DISOWNING EXHIBITION PARK ATROCIOUS BUSINESS DECISION . . . SWEET-SMELLING SECRETS OF MOSQUITO-REPELLENT GRASS . . . CANADIAN ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCE . . . EXTINCTION OF POLLINATORS COULD CAUSE SURGE IN MALNUTRITION, DISEASE  . . . NFU YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE OFFERS PICTURE OF NEW-GENERATION AGRICULTURE . . .    
OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

DISOWNING EXHIBITION PARK ATROCIOUS BUSINESS DECISION
Source: The Chronicle Herald
For the last few weeks, I have endeavored to understand the provincial government’s unexpected, inexplicable, and unjustifiable decision to close Exhibition Park. The ramifications of this decision are damaging and far-reaching. I have spoken out as the founder of the Nova Scotia Ideal Home Shows and as a past president of the Canadian Association of Exposition Management, the national body representing event organizers, facilities, and suppliers. Today I am writing as a frustrated Nova Scotian to voice my personal disappointment with our elected leaders. (read more)

SWEET-SMELLING SECRETS OF MOSQUITO-REPELLENT GRASS
Source: BBC
U.S. scientists have identified the chemicals responsible for the mosquito-repelling activity of sweetgrass, a plant traditionally used by some Native Americans to fend off the bugs. In laboratory tests, two sweetgrass compounds drove mosquitoes away from tantalizing fake blood samples, just as well as the widely used repellent Deet. Further tests are needed to see how long the effects last. The researchers say folk remedies are a rich source of possible new repellents. (read more)

CANADIAN ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCE
Source: NSCP
Dr. Carl Lessard is again coming to eastern Canada this fall to collect semen from purebed, registered large and small ruminants for the Canadian Animal Genetic Resource gene bank (sheep, goats, and cattle). The Canadian livestock industry and the success of this repository depend of your contribution. (read more)

EXTINCTION OF POLLINATORS COULD CAUSE SURGE IN MALNUTRITION, DISEASE
Source: The Globe & Mail
If all the birds, bugs, bees, and other creatures that pollinate our food crops were to disappear from the planet, humans could face a sharp increase in malnutrition, disease, and death in many parts of the world, scientists estimate. Researchers analyzed supplies of 224 types of food in 156 countries, quantified the vitamins and nutrients in foods dependent on animal pollinators, and then calculated what nutritional deficits people could face if pollinators ceased to exist. (read more)

NFU YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE OFFERS PICTURE OF NEW-GENERATION AGRICULTURE
Source: Island Farmer
As the National New Farmer Coalition began to analyze the results of a survey conducted among new farmers across the country, Ayla Fenton said one statistic stood out loud and clear. Even though the industry is seen as having trouble attracting new entrants, 68 percent of the 1,500 respondents said they did not grow up on a farm. Fenton, who is the NFU national youth vice president, was one of the keynote speakers at the annual NFU maritime regional convention held recently in Milton. The NFU is the lead partner in the coalition, which was formed last year, patterned on a similar organization south of the border. (read more)