
FLO Nation Farms
Urban Farm / Indoor Agriculture Specialists
New Brunswick has a fantastic food and beverage scene. Our province is home to some genuinely innovative chefs with diverse cultural backgrounds. The main reason why many of our fabulous restaurants have been successful is how supportive and enthusiastic our population is towards food. Saint John is host to numerous food-related events every year, such as Burger Week, Ribfest, Taste of the Maritimes, and Chop Chop. There has been a quickly growing culture based on supporting local, especially true in the food industry. However, the problem is that we do not have anywhere near enough local agriculture to support our local restaurants, let alone individual consumers.

New Brunswick has a fantastic food and beverage scene. Our province is home to some genuinely innovative chefs with diverse cultural backgrounds. The main reason why many of our fabulous restaurants have been successful is how supportive and enthusiastic our population is towards food. Saint John is host to numerous food-related events every year, such as Burger Week, Ribfest, Taste of the Maritimes, and Chop Chop. There has been a quickly growing culture based on supporting local, especially true in the food industry. However, the problem is that we do not have anywhere near enough local agriculture to support our local restaurants, let alone individual consumers.
Food In New Brunswick
A shocking fact is that we, as a province, only grow 8% of the fruits and vegetables consumed within our borders. We rely on outside entities for 92% of our produce. This dependence on imports leaves us vulnerable to;
-
Supply chain issues,
-
Decreased product quality and availability,
-
A high carbon footprint tied to our food,
-
Food safety issues,
-
Considerable fluctuations in pricing due to foreign markets.
A shocking fact is that we, as a province, only grow 8% of the fruits and vegetables consumed within our borders. We rely on outside entities for 92% of our produce. This dependence on imports leaves us vulnerable to;
-
Supply chain issues,
-
Decreased product quality and availability,
-
A high carbon footprint tied to our food,
-
Food safety issues,
-
Considerable fluctuations in pricing due to foreign markets.
To be resilient as a population, we must make increasing our level of food sovereignty a priority. While this seems like a no-brainer, there are many hurdles we must overcome before seeing a more food-sovereign New Brunswick.
Food Sovereignty
Challenges
We can essentially break down the roadblocks that we face into four main categories: environmental, political, societal, and sustainability. Unfortunately, these issues overlap and intertwine, making it challenging to navigate our way to a solution for any one of them.

We can essentially break down
the roadblocks that we face into
four main categories: environmental,
political, societal, and sustainability. Unfortunately, these issues overlap and
intertwine, making it challenging to
navigate our way to a solution for
any one of them.
Environmental
Political
Many of the political challenges that we face will be much harder to fix, taking a strong, unified voice to make the government listen. Our current agricultural funding programs have been designed to raise the province’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) statistics by helping large, export-focused producers, and not to feed our citizens. Food security and food sovereignty are known issues for New Brunswick. Many of the political parties made promises during our recent provincial election to combat these issues in one way or another. We, as citizens, need to ensure that they keep those promises. We need government programs designed to aid new entrant farmers, promote innovation in our agricultural systems, and encourage younger generations to begin farming.

Many of the political challenges that we face
will be much harder to fix, taking a strong, unified
voice to make the government listen. Our current
agricultural funding programs have been designed to raise
the province’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) statistics by
helping large, export-focused producers, and not to feed our
citizens. Food security and food sovereignty are known issues for
New Brunswick. Many of the political parties made promises during
our recent provincial election to combat these issues in one way
or another. We, as citizens, need to ensure that they keep
those promises. We need government programs designed
to aid new entrant farmers, promote innovation in our
agricultural systems, and encourage younger
generations to begin farming.
The environmental challenges that we face will be the hardest to change but perhaps the easiest to work around. New Brunswick only has an average of 126 frost-free days in a year, meaning that we cannot grow crops for the majority of the year using traditional methods. This short growing season, coupled with adverse weather conditions, and the potential for pest problems, makes it easy to see why conventional agriculture has declined in the province. Indoor agriculture could mitigate most of these issues; however, the infrastructure requires considerable financial investments to getstarted, which many farmers cannot afford. Without the help of our government, it will be hard for many farmers to make the transition.

​
The environmental challenges that we face will
be the hardest to change but perhaps the easiest to
work around. New Brunswick only has an average of
126 frost-free days in a year, meaning that we cannot grow
crops for the majority of the year using traditional methods. This
short growing season, coupled with adverse weather conditions,
and the potential for pest problems, makes it easy to see why
conventional agriculture has declined in the province. Indoor
agriculture could mitigate most of these issues; however, the
infrastructure requires considerable financial investments to get
started, which many farmers cannot afford. Without the
help of our government, it will be hard for many
farmers to make the transition.
The environmental challenges that we face
will be the hardest to change but perhaps the
easiest to work around. New Brunswick only has an
average of 126 frost-free days in a year, meaning that
we cannot grow crops for the majority of the year using
traditional methods. This short growing season, coupled with
adverse weather conditions, and the potential for pest problems,
makes it easy to see why conventional agriculture has declined in the province. Indoor agriculture could mitigate most of these issues;
however, the infrastructure requires considerable financial
investments to getstarted, which many farmers cannot
afford. Without thehelp of our government, it will
be hard for many farmers to make the transition.
Societal
Shifts in our society could have the most detrimental effects on agriculture in our province. The average age of farmers in New Brunswick is 55 years old, with many planning to retire in the coming years. With fewer people than ever pursuing futures in agriculture and many of those interested not having the financial means to begin, many farmers struggle to find people to take over their farms.

Shifts in our society could have the most detrimental
effects on agriculture in our province. The average age of
farmers in New Brunswick is 55 years old, with many planning
to retire in the coming years. With fewer people than ever pursuing
futures in agriculture and many of those interested not having the
financial means to begin, many farmers struggle to find people
to take over their farms.
Sustainability
As we make headway against these issues, we need to remain conscious of our decisions. We need to create a sustainable agriculture industry in New Brunswick and not repeat others’ mistakes. The industrial agriculture model used elsewhere has contributed to desertification, soil degradation, decreased biodiversity, and ocean dead zones. Agriculture currently contributes to 70% of the world’s freshwater usage. In most cases, farmers can re-use the water once it makes its way back to the water table. However, this leads to other issues like contamination of the water source from chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, chemical nutrients, and fertilizers.
​
​

As we make headway against these issues, we need
to remain conscious of our decisions. We need to create a
sustainable agriculture industry in New Brunswick and not repeat
others’ mistakes. The industrial agriculture model used elsewhere has contributed to desertification, soil degradation, decreased biodiversity,
and ocean dead zones. Agriculture currently contributes to 70% of
the world’s freshwater usage. In most cases, farmers can re-use
the water once it makes its way back to the water table.
However, this leads to other issues like contamination of
the water source from chemicals like pesticides,
herbicides, chemical nutrients, and fertilizers.