Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

The CFFO Commentary: The CFFO’s thoughts on the Aggregate Resources Act Review

By Nathan Stevens

May 18, 2012
 
The provincial government is conducting a review of the Aggregate Resources Act. This is an important piece of legislation for the agriculture sector due to competition for land within the rural countryside. The Christian Farmers submitted comments reflecting the long-term balance needed between aggregates and farmland.
 
In the big picture, the CFFO recognizes that aggregate extraction is essential for infrastructure development, and that municipalities are significant users of these resources. As a bulk resource, transportation is a significant cost factor, which has made a “close to home” extraction strategy a priority over time. However, the availability of significant “close to home” resources for the Greater Golden Horseshoe is diminishing, leading to broader considerations in the long-term.
 
Balanced against the economic aggregate extraction priority is the long-term strategic priority for Ontario to maintain its best farmland for the purpose of farming. Ontario is blessed with significant regions of high quality land, a moderate climate and tremendous access to fresh water. Secondly, Ontario is home to the second largest food processing hub in North America. Ensuring that the raw product for this hub remains “close to home” should be strategically significant for this province as it struggles economically and seeks strengths to build upon.
 
The CFFO has identified a number of land use concerns. The first is that that in Specialty Crop Areas, no aggregate extraction be allowed under any circumstance. Second, areas of class 1-3 farmland, including “rural” land that was considered to be of Class 1-3 quality at some point in the past, that no extraction be allowed below the water table. Finally, that aggregate operators be required to surrender their licenses in a timely manner following extraction to expedite rehabilitation of the site to an appropriate land use, preferably for agricultural uses.
 
There are also a number of broad strategic and policy directions that should be considered that relate to aggregate resource use in Ontario. First, recycling and re-use of aggregate resources on redevelopment sites must become a priority. Secondly, transportation infrastructure will need to be re-evaluated as the “close to home” aggregate strategy becomes less feasible over time.
 
The Aggregate Resources Act plays an important role in the rural landscape. From the CFFO perspective, the review needs to be sure it properly weighs the value of agriculture and the agri-food sector, and the land that serves as its foundation, when considering new possibilities for the rules surrounding aggregate use in Ontario.


 

Nathan Stevens is the Interim Manager and Director of Policy Development for 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 and in Brantford and Woodstock. It is also found on the CFFO website:www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,200 family farmers across Ontario.

Views: 77

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

July Heat Wave Puts Midwest Corn and Soybeans Under Pressure

A major heat wave is building across the central and eastern United States, raising concerns for corn and soybean crops as July begins.

- Derecho climatology (Gaustini/Bosart): a corridor through the northern Plains/upper Midwest carries a >65% annual chance of a derecho-strength MCS, driven by northwest flow on the ridge's periphery. We must watch this region over the next 60 days. More on this below... - Cold North Atlantic: Years with the current North Atlantic cold-tongue pattern favor western troughs + heat pushing into the Midwest. Caveat: rapid warming on the south side of the cold plume means the simple composite likely understates the evolving pattern. Plus the Gulf of Alaska has been warming which could negate these impacts. See this part of the video for a deeper dive. - Modeling caution: During Summer, global models like the ECMWF and GFS are at their weakest due to coarse resolution and their inability to resolve convection. So we lean on the hi-res models like the HRRR and then ensembles for large scale anomalies. Be very careful with model forecasts to total precipitation... - National yield projection

A major heat wave is building across the central and eastern United States, raising concerns for corn and soybean crops as July begins. Nutrien’s Eric Snodgrass says producers should closely monitor high heat, overnight temperatures, derecho risk and dry pockets in key growing regions.

Swine Health Advisory Committee Sets Five Focus Areas

The Swine Health advisory committee is focused on turning strategy into action. To help advance the National Swine Health Strategy, the committee identified five focus areas that will drive action and measurable progress for U.S. pork producers. A Producer-Led Push for Swine Health Pork producers need a swine health strategy that actually works on the farm. The Swine Health advisory committee was created to make sure that happens. For the inaugural meeting in May, the advisory committee’s twenty-seven producers, veterinarians, USDA staff and packers/processors met in Des Moines and left with a clear direction: build on what’s working and accelerate action. The National Swine Health Strategy (NSHS) only succeeds if it reflects producers’ needs, and the advisory committee is responsible for ensuring it delivers. The advisory committee identified five focus areas to drive measurable progress in swine health. The Top 5 Focus Areas Driving Progress Build Industry Buy-In for the NSHS Fi

Closing the Gaps: New Research Investments Support Swine Disease Elimination

The Swine Disease Research task force recently funded new PRRSV and PEDV research projects that support National Swine Health Strategy priorities. These projects aim to close critical knowledge gaps and provide producers with practical information to support disease elimination efforts. Disease elimination doesn’t happen with a single breakthrough. It happens when the industry asks and answers the hard questions that still stand in the way. New research projects recently selected by the Swine Disease Research task force will address those hard questions. Each project aligns with the National Swine Health Strategy (NSHS) priority of eliminating endemic diseases, addresses key knowledge gaps and aims to deliver information to help producers make better herd health decisions. The latest research investments concentrate on two diseases that continue to challenge U.S. pork production: porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV).

Cereals Canada 2025 Annual Report Highlights $12.8B Exports and Global Market Strength

Cereals Canada’s 2025 Annual Report underscores strong export performance, expanding global demand, and continued investment in quality, innovation, and customer relationships.

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service