Agriculture, urban growth, aggregate pits, infrastructure projects, green energy, endangered species habitat: how do we effectively balance the use of Ontario’s land resources while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of farming?
This is the question posed by the Ontario Farmland Trust’s (OFT) 2012 Farmland Preservation Forum, with the theme: Balancing Agriculture and Resource Demands in Rural Ontario.
The forum, to be held in Guelph on Feb. 17, will bring focus to the relationship between policy, land use and rural economic development across Ontario.
“Our annual forums are one-of-a-kind events that seek to attract a diverse group of participants, from elected officials and policy-makers to farmers and local food advocates, and to create a space for meaningful dialogue around some of the most pressing issues facing rural Ontario,” says Bruce Mackenzie, OFT Executive Director.
Over the past year, with a mega-quarry development proposed on Dufferin County’s best potato-growing lands, the possibility of a GTA-West mega-highway through prime farmland, expansion of large-scale green energy projects, and concerns about species-at-risk legislation and urban growth planning, significant questions are raised about how Ontario values its rich farmland, diverse agricultural industry and rural communities.
“Do existing policies lead us toward balancing the multiple functions of the rural landscape, or toward land use conflict? This is of particular concern for primary agriculture, which relies on a stable landbase, established farm infrastructure and a network of supporting farm businesses,”says Matt Setzkorn, OFT Policy Coordinator. “We need to work collectively to shape new policy directions that recognize the unique needs of farmers, respect our rural communities and attract appropriate economic development to rural Ontario.”
Forum presentation topics include calculating potential food self-sufficiency in Ontario and a panel on agriculture among Competing land use demands.
One session on Niagara’s innovative agricultural planning and economic development includes unique perspectives from Patrick Robson, Region Planning Commissioner; Jim Brandle, CEO of the Vineland Research Centre; and Bill Hodgson, Mayor of the Town of Lincoln.
There will also be opportunity for all forum participants to bring forward recommendations and innovative new policy ideas that support farming activities, farm viability and farmland protection across Ontario.
Mackenzie says that creating a space for networking and dialogue between municipalities, government ministries and the agriculture industry is important to enabling innovation and finding new opportunities for collaboration that are essential to building a sustainable future for Ontario’s agricultural sector.
The 2012 Farmland Preservation Forum takes place on Feb. 17 at the Arboretum Center at the University of Guelph from 9 am to 4 pm. Admission is $65 for non-members and $ 50 for members.
For more information on the 2012 Farmland Forum, visit www.OntarioFarmlandTrust.ca.
