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Page 4 farmland preservation report July - Aug. 2004 Farmland on agenda in Canada BY TOM DANIELS Senior Contributing Editor GUELPH, ONT. — On a clear day, more than one - third of Canada's most productive farmland can be seen from Toronto's CN Tower, a point that illustrates that only five percent of Canada is considered prime farmland, and about half of that is in southern Ontario. Finding ways to protect Canada's best farmland was the topic of an international farmland preservation conference held at the end of June at the University of Guelph in Ontario, the massive province that crowns the Great Lakes from New York to Minnesota. While Canadian landowners can voluntarily sell or donate a conservation easement to a government agency or land trust, government has yet to fund the purchase of agricultural conservation easements. It is tempting to think 'that the United States has a monopoly on sprawl, but anywhere there is population growth, there are pressures to develop farmland. About one -third of Canada's 30 million people live in Ontario. The province's population grew from nine million in 1980 to 11 million in 2000 and is projected to reach 16 million in 2030. Greater Toronto alone is expected to increase from 7.4 million people in 2000 to 10.5 million in 2031. In the last two decades of the 20th century, Ontario lost 1.25 million acres of farmland, including 18 percent of Canada's Class One land. Ontario agriculture is especially diverse, from the fruit - producing area of the Niagara Escarpment to the corn - soybean- livestock farming found near Lake Huron. Ontario planners recognize the spread of rural non -farm residences as a threat to farmland and the future of agriculture. According to University of Guelph Professor Wayne Caldwell, more than 12,000 rural residential lots were created in Ontario in the 1990s. Some regulations meant to protect against conflicts actually compound the farmland loss problem: barns for livestock operations must be located a certain distance from any non -farm residence, so when a non -farm residence is built, it effectively cancels an area of about one - quarter of a mile radius from expanding livestock farming. The 150 conference attendees included farmers, academics, farm organizations, and local government officials, who debated a number of issues. What is the main goal — preserving farmland or the farmer? Should a proposed greenbelt be put in place around greater Toronto? Should the range of agricultural uses allowed on farms be expanded to include horse boarding, composting, and packaging and processing? Is regulation enough or are American -style easement purchases needed and who would pay for them? Canadian farmland regulation Regulatory powers can be stronger in Canada than in the United States and this is evident in two programs. In Perth County, Ontario non -farm subdivisions have largely been prohibited in agricultural zones since the 1970s. Farm subdivisions must be a minimum of 100 acres to justify a smaller farm- related subdivision. This is essentially an exclusive farm use zone. British Columbia, Canada's far western province, took an aggressive approach to farmland protection in the early 1970s, when the provincial government created the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). The Reserve covers five percent of the province or more than 11 million acres, but protects land located within close proximity to more than four - fifths of the province's population. Land in the ALR generates more than 80 percent of British Columbia's food output, worth $2.2 billion a year, and provides about half of the food consumed in the province. An Agricultural Land Commission was established to administer the ALR lands. Land can be taken out of the ALR and developed, but only with the approval of the commission. Only 40,000 acres have been removed over the past 30 years, even though the commission receives about 500 applications annually. C Ontario Land Trust launched During the conference, the Ontario Land Trust was born, with 15 board members and an executive director. Land trusts are somewhat new in Canada. The Nature Conservancy of Canada has preserved some two million acres, while the nation's other 50 to 60 land trusts have preserved 250,000 acres. Contact: Melissa Watkins, University of Guelph, (519) 824 -4120, ext. 52686