Ontario Farmland Trust Celebrates New Easement
Posted: April 15, 2010
Categories: News from Sustain Ontario
The Ontario Farmland Trust is celebrating the securement of its third farmland conservation easement, now completed on a 50 acre farm north of Milton.
Made possible by the dedication and generosity of the late Mr. Alan Samuel and his wife, the late Valerie Stevens, as well as their children, the easement protects the property’s unique agricultural and natural features in perpetuity.
A Farm Family Legacy: Halton Farm Protected & New Farmers Take Root
Mr. Samuel first approached the Farmland Trust in late 2007 indicating his desire to see the farm preserved. He hoped that this project could serve as an example of protecting farmland for the “continuation and further development of sustainable agriculture in Canada.†Farming the property organically since the 1970s, Mr. Samuel hoped that he would provide an example of local food production and land management that respected the ecological integrity of the landscape.
A diversity of natural habitats are found on the property, including wetlands, river corridors and woodlands. There are also two spring-fed ponds on-site and an oak swamp forest. Â Twenty-five acres are productive farmland. In addition to protecting the land for its agricultural value, the easement ensures conservation, maintenance, restoration and enhancement of natural features.
Mr. Samuel wanted to leave the land for future generations of farmers. His youngest daughter, Marion, and her husband Ian, have found several farmers to work the land this spring, keeping the rich loam soil in production. Through FarmStart and the FarmLINK online “match-making†tool, they advertised the farm as an opportunity for new and beginning farmers. Luckily, a match was found and tractors will now be out on the fields again as a new small-scale farm enterprise takes root and a legacy in sustainable agriculture carries on.
An appreciation ceremony will be held in the fall to recognize the family’s contribution to agricultural land preservation in Ontario. OFT thanks the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation for providing funding to help secure this property.