Food and farming in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
Posted: February 6, 2010
Categories: News from Sustain Ontario
Are you looking for ways to add value to your farm?
Are you trying something new on your farm?
Have you tried to do something innovative on your farm? If so, have you been helped or hindered by your local planning authority?
Have you presented plans for an innovative use of your farm to local Council or to the Ontario Municipal Board?
If your answer to any of the above questions is “yes,†Sustain Ontario would like to hear from you.
Students from Ryerson University’s Master of Planning program are currently working with Sustain Ontario on a project regarding farm innovation in Ontario. In an effort to understand the land use planning issues related to creating a local, sustainable food network in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the students are looking to identify barriers to and opportunities for on-farm innovation in southern Ontario.
Currently, they are in the process of compiling land use planning-related examples of challenges faced by farmers that want to incorporate innovative agricultural practices into their farm operations. So far, land use issues such as minimum distance separation, secondary uses, and market stands have been identified as concerns that may affect farmers that want to be innovative. To further illustrate these issues, the students would benefit from real-life examples of the challenges that farmers run into when dealing with land-use planning issues. Specifically, the students are looking for local municipal council decisions and Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) decisions related to innovative agricultural practices in the region.
In an effort to assist the students in their research, Sustain Ontario is asking you to identify specific land use cases with which you are familiar. With Sustain Ontario’s help, the students will be directed to appropriate public decisions-of-record for this stage of research. Sustain Ontario members who wish to tell their stories in more detail can write info@sustainontario.com and we will contact you about this project.
If you have a land use planning issue that you think might be useful to the students’ research, or if you have examples of farm innovation that you would like to share, please share with Sustain Ontario:
• the date of the land use planning application (if applicable)
• the local and/or regional municipal Council that heard and ruled on the application
• the general nature of the application / incident / inquiry
• whether or not a public record of decision was reached and if it can be accessed
By sharing your story, you will contribute to our growing database of local narratives. Please help local farmers innovate and cultivate a local agricultural economy.