AO Farmland Development News

Farming and Agriculture

Farm Land Development News

Ontario is losing farmland to development at a rate of 175 acres a day. That’s 2 million acres by the year 2050.

There are always good reasons for development: roads, schools, hospitals, homes, businesses. Municipalities tend to be pro-development because growth brings in new property tax dollars; development charge fees; and provincial/federal funding is generally population driven. Consequently, all new growth/population needs to be serviced with fresh food and clean water too.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) & Environmental Defence Report – Farmland at risk: Why land-use planning needs improvements for a healthy agricultural future in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (November 2015) (.pdf)

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Specific Issues

Cannabis

Frank Meyers Farm, Trenton, ON

Midhurst Village Development Proposal, Midhurst, ON

Pickering Lands, Pickering, ON

Site C proposal, BC

Farm Land Development News – Ontario (latest first)

Date	Source	Title	Comment
2019-01-28	TheGuardian.com	Can we ditch intensive farming - and still feed the world?	Fiona Harvey
2019-01-23	Simcoe Reformer	Farmers seek tax relief	Monte Sonnenberg
2019-01-02	Farms.com	Looking ahead at Ontario’s Greenbelt	Lauren Arva AO News - Greenbelt
2018-12-13	Hamilton Spectator / Thespec.com	Opinion: If you want cheaper produce, stop the grab for farmland	Tim Gray, Environmental Defence - AO News - Bill-66 Open-For-Business
2018-12-07	Globe and Mail	Ontario bill would open up Greenbelt, activists warn	Jeff Gray
2018-05-17	DurhamRegion.com	Scugog green with envy for those who can grow	Chris Hall - Mayor Tom Rowett AO News - Greenbelt
2018-05-17	Welland Tribune	Farmland protection a hot topic at Peterborough-Kawartha candidates debate	Joelle Kovach
2018-05-03	National Farmers Union	Press Release: Beyond the Election: Protecting Farmland for the Future	Emery Huszka
2018-04-29	Change.org	Petition: Stop the Halton Catholic School Board’s expropriation of our family’s farm land	Jessica McCann AO News – Meyers Farm
2018-04-09	Farms.com	Understanding regional farmland prices across Ontario	Kaitlynn Anderson
2018-03-26	Toronto Sun	Liberal green energy projects eating up farmland, farmers say	Jenny Yuen AO Info: Solar
2017-10-20	InsideHalton.com	Burlington's future growth to be built on 5% of city land	Rick Goldring - Burlington 50% urban/50% Greenbelt
2017-09	National Geographic	This Tiny Country Feeds the World	Frank Viviano and Luca Locatelli - The Netherlands
2017-09-04	Toronto Star	Trying to stop prime Ontario farmland from being ‘entombed forever’	Ainslie Cruickshank
2017-07-20	Huffington Post	Montreal IGA Says It's 1st Supermarket In Canada To Sell Produce Grown On Roof	Daniel Tencer
2017-07-08	Vice News	Climate Change is Shaping the Future of Food	Arielle Duhaime-Ross
2017-07-07	PopularMechanics.com	Freight Farms Builds Farms in Shipping Containers, and NASA Wants to Launch Them to Space	Alice Sweitzer
2017-07-04	Financial Post	What about photosynthesis? Ontario greenhouses are getting charged for carbon their plants consume	Peter Kuttenbrouwer
2017-05-31	Statistics Canada	Seeding decisions harvest opportunities for Canadian farmers
2017-05-11	Globe and Mail	Ontario’s Greenbelt architect launches defence of anti-sprawl policies	Jeff Gray
