been taken to reduce the number of pests in the area.^[11]

Horticulture

Wild flowers such as mayflower, pitcher plant, white water lily and a variety of violets grow throughout Nova Scotia.^[5] The Horticulture Nova Scotia (HNS) is a group that help educate people about horticulture in Nova Scotia involving the production, marketing, communication, and business management.^[12]

Forestry

The original forests of Nova Scotia took many years for the settlers to clear in order to perform other forms of agriculture on the land.^[13]

Hardwood and coniferous trees are grown throughout Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has over 4 million ha of forest, this has always been an important to the economy. Common soft woods include spruce and balsam fir; other hardwoods include red maple, sugar maple and yellow birch.^[5]

Nova Scotia also has a well established maple syrup production. The heavy snowfall in 2015 caused damage to farmers trees, In January 2016 there was $950,000 invested by Nova Scotia's Agriculture Department to help farmers re-establish the sap collection systems.^[14]

Poultry and Eggs

Nova Scotia has the highest poultry production in Atlantic Canada, approximately 40 million kg of chicken, and 4.5 million kg of turkey in 2005.^[2] The poultry and eggs are supply managed like the dairy in Nova Scotia. there are approximately 84 chicken growers in the province which produce about 43 million kgs of meat a year and 17,493,000 dozen per year.^[15]

Dairy

This field is also under supply management managed with quota. this is also one of the largest industries in the province. There are 270 farms that are part of the Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia, this is the governing body that administers quota and sets the price of milk. The production exceeds 170 million liters of milk per year, this milk will travel to one of the 7 dairy processing plants in Nova Scotia.^[15]

The two main types of dairy systems in Nova Scotia are pasture-based and confinement-based. Meaning the animals are in the pasture for the majority of the time as compared to in a building the majority of the time. The current trend is toward fewer, larger confinement-based systems. These systems usually produce large amounts of milk because of the interaction with the farmer. they are in more control than in the pasture-based systems.^[16]

Livestock

Livestock in Nova Scotia consists of sheep (25,000), goat (2,000), Pigs (95,000), Mink (984,000).^[2] These livestock are used for different yields such as milk, wool, meat and furs. The hog industry in Nova Scotia has been greatly reducing in Nova Scotia and relies heavily on the provincial government for support.^[15]

The beef production in Nova Scotia come from approximately 1200 producers. In 2005 there was a total of 108, 500 head produced. The cattle can be slaughtered on a farm if it is for direct sale while if it is to be shipped internationally it must be slaughtered in a federally inspected processing plant. There is only one of these such facilities in the Atlantic region of Canada.^[15]

Aquaculture

The aquaculture industry in Canada is quite small but it has been increasing in recent years. The increased demand and innovation in farmed fish as apposed to a purely wild caught has seen the sector rapidly increase. Canada has a unique advantage because of the extensive coastline.^[17]

Nova Scotian fisheries are involved in gathering haddock, cod, mollusks, scallops and lobsters.^[5] A recent push has been place on the field of aquaculture in order to assist in the issues with over fishing as well as the increased pressure on the food demand worldwide.^[18] Nova Scotia is Canada's number 1 seafood exporter, they accounted for 27% of Canada's total seafood exports in 2015, this can be attributed to the amount of high quality waters the province has.^[18]

Organic Farms

There are approximately 359 farms involved in organic production in Nova Scotia. the majority of these farms are not certified for organic products, 17% are certified, 3.9% are transitioning to certification and 81.9% were not. The majority of the organic crops include fruits, vegetables or various greenhouse products.^[2]

More dairy farmers have been looking into the organic options recently because of the price premiums. This growing market is now allowing more farmers to make the switch over to organic.^[15]

Economy

The government of Canada has several programs to help the farmers with their costs of production. many of these programs are contributed to by the farmers themselves as a sort of insurance plan.^[2]

The government started a new program that will qualify farmers for a tax credit who donate their spare food to the local food banks. this program will be available starting January 1, 2017.^[19] The government is also helping tree fruit crop growers due to the losses from a fire blight outbreak, they are providing 2.69 million dollars to help bring this under control and minimize damages.^[20]

The blueberry industry is always a strong force in the economy of Nova Scotia bringing in 70 million dollars in worldwide exports.^[7]

The field of aquaculture also has a great influence on the economy, bringing in over 1.68 billion to the province.^[18] this looks to increase with the increasing demand and improvement in practices as well as new innovation in farmed fisheries.

Agritourism is a new opportunity to grow the economy, this is a great way to increase the sustainability within the farming system. these can include farm markets, wineries, u-picks, and farm based festivals. This can be great for Nova Scotia's economy because the province has very rich farming history and culture. Although other barriers do exist such as product development, government support, marketing, and education and training.^[21]

Other

Water

There are over 3000 lakes as well as many rivers and streams throughout Nova Scotia. The water in Nova Scotia has also been very important to the forestry sector throughout its history.^[5] The provincial government of Nova Scotia has helped with the land use planning in many areas such as the Annapolis Valley in an attempt to reduce the groundwater issues and drinking water contamination. Local governments have also sought to re-mediate these issues by working with the community to understand what needs to be done. The education of the land owners is most important when trying to protect the water sources.^[22]

Soil

There are many areas throughout Nova Scotia that have very fertile soil such as the Annapolis valley and Cornwallis Valley. The soils in Nova Scotia are mostly acidic. 29% of land is suitable for agriculture. The best land is in the lowlands were the soil has had the opportunity to develop into deeper soils. The soils in the uplands tend to be shallower and more rocky thus less fertile.^[5]

These fertile lands in the marshlands consist of fertile alluvial flood plains and river valleys. these land are easily cultivable land thus they were used a lot by the settlers.^[13]

Topography

The land Nova Scotia varies from coast to coast with rugged coastlines, inlets, islands, coves and bays to large lowlands connecting the various parts of the landscape. In these lowlands there are various valleys that have been formed during the Triassic period. Areas such as the Bay of Fundy are now very important to the field of agriculture because of the marshlands formed by the high tides, once dykes were built these lands could be harnessed for crops. These dykes were built by the French Settlers in order to secure the salt they needed for curing the fish, this land was later used for agriculture, and these structures have since been built and kept by the Department of Agriculture.^[5]

References