“I’m very proud,” he said during a ceremony on May 31, marking the family’s partnership with Ontario Farmland Trust. “I am the happiest man in the world.”

In 2022, he connected with Martin Straathof, Ontario Farmland Trust’s executive director, to investigate the two-year process of placing his Clarington, Ont. farm in a 999-year easement, which would designate the land as agricultural use only.

Why it matters: Farmland trusts keep productive land affordable and protected against development, creating foodbelt preserves on an individual farm-by-farm basis.

“I’m not against development, but they need to be smart about it,” said the sixth-generation farmer. “In Ontario, we have half of the class one land in all of Canada. It’s mostly in the Golden Horseshoe, which we are here, and it’s being gobbled up faster than you can see.”

Stevens’ farm operation, Wilmot Orchard, is a microclimate that allows for the growth of 11 varieties of blueberries and several varieties of apple trees. The rapid development around their Durham Region area heightened the importance of preserving farmland, and he hopes their participation in the initiative inspires other farmers to consider similar measures.

He also examined the long-term implications of developer pressures on land prices and the ability of young farmers to purchase land, particularly in areas where urban-rural integration had intensified.

“The only way a young farmer in this area is going to be able to buy a piece of land is if it is put into the trust because then it has no development value,” explained the sixth-generation farmer. “Hopefully, other people in the area catch on to this, and maybe someday, there may be another piece of property these young people can afford to buy at farm prices.”

By placing his land in a trust, it will be priced according to the agricultural land value rather than inflated developer prices, where Stevens said landowners are often offered 10 times the value of the land for residential or industrial use.

It also highlights the challenge of succession planning and the need for young people to see the value in farming, said Judi Stevens, Charles’ wife and farm co-founder.

Placing an easement on farmland alone won’t bolster the agriculture sector or make it sustainable, Judi explained; you must cultivate a drive and desire in young people to farm.

“Even if they (older farmers) do put the land into a farmland trust,” she explained, “there has to be enough awareness and enough interest in young people or other people to want to buy a farm.”

As it stands, many farm youths are opting for city careers, leaving farmland and farmers, who are ready to retire, vulnerable to the pull of developer per-acre pricing.

Margaret Walton, chair of Ontario Farmland Trust, is a leading expert in agricultural planning, with over three decades of experience in developing planning policies that support agricultural sectors in areas subject to urban growth pressures.

“Despite the work that we’ve done, it’s quite clear that strong planning policies are not enough,” said Walton. “We need to have other mechanisms for making sure that what we have is protected into the future.”

With the addition of Stevens’ 164 acres, the Ontario Farmland Trust now has 2,700 easement-protected acres provincially, with a goal of reaching 10,000 protected acres by 2029.

“You can’t think about the dollars and cents of it (placing land in trust) because if you do, you probably will never do this,” said Charles. “But as I say, I’ve never seen anybody take even one dollar to their coffin and been able to use it.”

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The group said that in a conversation with members of the group, concerned Wilmot farmers and community members following his speech, Premier Ford said, “They mishandled the land acquisition from the beginning,” specifically singling out Regional Chair Karen Redman and her staff.

The group said Ford further expressed confusion over the concerning secrecy and lack of transparency surrounding the project, stating, “I don’t know why all the secrecy going on—I couldn’t figure that one out.”

However, the Fight for Farmland group said in the release “it was the province that enforced an unprecedented Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that has restricted all local politicians, continues to keep Waterloo Region bound by it, and prevents the Region from holding public meetings, releasing studies, or following its usual transparent planning processes – or so the Region of Waterloo says.”

Twenty volunteers from Waterloo Region made the trip to the IPM to raise awareness about the issue of farmland preservation and the need to find a less impactful location for a proposed mega-industrial site “that stands to destroy so much irreplaceable prime Wilmot farmland,” the group said.

“We were successful in engaging with show attendees and politicians alike, getting thousands of attendees to wear Fight For Farmland “We Are Unwilling” stickers to show their support for Wilmot farmers and help ensure the brutal process used to date by our governments doesn’t become the new way to force development anywhere regardless of the cost.”

Fight For Farmland marched in the IPM parade with bright neon t-shirts, a large banner, and signs handing out “We Are Unwilling” stickers while floats from all three opposition parties also displayed Fight For Farmland signs and their MPPs distributed stickers as well, the group said.