2017-05-10	Ontario Federation of Agriculture	Census data reflects changes in agriculture industry (2017)	Ontario is losing the equivalent of 175 acres of farmland every day (previously 350 acres per day)
2017-05-05	Farms.com	Canada Pension Plan Stops Investing in Farmland	Jennifer Jackson
2017-03-30	Orilliapacket.com	Forum explores options for farmers who want to avoid selling their land to developers	Andrew Phillips
2017-03-30	National Farmers Union	Press Release: Farmland is for Farmers: NFU-O Presentation to Ontario Farmland Trust	Emery Huszka - Exchangemagazine
2017-03-08	Manitoba Co-operator	Urbanization, not foreign ownership, the real threat to farmland	Alex Binkley - Bonnefield, Tom Eisenhauer
2017-01-02	Brantford Expositor	City welcomes new residents after boundary changes	Michael-Allan Marion
2016-11-29	Barrie Examiner	Growing pains farmers	Cheryl Browne
2016-11-17	Hamilton Spectator	Agriculture groups band together to save farming and farmland	Matt Setzkorn
2016-11-01	Orangeville Banner	Mayor, CAO aggravated by NDACT response to NEC ‘land grab’	Chris Halliday
2016-10-09	New York Times Magazine	The Dizzying Grandeur of 21st-Century Agriculture	George Steinmetz
2016-09-28	Globe and Mail	320,000 newcomers came to Canada in past year, highest number since 1971	Sean Kilpatrick, The Canadian Press
2016-09-09	Ottawa Citizen	How Ontario is failing its rural residents — and why it matters	Tom Spears
2016-08-04	Orangeville Banner	Task force says provincial aggregate policy needs clarity	Alexandra Heck
2015-12-08	Hamilton Spectator	You can’t eat pavement: growing sustainably	Don McCabe and Tim Gray
2015-11-24	RCInet.ca / Radio Canada International	Ontario farmland: threatened by urban sprawl	Marc Montgomery
2015-08-18	Orillia Packet & Times	Green party leader’s endorsement of campaign not shared by other candidates in Simcoe North	Patrick Bales
2015-08-15	Brantford Expositor	Group wants greenbelt on Grand River	Michael-Allan Marion
2015-08-14	Orillia Packet & Times	Green Party leader Mike Schneider, federal candidate Peter Stubbins and Simcoe-North candidate Valerie Powell talk policy	Patrick Bales
2015-05-28	Shelburne Free Press	Rezoning application in Melancthon raises concern	Marni Walsh
2015-05-28	Shelburne Free Press	Mobile Signs Spread the Seeds of Change	Marni Walsh
2015-05-21	Huffington Post	Oilsands Are Dying, Canada Should Become Food Superpower: Rubin	Daniel Tencer
2015-05-17	Toronto Star	Can town and country coexist?	Noor Javed
2015-05-11	Globe and Mail	Selling farmland is about more than speculation	Sylvain Charlebois
2015-02-28	Toronto Star	Ontario farmland under threat as demand for housing grows	Susan Pigg Hamilton Spectator
2015-02-11	Orangeville Citizen	LTE: Millions of acres lost	Karren Wallace
2015-02-10	CBC	Ontario doesn't grow enough food to feed itself, but it could: Study	Danni Gresko
2015-02-10	CountryGuide	Who’s buying up Canadian farmland?	Gerald Pilger
2015-02-03	Government of Ontario	Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship -- Helping Ontario Farmers Keep the Great Lakes Healthy
2015-01-06	EcoWatch / John W. Roulac	The Solution Under Our Feet: How Regenerative Organic Agriculture Can Save the Planet	John W. Roulac
2014-12-03	News & Advance (USA)	For love of nature: Saving farmland and forests	Shannon Brennan
2014-11-04	Barrie Examiner	Small organizations eyeing development decisions welcome political changes	Cheryl Browne
2014-10-14	Madhunt.com	“Elected officials need to back up their claims”	Letter to the Editor Shirley Boxem
