Cape Breton representative named to new N.S. agriculture youth council
SYDNEY — Members of a new Nova Scotia Youth Council for Agriculture to advise the Minister of Agriculture were announced on Thursday.
The council will advise the minister on advancing agriculture and agri-food production as viable career and business opportunities for young people.
"I look forward to the conversations I will be having with these representatives about the government's programs, policies and initiatives that will serve a new generation of agricultural producers and business owners," said Greg Morrow, Minister of Agriculture, in a press release.
"We want to build a future for more young Nova Scotians actively contributing to, and benefiting from, the agriculture industry."
The Nova Scotia Youth Council for Agriculture includes representatives from farms, agricultural businesses, and other groups and communities.
Courtney Schmidt of Inverness County will be the agri-business representative.
"I look forward to sharing with the minister the specific barriers women in agriculture face,” Schmidt said in a press release.
“I will draw upon my experience as a business advisor with the Centre for Women
in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University, as well as my involvement in a longstanding, value-added family business in Cape Breton that is owned by women. I'm hopeful my current MBA
studies in food and farm management can also help contribute to the conversation."
Representatives from across the province will represent Nova Scotia Young Farmers, producers, the Canadian
Agricultural Youth Council, Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture, 4-H Youth Ambassador, and Outstanding Youth Leaders in Agriculture.
The youth council will also have Mi'kmaw community representative and African Nova Scotian representatives.
The council was announced in Truro and they held their first meeting.
The council will mirror the work of the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, formed in 2020 by the federal Department of Agriculture to create a nationwide dialogue on food-related challenges and opportunities for young people.