She says it's the only way the agriculture industry in Canada has any chance of survival.

Standing in the four acres of field behind her Grande-Digue home, Rowena Hopkins, a former chemistry teacher, is an organic farmer.

And while Canada has lost 17,550 farms in just five years according to most recent census numbers - a total of 257 in New Brunswick - the numbers go the other way when talking organic.

The number of certified organic farms in the country grew by 1,325 in the same time frame. New Brunswick alone had a 68 per cent increase.

To date, New Brunswick has 68 organic farming operations and the only certified organic grain mills in Atlantic Canada.

Hopkins believes it's not just a dream to think the entire province's food production could eventually turn chemical-free.

"If farming is to survive, the only way for it to survive is by going organic," Hopkins said. "Organics could absolutely feed the world as long as we get away from the giant farm mentality and shipping produce all over the place."

The competitiveness of world market prices and production costs escalated by fuel and pesticide costs have hurt the average farmer.

Farming associations believe the fallout has discouraged future generations from taking over long-standing family operation, pointing as well to the continued slide in the number of farms.

"New farmers are not going into conventional agriculture because there is no money in it and then they don't want to handle the chemicals," Hopkins said. "If they are going into farming, they are favouring organic and they are seeing it as an economic sector that is growing, it's more in demand."

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