The group believes having attendees holding Fight for Farmland signs and sporting “We Are Unwilling” stickers in the opening ceremony tent “sent a very strong message and helped to make our voices heard when Premier Ford took the stage.”

“The Premier’s comments were significant,” said Alfred Lowrick, spokesperson for the Fight for Farmland Group in the release. “While we’ve been pressing both the province and the Region for accountability, Premier Ford directly blamed the Region for mismanaging the land acquisition. This statement only amplifies our call for transparency and the need for the Township of Wilmot to state they are an unwilling host as well as the Region to abandon this fiasco altogether.”

The group said it had “positive discussions with politicians of all stripes,” with Senator Rob Black carrying one of its signs, “vowing to bring the issue to Ottawa, further expanding our advocacy efforts to the national level.”  All three opposition leaders—Mike Schreiner (Green Party), Marit Stiles (NDP), and John Fraser (Liberal Party)—spoke about the “urgent need to protect Ontario’s farmland in the Opening Ceremonies, echoing our message.”

“The support and recognition we received from politicians and citizens alike demonstrate that the movement to protect farmland is gaining momentum across the province,” said the Fight for Farmland group.

“The turnout at the IPM and the support from attendees made it clear that this issue transcends party lines and affects everyone,” added Lowrick. “We will continue our fight against this mega-site and to protect farmland, and with growing support from the public and political leaders, we are hopeful that we can secure a better future for Wilmot Township and beyond.”

The post Waterloo region mishandled Wilmot land acquisition, says Premier Doug Ford appeared first on Farmtario.

As we start 2023, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is doing that too – as we’re reflecting on the year that was and some of our achievements, we’re also looking to the year ahead and what we’ll be focusing on.

For me personally, the most important accomplishment for OFA over the past year has been the development and launch of the Farmer Wellness Initiative. Research has shown that farmers suffer from stress and mental health issues more than average Canadians, and we now have support available specific to the agriculture sector.

This includes a free bilingual helpline counselling service 24/7/365 by professional counsellors with agricultural backgrounds and training, available at 1-866-267-6255, thanks to a partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association – Ontario Division and financial support from the provincial and federal governments.

In 2022, OFA was also very active in raising the profile of farmland preservation in Ontario. The newest census numbers paint a stark picture of the speed at which we’re losing prime farmland in Ontario – 319 acres a day – to development and urbanization.

That statistic has been quoted hundreds of times this past year, and combined with our Home Grown campaign, has helped raise awareness of how important farming is to our province in terms of our communities, our economy, and the food that we eat.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of many people and organizations, including the OFA, the provincial government has decided to proceed with its plan to rezone thousands of acres of prime farmland in the Greenbelt to build new houses.

We will, however, continue to advocate for the protection of farmland and the importance of maintaining our ability to grow food, fuel, and fibre here at home. At the same time, we recognize the importance of addressing Ontario’s housing crisis, and we will continue to work with government to propose workable alternative solutions to that issue.

We will also continue to focus on addressing the labour needs of agriculture and rural Ontario and attracting people to an industry that has room to grow. Together, we can help create a more sustainable workforce by prioritizing skill development and training and promoting jobs in the sector.

At the same time, Ontario needs continued investments in critical infrastructure like energy, broadband internet, roads, bridges, schools, and healthcare for rural communities so they can attract and keep new businesses and residents.

As the federal and provincial governments roll out the next agricultural policy framework this year, the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, OFA will be looking to see how Ontario agriculture can continue to build on the environmental sustainability gains we’ve already made and help farmers more widely adopt the best management practices that have helped us achieve those gains.

It’s a reality that the start of 2023 is very different from the start of 2022. Costs for fertilizer, packaging, fuel, energy and more have all risen as our economy grapples with inflation levels we haven’t seen in years. Interest rates are up, and I believe all farmers are feeling the pinch. OFA will continue to support the industry as we have in past economic tough times.

We are looking forward to connecting again with you, our members. Winter is meeting season in Ontario, which means we’ll be attending many annual general meetings in our own sector, and also attending conferences and events hosted by other organizations, such as the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and the Good Roads Association. Each of these will present an opportunity to make new friends and engage with politicians and other stakeholders in more informal settings about the issues that matter to farmers and rural Ontario.

So, as we start into 2023, I’d like to raise a glass and offer you our best wishes as you aim for your goals – and OFA will continue to work hard to help you reach them.

Peggy Brekveld is president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

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