Ontario Farmland Trust protects another farm in PEC

A 94-acre farm in Prince Edward County has become the 24th farm in Ontario to become protected under the Ontario Farmland Trust.

Dee Hazell and Peter Klaassen’s Farm in Consecon is known locally as Stonefield Eden Alpacas.

The couple has been raising alpacas on the land for the last several years, although it has previously been planted with winter wheat, beans, peas, and corn.

OFT Executive Director Martin Straathof says farms can be protected through a farmland conservation easement.

The landowner works with the land trust to determine whether the land is protected as agriculturally or ecologically significant or a combination of both.

“And then that agreement actually gets registered on the title of the property meaning that even after the property sells, all future landowners are still bound by the terms of that agreement which, in a nutshell stipulates, no, we’re not going to come in and bulldoze the forest or do lot severances in order to put up a subdivision or come in and try to do aggregate extraction.”

Stonefield Eden Alpacas farm in Consecon has been protected through the Ontario Farmland Trust. (Photo: Ontario Farmland Trust)

In addition to agricultural land, Straathof says Stonefield Eden Alpacas has natural areas that are home to a variety of wildlife including several species at risk, like the Barn Swallow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, Eastern
Meadowlark, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Midland Painted Turtle, and Monarch Butterfly.

“They provide these additional ecosystem services because there’s also a creek that runs through it that feeds into the North Bay as well as some old growth forest that is on the property as well.”

The OFT website cites 319 acres of farmland are lost to non-agricultural land uses like urban development and aggregate extraction every day in this province and that without strong protections in place for our farmland, we may not be able to provide enough food to feed our growing population.

According to the 2021 agricultural census, PEC has lost 34,706, or 23%, of its farmland since 2006.

The 375 farms in PEC generated over $125 million in farm cash receipts in 2023, while approximately 25% sell directly to consumers either through farm stands, farmers’ markets, or CSA programs.

Straathof says while there is a major housing crisis in the province, it’s not necessary to pit the needs for housing and agricultural land against each other.

“Really when we’ve seen the planning reports that have come out both from prominent planners across the province – even the province’s own housing affordability task force in their report they had noted that more land is not what is needed in order to meet the housing supply crisis that we’re currently facing. So there are alternative models to community development that doesn’t equate to sprawling subdivisions on our prime farmland.”

Straathof says the process to have a farmland conservation easement declared can take a year, to a year-and-a-half to complete.

They take their time to ensure they get the declaration right because agriculture changes over the years.

“We’ve seen agriculture change so much in the last 50 years alone, let alone, you know, 150 or more. And we’re taking about you, know, 1,000 years into the future with these agreements. So we have to really think carefully to make sure that we’re not undermining future farmers’ ability to maintain a viable farm business right because that would be just undermining our own intent. We want to see this land remain in agriculture production and we want to see it protected for those reasons.”

He adds there are some tax benefits available to landowners through the declaration.

Stonefield Eden Alpacas farm in Consecon has been protected through the Ontario Farmland Trust. (Photo: Ontario Farmland Trust)

The Ontario Farmland Trust celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024.

It has protected 27 farms over two decades, five of them, including Stonefield Eden Alpacas, in Prince Edward County.

Straathof says they are working on protecting six more this year.