Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Intentional Community Farms, Co-operative Farms or Mult-Family Farming Anyone?

Hello!

I am new to this forum but I was wondering if anyone on here knew about or was interested in discussing the idea of cooperative farming.  I currently live in Toronto but would like to move to a farm setting within 45 minutes of Toronto.  My partner and I would like to raise a family in a rural setting, preferably in some type of communal or shared setting.  This could be as simple as renting or buying a house on an existing farm and helping with some aspects of operations to establishing a cooperative farm with other families with a similar vision.

 

I grew up on a cooperative colony farm so I do have some experience and understanding of what is involved there.  Unfortunately I still do need to earn a living in the city so proximity is of great importance to me. 

 

Anyone interested in discussing?

 

Cheers

Views: 1688

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Parry Long on July 13, 2010 at 2:03am
That's a good idea. I have an academic background in agriculture and am interested in your plan. Wish to learn more about the plan and know more people related to farming.
Permalink Reply by OntAG Admin on July 14, 2010 at 2:07am
Interesting concepts...not something complete foreign to agriculture...we have a tradition of cooperatives...just not as common on the farm...

I have only heard about a couple of cooperative models for farming...the Hutterites colonies in Western Canada and US have grown over the years and of course the Israeli Kibbutz system...wondering if anyone else has some examples that work...

Joe
Permalink Reply by Ekandi on July 14, 2010 at 2:22am
The amish and old order mennonites have participated in varying degrees of collective farming as have the Bruderhof and several other religious groups. Seeing as religion and common cultural heritage are strong glues that held those communities together I think an alternative concept would be doing something more similar to a "condominium" structure where there is common shared space (the farm) and privately owned space with service fees (the houses)
It would make a lot of sense in terms of sharing the investment, risk and capital expenditures that farming involves. It would also not necessarily have to financially sustain all the members but could be seen as a collective hobby farming community..? I think it would be a cost effective, environmentally friendly and exciting way to build relationships, have a safe and green place to raise kids and as well as a farming opportunity.

OntAG Admin said:
Interesting concepts...not something complete foreign to agriculture...we have a tradition of cooperatives...just not as common on the farm...

I have only heard about a couple of cooperative models for farming...the Hutterites colonies in Western Canada and US have grown over the years and of course the Israeli Kibbutz system...wondering if anyone else has some examples that work...

Joe
Permalink Reply by Parry Long on July 14, 2010 at 2:32am
It looks like that we should build the system firstly, then we can practise.

Ekandi said:
The amish and old order mennonites have participated in varying degrees of collective farming as have the Bruderhof and several other religious groups. Seeing as religion and common cultural heritage are strong glues that held those communities together I think an alternative concept would be doing something more similar to a "condominium" structure where there is common shared space (the farm) and privately owned space with service fees (the houses)
It would make a lot of sense in terms of sharing the investment, risk and capital expenditures that farming involves. It would also not necessarily have to financially sustain all the members but could be seen as a collective hobby farming community..? I think it would be a cost effective, environmentally friendly and exciting way to build relationships, have a safe and green place to raise kids and as well as a farming opportunity.

OntAG Admin said:
Interesting concepts...not something complete foreign to agriculture...we have a tradition of cooperatives...just not as common on the farm...

I have only heard about a couple of cooperative models for farming...the Hutterites colonies in Western Canada and US have grown over the years and of course the Israeli Kibbutz system...wondering if anyone else has some examples that work...

Joe
Permalink Reply by Ekandi on July 14, 2010 at 2:44am
Actually legal framework, social guidelines and construction suggestions for this type of living arrangement are quite extensively available. The "project model" originated in Denmark and Sweden in the 60s and can currently be found in communities throughout North America. There are many particularly in BC. For some reason there don't seem to be many here in Ontario, at least not near Toronto. Not all of these groups are farming communities but most incorporate some element of farm life and rural culture. There are many websites out there but this one I found just now seems to give a brief overview of some of the basic concepts. http://www.pcdf.org/meadows/cohousing.htm

The biggest challenges are:
1.finding a group of people with similar interests that are ready to put time, effort and money into starting a project like this
2.finding suitable land at a reasonable cost that can be rezoned to support multi-units and common facilities.