2014-09-30	Toronto Star	‘Extraordinary’ demand for Barrie-area farmland	Susan Pigg
2014-09-30	Wallaceburg Courier Press	Outside of GTA, C-K farms fetching top prices in Ontario	Ellwood Shreve - Chatham-Kent
2014-09-12	BlackburnNews.com	CFFO Says Farmland Preservation Needed	Steve Sabourin - Nathan Stevens, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO)
2014-05-14	Youtube / Ontario Farms	Video: Ontario Farmland Preservation	Ontario Federation of Agriculture - preserving classes 1-4
2014-01-14	Toronto Sun	Ontario senior fights to save farm expropriated by military	Ernst Kuglin, QMI
2014-01-01	Ontario Landowners Association	The Elephant Who Wouldn’t Leave	Mallory McClinchey
2013-12-12	Globe and Mail	CPPIB buys Saskatchewan farms in $128-million deal	Eric Atkins
2013-11-29	Orangeville Banner / Orangeville.com	Dufferin county joins Food & Water First Campaign	Bill Tremblay
2013-11-21	Orangeville Citizen	County Supports Food & Water	Wes Keller
2013-11-19	In the Hills	Carl Cosack	Tim Shuff
2013-11-08	Toronto Star	Ontario Liberals undermined own plan to control sprawl: Walkom	Thomas Walkom
2013-07-19	CBC Radio “As it Happens”	Megaquarry land to return to the hands of farmers
2013-07-18	Goldhawk Fights Back	Carl Cosack radio interview
2013-07-18	Global News	Land at centre of mega-quarry fight sold	Heather Loney
2013-07-18	NDACT/CAUSE/CORE	Statement: Bonnefield Financial purchase of Melancthon farmland: A Fresh Start
2013-07-18	CBC Radio	“Ontario Morning” Interview with Tom Eisenhauer (.mp3)	Podcast
2013-07-18	Orangeville Citizen	Editorial: What lay behind the decision to sell?
2013-07-18	Orangeville Citizen	Canadian Investor Buys Highland’s 6,500 acres	Wes Keller
2013-07-17	National Post	Mega quarry land north of Toronto bought by burgeoning farm fund Bonnefield	John Greenwood
2013-07-17	Financial Post	Mega quarry land north of Toronto bought by burgeoning farm fund Bonnefield	John Greenwood
2013-07-17	Value Walk	Seth Klarman Mega-Quarry Plans Over as Oontario Farmland is Sold	Tabinda Hussain 6,500 sold What about remaining 2,000 acres?
2013-07-16	Orangeville Banner	Highland sells land in Melancthon, leases it back	Chris Halliday
2013-07-16	Wall Street Journal	Bonnefield Launches Canada’s Largest Farmland Partnership	www.bonnefield.com
2013-06-03	Inter Press Services News Agency	Peak Water, Peak Oil … Now, Peak Soil?	Stephen Leahy
2013-04-10	Brantford Expositor	Aggregate need keeps growing	Michael-Allan Marion
2013-03-20	Mountain Life	Squash the Mega-quarry (.jpg) and Mega-Victory (pg 52-61)	Magazine link pgs 36 and 52-61
2013-03-09	Thespec.com	Carlisle quarry proposal is dead	Daniel Nolan FORCE (more info)
2013-02-21	Harpin Norm	Video: It’s Food & Water First	Audio only
2013-02-16	Matthew Kellway, MP Beaches/East York	A genuine “thank you” to community builders	Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal: Carl Cosack
2013-02-14	Record.com	Region will fight to maintain control over depth of gravel pits	Terry Pender Region of Waterloo
2013-02-14	Creemore Echo	A shift of Focus for NDACT	Brad Holden
2010-09-03	CBC News	Milking meaning from the ingredients label	“modified milk ingredients”
2006-05-16	Statistics Canada	Census of Agriculture counts 57,211 farms in Ontario	57,211 farms/13.3 million acres in Ontario 229,373 farms in Canada
2002-04-20	University of Guelph	Ontario Farmland Conservation Forum (.pdf)
2001-06-11	Globe and Mail	Urban sprawl threatens prime farmland	Wallace Immen

