ADEDA News

Farm Focus
The farmers in our region are all saying it’s been a good season. And one of the interesting aspects of our agriculture industry is the varied approaches and methods that can be found here. One of the newer approaches is “biodynamic” farming and a young couple, who operate the newly formed Bear River Agricultural Co-operative in Waldec, Annapolis County, are happy to show how this innovative new concept works.

You can visit with Tilo and Saskia Kolass at their farm this weekend as part of the provincial Open Farm Day program. As a matter of fact there are a number of opportunities to see our inventive agricultural entrepreneurs at work on September 19. In addition to Bear River Farm, the Wild Rose Farm’s organic operation in Gilbert’s Cove; the Pinehill Deer and Raspberries Farm in Brighton; the Annapolis Highland Vineyards and Winery in Bear River East ; and the den Haan Enterprises facilities in Lawrencetown will all be open that day to show visitors around. You can get more information by visiting the Open farm web site at www.gov.ns.ca/agri/agaware/openfarmday.shtml. Take the occasion to see how healthy and imaginative food options are increasingly being made available to us.

Savour the Flavour
And after you’ve taken up the invitations to view the local farm processes, get ready to taste the results. There are a number of ways to treat your gastronomic cravings at this time of year. Of course there are always our abundant farmers’ markets offering everything possible. But you can participate as well. A couple of great ways are to attend the upcoming Fall for Bear River festival, and to plan a culinary tour of Annapolis Digby by checking out the sensational seasonal entrees that’ll be available as part of Tastes of the Annapolis Valley Festival.

We truly live in an area of the world that’s blessed with abundance, especially at this time of year. And we have the opportunity to actually “follow the food” from the field to the table. Take these opportunities to satisfy your curiosity as well as your taste buds.

News From Under and Over the Bay
Over 100 people turned out in Westport to listen to 10 speakers as part of an information session to review Fundy Tidal Inc.’s plans to test a small scale tidal energy turbine in the area. The purpose of the exercise will be to test the concept on a small scale. The next step for Fundy Tidal is to finalize permits and regulatory matters along with funding before proceeding with a test of the actual equipment in the fall or spring of next year. ADEDA Development Officer Terry Thibodeau attended the session and said he thought the results were very positive. Partners for the project include Dalhousie and Acadia universities, Alberta based New Energy Corporation, Clare Machine Works, Bear River Plastics and Innovative Fisheries Products Ltd. Meanwhile, tidal energy proponents of a much bigger scale were also eyeing the potential of the Fundy. A U.K. company that is about to commission one of the world’s largest marine energy turbines off the coast of Scotland has targeted the Bay of Fundy for future projects.

These developments were part of the message given by ADEDA Managing Director Mike Gushue last week when he had the opportunity to brief the federal Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Hon. Keith Ashfield, during his visit to Digby. The briefing took place at the Digby ferry terminal and Gushue particularly stressed the importance of the Fundy ferry service and Digby’s port infrastructure improvements to prepare for looming development opportunities.

With all the activity designed to harness the underwater power potential of the Bay, the presentation to the ACOA Minister also offered an interesting observation when it was mentioned that companies working on both sides of the Bay often fly between their operational sites, with the flying time between Saint John and Digby reported to be about 15 minutes. That’s the kind of increasing activity that bound to give further impetus to the efforts to establish and grow a new aviation club at Digby Annapolis Regional Airport.

Celebrate Ciderfest
What with all the chatter about farm visits and local produce in this week’s newsletter I sure wasn’t going to forget about one of the longest standing fall celebrations in our area taking place this week. The 27th annual “Ciderfest” will be happening in Bridgetown from September 16-19. So plan to drop by in between your farm excursions to participate in the many activities being offered. I’m a big fan of cider – sometimes beginning and ending my day with a glass or two (different types of course). Oh no –why is The Wurzels “I Am a Cider Drinker” worming through my head at this moment. OMG – now it’s “I’ve Got a Brand New Harvester”. I love those guys but it’s obviously time to sign off for this week!

Till next week;

Peter

Peter MacLellan
Annapolis Digby EDA
86 Atlantic Avenue
PO Box 271
Cornwallis, Nova Scotia
Canada B0S 1H0

Tel: (902) 638-3490
Fax: (902) 638-8106
E: communications@annapolisdigby.com

We invite you to visit us anytime at www.annapolisdigby.com.