Ontario Farmland Trust Places to Grow Food Town of East Gwillimbury - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Ontario Farmland Trust Places to Grow Food Town of East Gwillimbury - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Ontario Farmland Trust Places to Grow Food Town of East Gwillimbury Countryside Workshop November 27, 2007 Melissa Watkins, Executive Director Overview 1. Introduction 2. Why Preserve Places to Grow Food in East Gwillimbury 3. The Ontario


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Ontario Farmland Trust

Places to Grow Food

Town of East Gwillimbury Countryside Workshop

November 27, 2007 Melissa Watkins, Executive Director

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Overview

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Why Preserve Places to Grow Food

in East Gwillimbury

  • 3. The Ontario Farmland Trust
  • 4. Challenges and Opportunities
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Policy Context

  • Provincial Policy Statement
  • Greenbelt Plan
  • Oak Ridges Moraine
  • Places to Grow (Built Boundary just announced)
  • Official Plan
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Farmland in Canada and Ontario

  • Only 11% of Canada’s land can support agricultural

production

  • Only 5% is “prime agricultural land” (classes 1-3

under the Canada Land Inventory

  • Only 0.5% of Canada’s land area is Class 1 farmland
  • Over half of the Class 1 farmland is in Southern

Ontario

  • All of Canada’s 2 best agri-climatic zones
  • 70-85% of land being urbanized is Class 1
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Ontario’s Unique Resource

  • Southern Ontario provides only half of one

percent of Canada’s total farmland, but has 52% of our class one farmland!

  • Southern Ontario has ALL of the best two

agro-climatic regions in Canada!

  • Together this makes southern Ontario the

single most important agricultural resource in the country.

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There are areas of concern…

  • Expansion of urban areas and loss of farmland

(Ontario: 4 million more people anticipated in 30 years; EG: approx. 125,000 more in same time)

  • Farmland preservation until recently has had a

low profile

  • Farmland loss is often seen as inevitable
  • Loss of farmers…but protection of farmland
  • Some municipalities have a poor track record

(rural severances)

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Patterns of Farmland Loss

  • Harder to figure our than you’d expect!
  • Subdivisions at the urban edge.
  • Impact of non-farm residents and traffic in the

‘urban shadow’.

  • Individual rural residential severances in

agricultural zones.

  • Marginal farmland on poor soils reverting to forest

cover.

  • The coming demographic retirement wave.
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What are the Impacts of Non-Farm Uses on Agricultural Land?

  • Fragment land base & consume farmland
  • Potential conflict with agriculture
  • Can lead to changes in the rural community
  • Environmental and servicing impacts
  • Detract from rural aesthetic
  • Introduces restrictions on farmland
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So So… …Why Protect Places to Grow Food Why Protect Places to Grow Food the Town of East the Town of East Gwillimbury Gwillimbury? ?

  • Food production
  • Food security
  • Economic contributions
  • f agriculture
  • Stewardship & amenity
  • f the countryside
  • A resource for current and

future generations

  • A golden opportunity!
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Ontario Farmland Trust: an option for permanently protecting farmland for agriculture

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What is the Ontario Farmland Trust?

  • A non-profit land trust designed to focus on

protecting farmland for farming.

  • Supported by key major farm organizations,

with a Board of Directors about half farmers and half non-farmers.

  • Building a bridge between conservation and

farming communities.

  • Strong ties to the University of Guelph’s

Farmland Preservation Research Project.

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Background

  • Establishment of University of Guelph

Farmland Preservation Research Project in 2002

  • Ontario Farmland Conservation Forum in

2002

  • Incorporation July 19, 2004
  • Qualified Eco-gift recipient in 2005
  • Farmland Preservation Conferences in 2004

and 2005

  • 2007: Working to secure first easements
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To protect and preserve farmland and associated agricultural, natural and cultural features in the countryside, and to support research and education to further the preservation

  • f these lands for the benefit of

current and future generations.

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We are just one piece of the puzzle that supports an extremely important and diverse industry.

  • Agriculture is the #2 sector of the Ontario

economy, contributing over 700,000 jobs.

  • Agriculture supports both a healthy

environment and rural communities.

  • To protect agriculture and farm

communities in urbanizing southern Ontario we must protect farmland.

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What We Do

  • Like other land trusts, with the same challenges of

governance and funding.

  • Seek easements or outright ownership of farmland,

both donated and purchased.

  • Focus on protecting farmland for agricultural

production.

  • Run education & awareness programs.
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Key Issues for the OFT

  • Near-urban agriculture
  • Support for government policy

– Greenbelt, Pickering and issues related to near-urban agriculture – Agricultural Advisory Team – GTA Agricultural Action Plan – Growth Management Strategies

  • Agricultural easement legislation
  • Funding
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Recent Government Legislation

  • The Greenbelt!
  • ‘Places to Grow’
  • Revisions to the

Planning Act and Provincial Policy Statement

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What are the challenges in What are the challenges in preserving farmland? preserving farmland?

  • Until recently there was little legislative

basis for protecting agricultural land; now Bill 16 has added ‘agriculture’ to the Conservation Land Act.

  • There is no financial incentive, unlike the

Eco-Gifts Program, so farmland only gets protected because it’s part of a property containing a significant natural area.

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The Future of Local Farming?

Reconnecting the Farmer and Consumer

  • OR-

Struggling to compete with International Commodities

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Urban Attitudes to Farming – the Positive Side

  • Most urbanites and conservationists support

farmers.

  • The main motivation cited for buying local

food is to support the farmer.

  • Local food purchases in a variety of ways

contribute to value-added farm income.

  • Urban support also protects the rural farm

landscape.

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Where Next?

  • Development of policy options and supportive

programs to improve farmland protection. A Places to Grow Food Plan?

  • Agricultural policies that acknowledge the

connections to health, food security, climate change, as well as the economic opportunities.

  • Support for farmers who are part of local food

economy.

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Thanks… Any Questions?

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c/o University of Guelph, Richards Building Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 519-824-4120 ext. 52686 farmland@uoguelph.ca www.ontariofarmlandtrust.org Executive Director: Melissa Watkins farmland@uoguelph.ca