More Ontario Information:

www.foodandwaterfirst.com

Farm Land Development News – A Global Issue (latest first)

Date	Source	Title	Comment
2019-02-12	MercuryNews.com (USA)	Editorial: Council must fulfill San Jose’s Coyote Valley obligation	- Santa Clara Open Space Authority - Flood protection - Aquifer recharge area
2019-01-28	PrimeNewsGhana.com	Ghana risk losing all farmlands to real estate developers
2018-09-06	DailyItem.com (USA)	Farmland preservation: a commitment to the future	- Pennsylvania
2018-06-03	WRAL.com (USA)	Appeals court agrees county erred in solar farm approval	- Oregon
2018-05-21	AgWeek.com	We all need to “be smarter” about development to protect our farmland
2018-05-20	Oliver Chronicle	Council to consider not allowing cannabis production on Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)	Lyonel Doherty
2018-05-18	Folio.ca	Embracing ‘citified’ agriculture means rethinking land use priorities, says U of A researcher	Bev Betkowski
2018-05-13	Lancaster Online (USA)	Concerns raised over proposed Earl Township rezoning from agricultural to industrial	Junior Gonzalez
2018-05-10	HeraldMailMedia.com (USA)	More than 5,000 acres of farmland protected in Berkeley County	Matthew Umstead
2018-04-25	LMTonline.com (USA)	Asphalt is the last crop	Bob McCan
2018-04-13	Echo (AUS)	Tweed’s mega-hospital site ‘will kill off prime farmland’
2018-03-26	KUNC.org (USA)	What Happens On The Edges Of Cities When Farmland Gives Way To Development	Amy Mayer
2018-03-15	The Western Producer	Growing Alta. Cities gobble up prime farmland	Barb Glen
2018-03-11	Lancaster Online (USA)	For decades, Lancaster County has wasted farmland. When will it stop?	Jeff Hawkes
2018-03-09	Courant.com (USA)	South Windsor, Agriculture Department Teaming Up To Preserve Farmland	Peter Marteka - “development rights”
2018-03-08	Folio.ca	Prime farmland continues to be lost to urban expansion	Bev Betkowski
2018-02-01	The Guardian	Coalition cracks down on sale of prime agricultural farmland to overseas buyers	Gareth Hutchens AO Info – China News
2018-02-22	The Telegraph	Emmanuel Macron promises to stop foreign investors buying up French farms after China land grab	Rory Mulholland
2018-02-02	GRBJ.com (USA)	County approves option to buy farmland rights	Ehren Wynder
2018-02-01	The Guardian (AUS)	Coalition cracks down on sale of prime agricultural farmland to overseas buyers	Gareth Hutchens - Australia
2018-01-21	Vancouver Sun	South Delta potato farmer wants Crown lands protected for agriculture and nature	Larry Pynn
2017-10-22	Masslive.com	Farmland program turns 40 with 73,000 acres preserved across Massachusetts	Mary C. Serreze - Massachusetts, USA
2017-10-20	Greenfield Recorder / Recorder.com	Farmland preservation program celebrates 40th anniversary	Richie Davis - Massachusetts, USA
2017-10-16	SturgisJournal.com	News Focus: Opponents to proposed solar farm say farmland an invaluable asset	Jef Riestma - Michigan, USA AO Renewable Energy News - Solar
2017-10-16	Dailyo.in	Global Hunger Index: Why India lacks the foresight to avert food shortage crisis	Madhuri Danthala - India
2017-10-12	Coast News Group	Residents launch signature gathering for SOAR initiative	Promise Yee - Oceanside, California, USA - Save Open Space and Agriculture Resources (SOAR)
2017-10-07	Bozeman Daily Chronicle	Open space bonds paid off big for Gallatin County	Montana, USA
2017-09-28	SherwoodParkNews.com	LTE: A council review of Bremner	Lois Gordon - Alberta, Canada
2017-08-23	Globe and Mail (BC)	B.C. Green Party calls for ban on foreign buyers purchasing farmland	Gemma Karstens-Smith - British Columbia, Canada
2017-06-28	Global News (Edmonton)	Farmers say Strathcona County ‘completely upside down’ in land decision	Kendra Slugoski - Bremner, Alberta, Canada
2017-06-08	Capital Press (USA)	Saving the West’s farmland	- Idaho, USA - Treasure Valley
2017-03-08	Manitoba Co-operator	Urbanization, not foreign ownership, the real threat to farmland	Alex Binkley
2016-10-13	Edmonton Journal	Edmonton Metro region approves new 30-year growth plan	Elise Stolte - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2015-06-07	Environment News Service	Losing Farmland, Taiwan Seeks to Limit Development	Shuchen Chang - Taiwan
2015-04-13	Globe and Mail	Foreign firms grabbing prime B.C. farmland for carbon credits	Mark Hume - British Columbia, Canada
2013-12-12	CBC News	CPP buys Saskatchewan's Assiniboia Farmland for $128M	- Saskatchewan, Canada

