Ontario is not running out of cropland, says University of Guelph professor

Posted on May 8th, 2017 by Jennifer Hannan

GUELPH - Urban sprawl has long been an issue in Ontario, and the Canadian Senate is currently reviewing the availability and ownership of farmland across Canada, sparked by concerns that farmland is getting gobbled up by developers and housing. It’s not a new fear, said University of Guelph agriculture economist Glenn Fox. Research on the issue in Ontario was first done back in 1980, prompted by a public perception that there was a crisis and Ontario’s farmland was rapidly disappearing.... 

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Proposed county plan aims to balance needs of the farming community with desire to protect the environment

Posted on Apr 25th, 2017 by Jennifer Hannan

A proposed natural heritage plan for Grey County appears to have avoided the landowner hostility that greeted a proposal, subsequently withdrawn, for expanded controls in some areas by the provincially-appointed Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC). “We definitely heard comments from farmers and from landowners,” Randy Scherzer, Grey County planning director, said in an interview about the county’s proposed “Green in Grey” plan, which is part of a current Official Plan review. Grey is among many rural municipalities within the Lake Huron and Lake Ontario watersheds to undertake natural heritage planning required by a 2014 provincial directive.... 

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Good-quality used farm equipment continues to bring in solid dollars across Ontario

Posted on Apr 10th, 2017 by Jennifer Hannan

LINDSAY - Used equipment prices are continuing to soar across Ontario. Auctioneer Ab Carroll hosted a consignment auction in Lindsay on March 25 and prices, in some cases, were double what Carroll expected. He sold a 1987 Deutz-Allis 6265 four-wheel drive tractor with a cabin and a Q740 Quicke loader and 5,700 hours on it for $21,000 to a local farmer. “I would’ve expected between $10,000 and $12,000,” Carroll told Farmers Forum.... 

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