about
farm talk care
farm talk care
Agriculture NB
Background
The Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick, the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick, and Really Local Harvest have formed the Agriculture NB collective, following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the three organizations.
The creation of an agri-food collective by this MOU includes the mandates of collaboration and consultation between agri-food organizations; and resource efficiency by sharing collective responsibilities to support activities or projects.
The three organizations have already collaborated on several files together in 2020, namely the lifting of the ban on temporary foreign workers, initiatives to farmers with labour challenges through the pandemic, public communications regarding changes to the distribution of craft alcohol, and sounding the alarm about the strain on our food system.
The mental wellness of farmers is key to a strong and resilient agriculture sector in New Brunswick and living and working in rural areas, along with the stigma surrounding mental health, can make it difficult for farmers to seek help. Many Provinces and organizations in Canada have established or are working on mental health and farm safety support initiatives.
In 2022, Agriculture NB, a partnership between the Agricultural Alliance of NB, National Farmers Union of NB and Really Local Harvest, committed to developing a mental health and farm safety initiative and work is underway to lay the foundation for an awareness and resource program to support farmers mental health and farm safety in New Brunswick.
Agriculture NB will further develop the elements of this initiative to promote and support resilient farmers of New Brunswick.
Members
The National Farmers Union in N.B. and the Agricultural Alliance of NB are both general farm organizations that represent the interests of all agricultural sectors of the province. Really Local Harvest is a cooperative of about thirty farms from southeastern New Brunswick with a strong focus on food security and the prosperity of family farms province-wide. The organizations look forward to working together on issues such as provincial abattoirs, food security, and rural internet access.
“Mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain, and you feel the rain, but, importantly, you are not the rain.”