See also:

AO Info: Site C Hydro Development, BC

SOAR (Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources), Ventura County, USA www.soarvc.org

Other Farm & Food Related News

Date	Source	Title	Comment
2018-11-27	Vox.com	Food safety detectives are zeroing in on source of romaine lettuce E. Coli outbreak	Brian Resnick
2018-05-04	Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)	OFA lays out prosperity plan for provincial election candidates	Keith Currie, President, OFA
2018-01-26	Globe and Mail	Campbell Soup closing 87-year-old Toronto facility; 380 jobs to be affected	J. David Ake
2017-07-13	ChicagoTribune.com	More than a million hens, filling barns at three per square foot. And yes, they're USDA Organic	Peter Whoriskey
2017-08-13	Toronto Star	Rains, then flooding, killing crops for many Ontario farmers	Kristin Rushowy
2016-11-17	EcoWatch / Waterkeeper Alliance	The True Cost of Industrial Meat Production	Waterkeeper Alliance
2016-10-24	Globe and Mail	Ontario supplier charged with mislabeling chicken as organic	Ann Hui
2016-07-06	EcoWatch / Dr. David Suzuki	How the World’s Most Fertile Soil Can Help Reverse Climate Change	Dr. David Suzuki
2016-05-20	CTV News	Over 400 frozen food products being recalled across Canada, U.S. and Mexico	David Pitt
2016-04-23	Peterborough Examiner	Ontario's soil map getting first update in 40 years	Jessica Nyznik
2017-04-11	Orilliapacket.com	Schreiner talks hydro and agriculture	Mehreen Shahid
2016-02-29	National Post	‘Bye. Bye. Heinz’: French’s ketchup sells out after online post praising it and its Ontario-grown tomatoes	Carolyn Thompson
2016-02-04	theGuardian.com	French law forbids food waste by supermarkets	Angelique Chrisafis
2016-01-14	CBC News Windsor	French's using Leamington tomatoes in all its ketchup	- former Heinz, Leamington plant
2016-01-14	Global News / Associated Press	Could using oilfield water to irrigate crops be the future of farming?	Ellen Knickmeyer
2016-01-06	TrueActivist.com	Walmart Recalling 90,000 Pounds Of Beef For Containing “Extraneous Wood Materials”	John Vibes - Walmart
2016-01-04	True Activist	Nestle Can No Longer Advertise Nesquick As “A Great Start To The Day” In The UK	Amanda Froelich
2015-12-29	CBC News	Food prices set to rise in 2016 as weak loonie takes a bigger bite	The Canadian Press
2015-12-21	CBC News	Ontario farm converts from pigs to shrimp in hopes of jumbo profits	Laura MacNaughton and Renee Filippone
2015-10-16	CBC News Montreal	Salmonella outbreak hits 8 provinces, several people hospitalized
2015-10-05	Farms.com	Trans-Pacific Partnership to impact Canadian dairy farms	Dairy Farmers of Canada www.dairyfarmers.ca
2015-10-05	Globe and Mail	The ABCs of TPP
2015-10-05	Toronto Star	Trans-Pacific trade deal ‘new gold standard’, says Harper	The Canadian Press
2015-10-05	Government of Canada	Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)	Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada - tentative agreement reached between 12 countries including Canada
2015-11-09	In The Hills Magazine	Gail Prussky How not to be a Serial Killer	Jeff Rollings
2015-08-26	Simcoe.com / Midland Mirror	Bad timing for Simcoe North byelection, Green candidate says	Frank Matys - Valerie Powell signs pledge
2015-08-19	Ring of Fire radio	Pakman Describes the DuPont Dark Side of America’s Biggest Chemical Co., Creepy Stuff	- Teflon (video link 4 mins)
2015-06-04	Stowe Today (USA)	The goal: Protect bobolinks	Michael Sweatman - Working to protect bobolinks in Vermont, USA
