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Saturday, February 22, 2014

Farmer Wants Agriculture Added To School Curriculum

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 CHSJ 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.

Imminent Spruce Budworm Outbreak Has Forestry Officials On Edge

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 CHSJ 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.

RCMP Warn Of Black Ice On Highway

A heads up to those of you who plan on traveling on the Route 7 highway today. 

RCMP telling CHSJ 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.

Woman Brought To Hospital After Assault

City Police investigating an assault on the West side. 

They tell CHSJ News 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.