Issues & Programs
Programs
Land Securement
The Ontario Farmland Trust works to secure valuable farmland by accepting donations of land or through the purchase of properties. We also help farm owners permanently protect their farmlands through the use of conservation easements.
Places to Grow Food
The Ontario Farmland Trust is engaged in a major three-year education and outreach campaign targetting municipalities, planners, rural non-farm landowners and the broader community. The goal of the campaign is to help ensure that farmland remains in farming and to build support for a 'Places to Grow Food' Blueprint for Ontario.
Agricultural Gifts Program
There are a number of tools that the Ontario Farmland Trust is working on to enable farmers to protect their land for farming. Tax incentives for farmers who donate their farmland, similar to the Ecological Gifts program (where landowners are offered tax credits for donations of ecologically sensitive lands) are needed.
FarmLINK Ontario
The Ontario Farmland Trust, FarmStart and the Kawartha Heritage Conservancy have developed a program which is designed to bring together new farmers who are looking for land or mentorship with farm owners who are interested in selling or leasing a portion of their land for agricultural use or who have expertise to share. Initially, FarmLINK will act as an online bulletin board where new farmers can post descriptions of their land needs, and established farmers and landowners can post descriptions of their farms and available land.
Demystifying Agricultural Easements in Ontario
The Ontario Farmland Trust collaborated with the Kawartha Heritage Conservancy to research and develop a report on the use of agricultural easements in Ontario. The report will help farmland owners and purchasers, real estate agents, appraisers, financial planners, land use planners, lawyers, and others to understand how to make legal and financial sense of this important tool, which can help protect some of our best farms for future agricultural production. The report is available to download in the Resources section of this website.
