Latest news with #Maugerville
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Dry conditions challenging some N.B. farmers
Wildfires and tinderbox conditions are a challenge for farmers in New Brunswick this summer. "Right now a lot of cranberry farmers are losing a lot of their water," said Arick Streatch, a farmer with Sunberry Cranberry Producers in Maugerville, just outside Fredericton. "Cranberry farmers rely on water not only for harvest time when we flood, but for sizing our berries up and for keeping the moisture content at a reasonable level." New Brunswick and other regions in Canada have endured hot and dry conditions over the last several days. A multi-day Environment Canada heat warning is expected to end after Wednesday. Stretch said his farm is still able to draw water from a century-old canal at the back of the farm, so it's not the worst-case scenario just yet. He said that these are the hottest conditions he's seen in the last six years of farming and that harvesting cranberries in the fall, which requires flooding the fields, would be "extremely hard" if water sources dry up. Aside from needing water to harvest, having dryer cranberries also brings a financial impact. "We need water to size our fruit up. And if you've got bigger berries, that will be a bigger crop, because we go by weight," Stretch said. "So we'll lose money if our berries are too small." There's also what's called fruit rot, when cranberries completely shrivel up. "Every farmer will have areas of their farm where they'll have some dry stuff, I think everyone is trying to be optimistic," Stretch said. Across the province in Salisbury, near Moncton, John Bos of Bosenic Farms said he's been luckier than some neighbouring farms. While his corn crop to use for feed was planted in time, some other farmers didn't plant early enough to avoid the drought. "The yields will definitely be down, the cobs aren't filling out like they should and the plants are starting to shrink," Bos said. He's trying to keep his cows as cool as possible by keeping lots of fans running in the barn. "I'd rather stand in the barns than outside today," Bos said with a laugh. Milking Holstein cows in the heat is challenging even with the fans running, Bos said. The heat has also caused some cows not to go into heat and breed, which won't have an effect until the fall, when the herd of calves might be slightly smaller. "Things get out of sync," he said. Milking cows also need large amounts of water, so he's worried, too, about water sources drying up in the heat. "If a cow is putting out 40 litres of milk a day, she's probably got to drink almost 80 litres to digest it and make that milk," he said. Bos said another farmer nearby stopped making hay out of concern his tractor would overheat or malfunction and set the field on fire. "That's the first thing you worry about, what's the worst thing that can happen," Bos said. "And you try to mitigate that. "But there's no certainties in life." A provincial ban earlier this week on entering Crown lands because of extreme dryness was became a struggle for one farming sector in particular. "It was a difficult decision," said Donald Arseneault, the executive director of New Brunswick Blueberries and a former natural resources minister. "I've been in government. I get it, they have to take into account ... the safety of everyone." With many of the 175 blueberry farmers represented by his group using Crown land for blueberry fields, the ban means farms legally can't access their crops. And with the harvest season just beginning, that means widespread anxiety. "If you miss that harvest season, then it's all for nothing," Arseneault said in an interview. Arseneault said the New Brunswick industry usually produces about 60 to 80 million pounds a year and employs thousands. The industry's problem appeared to have been remedied by late Wednesday afternoon. Natural Resources Minister John Herron said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that the department was "exploring options" to allow blueberry producers onto their land. Later in the afternoon, a news release from the department announced new regulations. Blueberries on Crown land can be harvested, but only under strict conditions, the release said. Harvesting can only happen at night and with firefighting equipment on site.
CBC
20-05-2025
- CBC
Minto woman sentenced to 6 years in prison for killing boyfriend with baseball bat
A Fredericton-area woman will spend another two years in prison for fatally striking her boyfriend in the head with a baseball bat two years ago. New Brunswick Court of King's Bench Justice Stephen Doucet sentenced Jodie Carrie Clark, 32, to six years in prison for manslaughter in the death of Alexander Ladds at his Maugerville home in October 2022. As a result of remand credit she's accrued from time spent in custody since her arrest, she will only spend another two years and 29 days in a federal prison, Doucet said. "This is a tragic situation fuelled by drug use, a volatile relationship, and mitigated by mental health" said Doucet, issuing his sentence at the Burton courthouse on Tuesday. Police arrested Clark and charged her with second-degree murder after finding Ladds, who usually went by Andy, with a severe head injury in his Maugerville home in October 2022. He died a day later in hospital. Clark was originally set to stand trial before a judge and jury, but in February pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. Autopsy found skull fracture, brain bleed According to an agreed statement of facts, paramedics and RCMP were dispatched to Ladds's home on Route 105 in Maugerville at 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2022, where they found him unresponsive and in critical condition. He was taken to hospital, where doctors found his injuries were "not compatible with life." He was taken off life support the next day. An autopsy found Ladds was struck with a blunt object on the left side of his head, fracturing his skull and causing extensive subdural hemorrhaging of the brain. Clark had been living with Ladds at the time, and witnesses observed her leaving the area at 4:45 p.m. carrying a suitcase, backpack and a large cloth grocery bag. Based on statements Clark's father, mother and friend gave to police, Clark admitted to killing Ladds using a baseball bat, which police found lying in the grass outside Ladds's home. Evidence of volatile, drug-ridden relationship Evidence uncovered by investigators after the homicide revealed Ladds and Clark had been heavily consuming drugs and weren't getting along in the days leading up to the killing. Text messages indicate Ladds threatened to kick Clark out of his home, and that she felt he was taking advantage of her not having anywhere else to stay. The two were arguing about Clark's desire to go visit her mother for Thanksgiving, with Ladds warning that she wouldn't be allowed back if she left. In text messages she sent after the incident, Clark said Ladds was "threatening my mom" and "he won't hurt anyone anymore." They had both been consuming about a gram of crystal meth every other day in the weeks leading up to the homicide. Clark also had underlying mental health issues that were exacerbated by her drug use. Clark shows remorse The main courtroom at the Burton courthouse was filled with more than a dozen supporters of both Ladds and Clark. A total of 10 victim impact statements were submitted, and Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan read from some of them, including from Ladds's daughter, Melissa McIntyre. "She says that the murder of her father hit her like a foreign language — something she couldn't understand let alone feel," said Jordan, paraphrasing her statement. "They had a broken relationship, but she held out hope they'd rekindle that relationship, but that opportunity is gone." When allowed to speak before the court, Clark sobbed while saying she wished she'd never left her mother's house in 2022 to go live with Ladds. "Your family would have never been changed forever, and I'm very sorry I can't change that and can't take that back and that's something I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life, and it's something you're going to have to live with for the rest of your lives and I'm very sorry," she said. Factors considered by judge In deciding the sentence, Doucet noted factors working in Clark's favour included the fact she pleaded guilty, her relatively young age, and her limited prior criminal history. He said it also appears her actions weren't planned, and that he believes she's truly remorseful. Working against her was that she left the scene without calling for help. "Ms. Clark knew that Mr. Ladds was hurt after the blow, but failed to call for help and left. It is in that category which is objectively the most blameworthy," he said. Earlier Tuesday morning, Jordan had argued Doucet should sentence her to about eight years in prison based on other cases he cited, while defence lawyer Alex Pate argued she should be sentence to four years in prison. "Taking all circumstances into consideration, I find the degree of moral fault is in this case in the middle of the spectrum," Doucet said. "It's not in the realm of planning but neither was an accident." In addition to her prison sentence, Doucet ordered Clark be subject to a lifetime prohibition against owning weapons, and to submit a DNA sample for the national databank.
