There are a couple of local residents named to the new Nova Scotia Youth Council for Agriculture. The Council was announced in Truro last night by Agriculture Minister and Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow.

The Youth Council will advise the Minister on advancing agriculture and agri-food production as a viable career and business opportunities for young people. The group also held their first meeting on Thursday.

It will mirror the work of the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, formed two years ago by the federal Department of Agriculture to create a nationwide dialogue on food-related challenges and opportunities for young people.

Among the appointees to the Youth Council are Courtney Schmidt of Inverness County, an agri-business representaitve and Sara Henderson of Pictou County, a 4-H Youth Ambassador representative.

Schmidt says she looks forward to sharing with the Minister the specific barriers women in agriculture face.

According to Statistics Canada, 6.3 per cent of Nova Scotia farmers are under 35 years of age.