Put farmland first to preserve province’s productivity (2013)

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Published on Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:02

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Only 5% of Ontario’s land base is suitable for agriculture. And since we have no way to make more soil, we need to hold on to all the productive land and soil we have.

As farmers, we know the importance of using our land for the greatest potential – with technology and conservation tillage practices to deliver the highest yields with the lowest impact. We take our responsibility seriously to provide safe and healthy food for those in our community and beyond.  And if the supply of available, productive agricultural land continues to dwindle, everyone will suffer.

Every day, prime agricultural land is lost to non-agricultural uses like housing and commercial developments and aggregate extraction. Statistics Canada reports illustrate this very clearly. In the five-year period between 2006 and 2011, nearly 260,000 hectares of farmland was lost. Whatever the reason, Ontario cannot sustain this level of land loss and continue producing enough food, fibre and fuel.

And if losing farmland to development, urban sprawl and encroachment wasn’t bad enough, our growing population is putting increasing pressure on farmers to produce more on less land. Based on the Ministry of Finance’s projections, Ontario’s population will grow from 13.5 million in 2012 to 17.4 million in 2036. That’s nearly 30% more people in 24 years. Feeding our own province on an ever diminishing supply of productive farmland is going to be tough. And we can’t forget the role Ontario farmers play in feeding our growing world population. With more mouths to feed and house and clothe, the value of preserving productive farmland should be rising in step with the population.

Ontario farmers have a keen interest in ensuring public policy does not jeopardize or destroy our most valuable resource – the land. We must have the assurance that neither urban expansion nor the presence of aggregates on or adjacent to our farms will prevent agricultural production. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is demanding the provincial definition of prime agricultural land be expanded to include Canada Land Inventory Class 4 soils, along with Class 1, 2 and 3 soils. The OFA is also advocating that aggregate extraction be prohibited from Canada Land Inventory Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 soils and specialty crop lands.

OFA expects the Ontario government will be reviewing existing land conservation strategies of the Niagara Escarpment, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation and Greenbelt plans in 2015. We are already preparing for this review by developing recommendations to these plans that will ensure the long-term protection of prime agricultural lands for farming.

The OFA believes farmland preservation is the number one issue affecting the sustainability of our industry. So when Premier and Minister of Agriculture and Food Kathleen Wynne challenged our industry to double our annual growth rate and create 120,000 jobs by 2020, we have a challenge back. Farmland is a non-renewable natural resource. In fact, it is a strategic resource. Make sure you are preserving the farmland we need to continue driving Ontario’s growth potential.

By Mark Reusser, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Posted on the OFA website

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