2015-05-18	EcoWatch / Cole Mellino	Watch John Oliver’s Hilarious Rant Exposing the Horrors of the Chicken Industry	Cole Mellino - USA chicken industry
2015-04-16	Rabble.ca	SOLD! Canadian Wheat Board no longer quite so Canadian	National Farmers Union
2015-04-10	EcoWatch / Radha McLean	Find Out Which Companies Responsibly Source Palm Oil (You Might Be Surprised)	Radha McLean
2015-03-25	The Guardian (UK)	We’re treating soil like dirt. It’s a fatal mistake, as our lives depend on it	George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot
2015-03-25	FoodAndWaterWatch.org	A Mega-Merger Too Far: Kraft Foods-H.J Heinz Announce Merger	Patrick Woodall
2015-02-18	EcoWatch / Anastasia Pantsios	Nestlé to Dump Artificial Colors and Flavors in U.S. Candy, Something It Did in Europe Years Ago	Anastasia Pantsios
2015-02-11	CTV News Barrie	CFIA recalls two food products sold in Ontario	- Elite Salads brand White Fish - Mountainoak Cheese Ltd. Farmstead Premium Dutch Semi-soft cheese
2015-01-01	MassReport.com	Bad News For Guacamole Lovers	Buffy Naillon
2014-11-10	Rabble.ca	Billions of kilograms of food waste? Now that should have been an election issue!	Wayne Roberts
2014-11-09	EcoWatch / Food & Water Watch (USA)	Chicken Imports from China a Raw Deal for U.S. Consumers
2014-10-10	Toronto Star	In Leamington, the future’s first harvest	Vanessa Lu - former Heinz plant in Leamington
2014-09-12	ModernFarmer.com	Holey Cow: The Wonderful World of a Fistulated Cow	Anna O’Brien
2014-07-15	EcoWatch / Beyond Pesticides	Organic Food Is Healthier Confirms New Analysis
2014-01-25	Daily Mail (UK)	Farm-ageddon: No birds. No bees. Our countryside laid waste. And billions of animals that never see a blade of grass - book warns of terrifying threat from today's mega-farms	Philip Lymbery
2014-01-20	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: December (6 mins)
2014-01-07	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: November (7 mins)
2013-11-19	Globe & Mail	Canada dead last in ranking for environmental protection	Paul Waldie
2013-11-08	Youtube / Bill Nye	Eyes of Nye – GM foods – HTS2100 edition (8 mins)
2013-11-07	Orangeville Citizen	NDACT, ALERT not impressed by Aggregate Resource report	Wes Keller
2013-10-14	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: October (5 mins)
2013-10-14	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: September (6 mins)
2013-10-13	Natural Cures Not Medicine	8 Foods Even The Experts Won’t Eat	April McCarthy
2013-10-01	ThePetersonFarmBros	Bale! (Sail Parody)
2013-09-09	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: August (7mins)
2013-07-08	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: July
2013-07-08	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: June
2013-06-17	ThePetersonFarmBros	A Fresh Breath of Farm Air (Fresh Prince Parody)
2013-06-02	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: May
2013-05-07	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: April
2013-04-02	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: March
2013-02-25	ThePetersonFarmBros	Video: Life of a Farmer: February
2012-10	Dowling Pictures	Video: Soupstock – A Call to Action (7.5 mins)	- Melancthon Mega Quarry proposal
2012-04-20	CBC News Sudbury	Mining company to raise fish underground
2008-02-13	Youtube / National Geographic	Meet the Super Cow	National Geographic - Belgian Blue, product of selective breeding