Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

The CFFO Commentary: Creating New Options for Preserving our Top Farmland

By John Clement
August 26, 2011
 
Farmland preservation is a key component in keeping a strong and vigorous agricultural sector. And with Ontario having one of the biggest agriculture and food clusters in North America, it only makes sense that our citizens be proactive in ensuring that we do our best to preserve and maintain our best farmland.
 
The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario has a long history of advocating for farmland preservation. We’ve taken up the fight to keep our best farmland in a number of battles, including power line developments, highway proposals, land use planning sessions and arguments about municipal housing severances. We’ve been at the forefront of those saying that our best farmland needs to be preserved for farming, not held in trust until some other competing use comes along.  
 
With that background in mind, I was pleased to see this summer’s creation of the Ontario Farmland Stewardship Fund. It has been put together by the Ontario Farmland Trust in partnership with the Stratford and Perth County Community Foundation. It’s part of a larger campaign called “Care for the Land you Love” and is working to raise awareness and funds to maintain the lands under land trust care in the province.
 
The campaign allows financial donors to double the impact of their gifts as every dollar contributed by the end of 2011 will be matched up to a total of $20,000, thanks to the participation of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance and Community Foundations of Canada. The earnings from the funds will be used every year to help conduct annual monitoring, property and building maintenance, maintain regular contact with landowners and undertake environmental enhancement programs.
 
The Ontario Farmland Trust was established in 2004, and seeks to protect and preserve farmland and associated agricultural, natural and cultural features of the countryside. It protects farmland by working directly with landowners who want to permanently protect their farm properties for farming. This includes accepting donations of farmlands and farmland conservation easements. Easements allow landowners to continue owning and using their properties while placing some non-farm development restrictions on the land.
 
If you are interested in learning more about the Ontario Farmland Trust, visit www.ontariofarmlandtrust.ca. And please take the time to consider whether you’re interested in investigating a conservation easement for your property, or making a donation to the trust fund. Every bit helps in preserving an important resource for farming.

John Clement is the General Manager of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and UCB Canada radio stations in Chatham, Belleville, Bancroft, Brockville and Kingston. It is also archived on the CFFO website: www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,200 family farmers across Ontario.

Views: 108

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

Saskatchewan produced record crop in 2025

Saskatchewan produced a record 41.9 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds in 2025, up 13.7 per cent from the previous year, the agriculture ministry said Dec. 19. The record is also 24.1 per cent above the five-year average. Agriculture minister David Marit said resilient and innovative producers were able to overcome challenges such as drought to grow this amount. Records were set for canola production, at 12.2 million tonnes, and lentils at 2.9 million tonnes. By volume for other crops, the province’s producers grew 12.7 million tonnes of spring wheat, 5.4 million tonnes of durum, 3.5 million tonnes of barley, and 1.8 million tonnes each of dry peas and oats. The ministry said Saskatchewan saw significant production growth in lentils, up 37 per cent, canola 16.7 per cent, barley 16 per cent, durum 8.5 percent and spring wheat 5.3 per cent. The estimates provided by Statistics Canada are based on a post-harvest survey of 7,198 farmers from Oct. 3 to Nov. 6. The province has a ta

Canadians called slow to embrace biofuel policy

Canadians farmers have had a hard time embracing biofuel policy the same way that producers south of the border have, says Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture. He told the MNP Ag Connections Conference in Medicine Hat in November that as Canada continues to struggle to get its agriculture commodities into China, a shift of outlook is needed. At one time, scientists, agronomists and growers were extremely worried clubroot would spread across the Prairies and devastate Canada’s canola industry. “Canadian farmers have a hard time totally getting their head around and supporting it because people will often say, ‘I want the government out of stuff, I don’t want industrial policy, I don’t want nation building. We can’t create demand through government policy’,” he said. “But, that is exactly what the (Renewable Fuel Standard) is in the Untied States.” The U.S. sees 40 to 45 per cent of its corn crop going into ethanol, from which Canada has benefited. While Canada continues to focu

Team Alberta Crops Breakfast – Through the Eyes of an Intern

As the new communications intern at Alberta Canola, the Team Alberta Crops breakfast was my first time at an agriculture policy event. I come from an urban background with limited exposure to farming. Insights from presenters Milt Poirier, from QGI Consulting, and Neil Blue, a provincial Crop Market Analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, fundamentally changed my understanding of the agricultural industry. I no longer see Canadian agriculture as simply the production of farm products. Instead, I now view farming in the context of globally interconnected systems. These systems encompass the inputs that farmers rely on, the production processes, and the networks of processing and logistics. All of these systems are further shaped by external forces, including national and provincial policies, international trade rules, climate patterns, and technological innovations. Global Competition and Climate Challenge From Neil Blue’s talk, I learned that agriculture is a competit

The Future of Agriculture is Collaborative: A Vision for Stronger Partnerships

Taking on the role of Western Product Specialist at FP Genetics has been an exhilarating journey thus far. As someone passionate about agriculture since childhood, I’m excited to be part of an industry that combines science, relationships, and practical problem-solving. My primary focus will be to understand the connections between farmers, retailers, and the crops we nurture together. In my early days here, I dove into the fascinating world of epigenetics to uncover the secrets of how genetic traits impact plant performance. Each seed carries a narrative shaped by environmental factors and stress, and I’m dedicated to helping farmers understand their choices and the potential they hold. Working closely with Colin and Colette, my Saskatchewan and Alberta territory managers, has been both educational and transformative. We collaborate to first understand and then bridge the gap between our products and the retailers we support. Each retailer presents unique challenges and opportuniti

Women Farmers Drive Growth in Canadian Agriculture

Women are taking the reins in Canadian agriculture like never before. Statistics Canada reports nearly 90,000 female farm operators nationwide—up from 80,000 in 2021.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service