Ideally I was looking for a group that already had something like this underway but if that is not the case I would be happy to lead some discussions around the possibilities. Maybe someone has an existing farm that could accomodate a few more houses and could use additional investments and free labor! :)
Permalink Reply by Colin Lundy on July 19, 2010 at 3:35am
There are a handful of cooperative farms in Ontario that incorporate worker and housing coops. Some have been around a long time, some just getting started, most being very low profile. A good place to start for you would be the Whole Village not far out of Toronto
www.wholevillage.org/
Permalink Reply by Ekandi on July 19, 2010 at 3:42am
Do you have any other examples or names besides Whole Village? I went and visited them and I think its more of a retirement community for a small handful of people. They seem like awesome people but I am hoping for a more family-based environment.

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Water Stewardship: A Ranching Family’s Approach to Conservation and Changing Landscapes

Nestled in the arid South Okanagan, Thomas Ranches is a multigenerational operation that balances ranching with conservation. In 2000, the Thomas family sold their land to The Nature Trust of British Columbia, preserving natural habitat while continuing cattle operations under a lease agreement. Today, Brian Thomas manages 200 head of cattle on 350 acres, with the remaining 1,650 acres dedicated to wildlife habitat. Effective water management is crucial to sustaining both livestock and the surrounding ecosystem in this dry region. Balancing Water Needs in a Shifting Landscape Thomas Ranches relies on a creek-fed storage dam and an extensive irrigation system. This helps them manage water shortages in a dry climate that gets less than a foot of annual rainfall. Frequent droughts have intensified competition for water resources, and the impacts of increasing population growth, tourism and conservation efforts place additional demands on an already limited supply. Wildfires also pose o

International Association for Food Protection Elects Maria Hoffmann to Executive Board

Members of the International Association for Food Protection elected Dr. Maria Hoffmann to the Executive Board as Secretary. Dr. Hoffmann will take office at the conclusion of IAFP 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and will fulfill a five-year commitment to the Association, serving as President beginning in July 2029. Dr. Hoffmann is a Genomics Research Scientist in the Human Foods Program at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Washington, D.C., where she leads national- and internationally-recognized initiatives to advance the genomic epidemiology of foodborne pathogens. Over the past two decades, she has worked at the intersection of science, public health, and food safety policy, developing advanced genomic methods, building global networks, and strengthening outbreak detection through whole genome sequencing (WGS). She began her public health career at the Institute for Hygiene and Environment in Hamburg before joining the FDA in 2007. An active IAFP Member since 2014, D

Canadian government commits to national soil health strategy

The federal government will work with a national organization to support soil health across the country

Nebraska fires burn grazing lands, threaten plans to grow US cattle herd

Wildfires burn nearly 775,000 acres in Nebraska Land is a grazing resource for about 40,000 cows Producers look for alternative pasture lands, feed Massive wildfires have burned vast swaths of grazing lands in Nebraska, endangering cattle producers' plans for production increases that could help ease record-high U.S. ?beef prices. The loss of grasslands in the second-biggest cattle-producing state removes a feed source for herds and could delay ranchers ?from expanding as they struggle with widespread drought, state and industry officials said. Fueled by fierce winds, fires have burned nearly 775,000 acres since last week, covering an area about the size of Rhode Island, according to data from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. It added the causes of the fires are undetermined. The largest Morrill Fire was ?about 67% contained as of Thursday after being first reported on March 12, the agency said. That amount of land is a grazing ?resource for about 40,000 cows, said Sherry

Canada offers financial aid to farmers and companies affected by Iran war price spikes

Canada's federally backed farm lender is offering financial aid ?to farmers, agricultural businesses and food ?companies hit by the spike in fertilizer and energy prices, it said on Friday. Borrowers from the ?Farm Credit Canada program will be ?able to receive a new or additional ?credit line of up to C$500,000 ($364,670.70), ?to modify terms and to defer principal ?payments on existing loans. The money will come from an expansion of the Trade Disruption Customer Support Program, ?which was introduced in March 2025 to ?help agriculture and food borrowers hit by U.S. tariffs. It will ?now ?also provide support to help producers and agribusinesses "manage financial pressures caused by unexpected market shocks," Friday's statement said. Fertilizer prices have soared ?since the Iran ?war began ?at the end of February and led to the closure ?of the Strait of Hormuz to ?most ?shipping, disrupting urea and sulphur supplies from the Gulf. As a result, farmers around the world are ?strugg

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service