By Lorne Small January 2, 2015
Ontario's Greenbelt was created ten years ago, when Ontario's government placed almost 2 million acres of agricultural and environmentally sensitive land in a permanently protected state within the province. The Greenbelt wraps around the Greater Toronto region and includes two unique agriculture-growing areas - the Holland Marsh and the Niagara tender fruit- grape producing region. Creating the Greenbelt relieved some of the pressure from urban encroachment and ribbon development around this fast growing region. A key objective of the Greenbelt plan was to "protect against the loss and fragmentation of the agriculture land base and support agriculture as a predominant land use." Other objectives involved environment protection and encouraging a wide diversity of social uses like recreation and tourism.
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[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JAN-2-CFFO.mp3"][/audio] Are the goals being met? A recent report funded by the Greenbelt Foundation identifies interesting changes in the Greenbelt. One of the most noteworthy changes has occurred in the livestock sector. The number of dairy cows decreased by 30%, beef cows 24%, feedlot steers 37% and the pig herd decreased by 67%. The sheep and lamb flock and horse population remained relatively constant. It is not surprising that some animals are less neighbor-friendly than horses and sheep. The scale of cattle operations, real estate prices and farm aroma tend to encourage Greenbelt farmers to relocate outside the Greenbelt. Comments from farmers within the Greenbelt tend to reflect the increased red tape required to alter or expand their businesses. Farmers outside the Greenbelt do not face the same regulatory environment. The Greenbelt has some natural advantages, including climate and geography. Being close to an urban environment is an advantage for specialty horticulture crops; the Greenbelt accounts for 42% of the greenhouse flower production capacity and 55% of the tender fruit acreage. The farms that produce for the local market have an advantage of farming close to their consumers. New customer focused farms such as nurseries, value added farms and recreation based farms are flourishing in the Greenbelt. Research shows that the Greenbelt is changing in different ways than the rest of the province. The Greenbelt is probably not the reason for most of the changes. It is difficult to operate a typical scale modern farm in the shadow of a large urban population. Proximity to the Greater Toronto Area will be the reason for many of the changes; they would have happened with or without the establishment of the Greenbelt. The CFFO is concerned the growing focus on environmental issues will tip the scales away from agriculture as the primary focus of the Greenbelt. At every opportunity during the coming months the CFFO will be consulting with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the ministry responsible for the Greenbelt. We will be strongly defending the concept of having viable agriculture as the highest priority for the Greenbelt.
Lorne Small is the President 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 4,000 family farmers across Ontario.
