The idea for the Ontario Farmland Trust (OFT) began to emerge at a workshop on farmland preservation held in 2002 at the Mountsberg Conservation Area. Here, both farm and conservation groups came together to examine the farmland preservation issue and to ask whether a land trust dedicated to protecting farmland would be a positive step forward for Ontario. The workshop attracted far more participants than expected, and there emerged a strong agreement that both further research to document patterns of farmland loss and the establishment of a land trust to focus public attention were desirable steps to take.

The group that helped to establish the trust recognized in the beginning that it would be necessary to focus activities on issues related to farmland, farming, and farmers. It is not enough to preserve farmland if the farming community who farms that land is not equally supported.

Over the past two years the OFT has attained incorporated charitable status, and diverged from the university-based research program where it originated to become an independent organization. We have focused on building the organization, building good working relationships with major farm organizations, establishing a Board of Directors, and working to implement the practices necessary to conform to the new Canadian Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices. We have appeared at numerous farm meetings, key annual meetings and farm shows, and have hosted two major farmland preservation conferences. In 2007, we published Farmland Preservation: Land for Future Generations, an important book for the conservation community, based on these events. We have also had significant input to government policy, and now are sought out for advice by a number of agencies.

The OFT handles numerous requests from private landowners interested in agricultural easements or donations, and meetings with both municipal and provincial government agencies are ongoing, always directed at strengthening efforts to protect farmland in southern Ontario.