The PC member for Mount Pearl North and a farmer by profession, Jim Lester, says professional members of the industry are “tired” of being used as a political platform.

Lester says the province’s agriculture industry needs to be developed for reasons of food security and economic growth.

64,000 hectares of land have been set aside by government for agricultural development, but Lester says to-date, less than four per cent of that land has been used.

He says many barriers remain. They include problems with Crown Lands, access to the land, most of which is off the TCH, and utility challenges. The real thorn in many farmers’ sides this year was the inability to control moose.