Hope For Support in The Province Agricultural Recovery Efforts
Old Order Mennonite families in southern Ontario have bid on about 1,000 acres of land in Kent County, where it is hoped the new community will support its agricultural recovery efforts. The CEO of the Kent Regional Services Commission, Paul Lang, claims the commission has been working on a project for five years to attract Mennonite or Amish communities to the area. According to Lang, three Mennonite families from Lucknow, Ontario, have confirmed plans to move to New Brunswick, and they are confident more families will follow. Six families are needed to establish a Mennonite community officially. The land that the farming families are looking to buy is located on Richard Village Road in Acadieville, also known locally as the North Branch, and according to Lang, everything should be finalized in early 2024.
When the process of attracting Mennonite communities to eastern New Brunswick began, the commission hired a consultant to prepare packages depicting available land. The consultant was Gerard Thebeau, a resident of Richibucto and an agrologist who describes his job as serving the agriculture industry with professional standards. According to Thebeau, Kent County has a long-established background in agriculture, but much farmland has been lost over recent years. Local farmers concentrated on Brussels sprout for a long time, but the industry began to decline, and many farms stopped operations.
According to Thebeau, the province currently imports a lot of food products. The 2021-2025 local food and beverages strategy released by the provincial Department of Agriculture indicates that New Brunswick is highly self-sufficient in potatoes, blueberries, seafood, maple syrup, and cranberries, but it severely lacks other crops. Regarding vegetable production, only 7% is self-sufficient with the exclusion of potatoes. The province is 32% autonomous in fruit, with beef and veal at 45%, pork at 22%, and grains and oilseeds at 65%. Remembering shortages of imports throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Thebeau believes it would be beneficial to have increased food production in those areas across New Brunswick.
Education And Awareness For Mennonite Culture Is Necessary To Make It A Smooth Transition
For more information about the plan to replenish farmland and foster a welcoming community in New Brunswick for the upcoming residents, check out CBC.ca:
“Lang said more education of Kent County residents will be needed about who the Mennonites are and how they live their lives. But since the official move might not come until late 2024 or early 2025, there's time to do that.
Although many Mennonites today are part of a more mainstream culture, the members of the Old Order group from Lucknow travel by horse and buggy, which means some accommodations will be needed in the area, including possibly putting up posts for the horses at certain locations. According to Conrad Grebel University College, a school established by Ontario Mennonite leaders and affiliated with the University of Waterloo, Mennonites are a diverse group.
Of the 59,000 Mennonites in Ontario, only about 20 per cent are members of conservative groups, such as Old Order Mennonites or Old Colony Mennonites. The web page says that according to data from 2011, there are around 175,000 Mennonites in Canada. It says each group has its own unique outward practices and historical development, while still sharing certain foundational religious beliefs with the others.
Kent North MLA Kevin Arseneau said he thinks attracting Mennonite communities to the area is part of the solution to revitalizing the region's agriculture sector. But he also sees it as an opportunity to think about how to get more young people interested in agriculture.”
From Mennonite Families Set Sights On Farming In Kent County, Put Offer On 1,000 Acres - CBC
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Written by Agriculture Pro Source
November 29th, 2023