Loss of farmland is not sustainable

There are some misconceptions that need to be cleared up. Last month, data from the 2021 Census of Agriculture was released by Statistics Canada and needless to say we were shocked by what it revealed.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) knew Ontario farmland was under increasing pressure. We experience it first-hand. When the 2016 Census of Agriculture was released, we learned that the daily average loss of farmland in Ontario was 175 acres per day. A steep figure to be sure.

Today? That number has jumped to a staggering 319 acres. That is 319 acres of farmland lost. Every. Single. Day.

Over the course of a week, that is the equivalent of losing nine family farms. It is simply not sustainable, and is certainly cause for concern.

But already, we have heard weak retorts to this. Another number that has come into focus is 30,000 acres, with the claim that “productive farmland” increased by that much over the past five years.

That figure isn’t in dispute, but some context is needed.

The census defines “productive” farmland as agricultural land that has crops growing on it. This definition excludes pasture for grazing livestock, natural areas and woodlots on a farm. So, while Ontario did see a .03 per cent increase in “productive” farmland (29,713 acres), there was a corresponding 22 per cent loss of pasture (113,688 acres), a 12 per cent drop in fallow land (1,921 acres) and 17 per cent drop (495,412 acres) in other lands considered to be farmland by the Census.

In other words, “productive” farmland increased 29,713 acres, but overall farmland area dropped by 582,392 acres. (And if you want to ask where the 319 acres comes from, take that 582,392 figure and divide it by 1,825 — the number of days in five years.)

This means more farmers are bringing what land is left — pasture or forested land — into crop production. Which now raises the question about why we are losing farmland; while some farmland is being left fallow or returned to a woodlot, there is no question that urban pressure on rural lands is increasing.

Urban-to-rural migration is driving up demand for rural housing, and municipalities are often seeking expansions to their urban boundaries. (And it must be said that it is encouraging to see some, like Hamilton and Halton in the past year, push back against this trend.)

Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs), which allow the provincial government and municipalities to bypass the typical planning process to accommodate more development, remain a big concern.

The frequent use of MZOs undermines Ontario’s long-established system of responsible land use planning. They exacerbate the problem, allowing municipalities to bypass long-standing processes intended to protect farmland.

Used in their intended purpose — to support areas of the province that lack a robust planning process — MZOs are a good tool. But when used to subvert urban planning procedures that are in place to ensure we are not mortgaging the future for a new subdivision, they are certainly a problem.

And now the province has introduced the use of the Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA).

The CIHA is just an MZO disguised by another name. An MZO 2.0, if you will. It allows municipalities to request the province expedite applications, not just for housing and long-term care projects, but also for industrial, institutional commercial, residential or employment projects.

The OFA understands there is a housing crisis in Ontario, and a dire need for long-term care space. But those issues do not have to be addressed at the expense of the land where we grow our food, fuel, fibre and flowers.

Growth and development should be directed inwards and upwards, because the alternative — losing more than a family farm per day — is simply not sustainable.