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 Farmland Trust
• 4. Challenges and Opportunities

Policy Context

• Provincial Policy Statement
• Greenbelt Plan
• Oak Ridges Moraine
• Places to Grow (Built Boundary just announced)
• Official Plan

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

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.

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)

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.

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

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!

Ontario Farmland Trust: an option for permanently protecting farmland for agriculture

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Recent Government Legislation

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

Planning Act and Provincial Policy Statement

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.

The Future of Local Farming?

Reconnecting the Farmer and Consumer

• OR-

Struggling to compete with International Commodities

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.

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.

Thanks… Any Questions?

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