[getsmart-l] FYI: Urban sprawl threatens farms - and farmers

[John O'Gorman]

"The report says the average gross revenue per farm is $74,740, but after expenses, the number is likely much lower, leading to people working off the farm to supplement their income. " 



Sender: Frances Thurlow 
The following appeared in the Kingston Whig Standard today.  Is there another Greenbelt in the offing?  This is John Gerretson's turf.  The good news as I see it, is that finally somebody is waking up to the fact, that farms are in trouble.  Amalgamation did nothing for this area.  The city knew when they amalgamated, that they were taking in all these farms.  Fran.  
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URBAN SPRAWL THREATENS FARMS 
Rural land disappearing, report says 
By Jordan Press
Whig Standard Staff Writer
  The proliferation of country-side homes and weekend getaways in the city's rural areas may choke the life out of Kingston's farming industry, according to a new report. 
  The city's newly released agriculture study says the municipality has a role to play in what is a problem in Kingston's rural area.
   Since 1997 municipal amalgamation people with no interest in farming have been buying swaths of rural land on the fringe of Kingston's urban areas.  This has led to conflicts between urban and rural interests. the report says. 
  "These trends in ownership introduce owners who do not necessarily have sympathy or interest in local farming operations." the report from Port Hope based Clark Consulting Services states.  "These trends are cause for concern as to the long term future of farming in many sections of the city.
  "Historically, the rural community [has] relied on farming.  It is now becoming obvious that farming is going to have to rely on the rural community to maintain itself."
  Councillor Joyce MacLeod Kane, who represents the largely rural district of Countryside, said the city needs to show rural residents that it understands their unique needs. 
  "The rural area has different needs that need to be met," she said. 
  "Who's feeding the urban people?  If you don't maintain good farmland, you're not going to eat."
  The study is the first to look at how the city's agricultural sector has fared since the amalgamation of the city with the townships of Kingston and Pittsburgh in 1997.  Of the city's 453 square kilometres, 353 are rural lands, according to the city's website. 
  The study findings will be used to develop the new official plan for the amalgamated city.  The study itself will be discussed at Wednesday's rural affairs advisory committee meeting, which starts at 4:30p.m. at the Cataraqui Community Centre on Sunnyside Road. 
  Provincial standards currently require a minimum distance between a development and a farm.  The more developments to appear around farms, the less space a farmer has to expand on his or her property, said committee chair Jeff Scott.
  "It's been a real problem up until now," he said.  "What this plan is looking at doing is changing the onus."
  Instead of farmers being told they can't develop their land, the report recommends that developer's prove they won't impact existing farms. 
  Scott said the report gives the two councillors who represent rural districts- MacLeod-Kane and Councillor Leonore Foster in Pittsburgh district- a mandate to address rural issues. 
  Committee member Glen Tolls, a retired farmer, said the report "paints the picture as it is" of the city's rural area. 
  Farming in Kingston takes up approximately 47,200 acres of land, or about eight times the size of the Memorial Centre property.  The number of farms in the city decreased to 203 farms in 2001 from 216 farms in 1991.
  According to the report, the average age of the area's 300 farmers is about 53.  The average age of the labour force in Kingston is about 39.
  "The increasing age....is an indication that young operators are not choosing to continue with family farms and farming has not been an attractive career choice," the report states. 
  While Kingston was once known as a dairy farming area, it's now known for cash crops--those grown to be sold instead of being used for food on the farm.   "The dramatic changes in grain, corn and soybeans suggest a trend to cash cropping and away from livestock," the consultants write.   "The area is losing its dominance in dary farming provincially and there does not appear to be a corresponding increase in other livestock."  
  Most of the food grown locally isn't processed locally, which has increased costs for farmers, the report says.  Milk produced in Kinston may go to places such as Belleville for processing.
  The city's economic development agency and the National Farmer's Union are working to promote Kingston's agricultural sector.  The hope is that locally grown produce will be purchased locally, said committee vice chair Lorne Long. 
  The city also set aside $50,000 in its budget this year to hire a rural economic development officer.  In addition to helping local farmers, the new officer would lobby upper levels of government.
  The report says the average gross revenue per farm is $74,740, but after expenses, the number is likely much lower, leading to people working off the farm to supplement their income.  
  Environmental regulations are also a concern.  Farmers note that they have to follow rules for their land that may impact operations without any financial help from government
  "An improved tax policy for farmers needs to be looked at," MacLeod-Kane said.
  Much of the prime soil for farming is in the former Pittsburgh township.  The report noted this is the only area in Kingston where investments have been made in improving drainage. 
  The type of soil in Pitytsburgh is known as "Rock Outcrops."  Usually granite from the Laurentian Shield juts up through the soil at different spots and causes drainage issues.  
  The consultants recommend prtecting prime spots as part of the official plan.
  "Policies have to be put in place," Long said.  "If there's going to be expansion--it has to be done in a manner where you're not going to have a development next to a chicken farm."
  The consultants recommend the creation of an agricultural action committee made up of farmers, local, regional and provincial politicians, and economic development agencies.  
   
   


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