The Ontario Farmland Trust’s annual Farmland Forum, scheduled for March 20 in Elora, will this year focus on protecting water resources. Specifically, the connection between watershed protection and the future of Ontario’s farmlands.
The full-day event at the GrandWay Events Centre, which can be attended in person or online, will bring together farmers, conservationists, planners, and policymakers to tackle the challenge of protecting Ontario’s watersheds.
The forums began in 2002 with University of Guelph researchers called the Farmland Preservation Research Project. The Ontario Farmland Trust (OFT) has organized the gatherings since its inception in 2004.
“These researchers from the University of Guelph had identified the alarming rate at which farmland was being lost in the province, and they were looking at some other jurisdictions, particularly down in the U.S., to see what other tools they were using to help combat the rate of farmland lost,” said explained OTF executive director Martin Straathof.
“Agricultural land trusts were one them. So, the Farmland Forum is a bit of a legacy that has led from the establishing the trust to continuing on with dialogue on different issues that impact the protection and preservation of our farmland.”
This year’s theme is watershed wisdom and its protection’s role in farmland conversation, said Straathof.
“We need to think about the different impacts that both the agricultural system and our land use planning policies and decisions have on the long-term impact of water availability and how that ends up sustaining our food production.”
One characteristic that stands out about the Farmland Forum is that it brings together people from different areas of the sector, like farmers, conservationists, councillors and even students, said Straathof.
He told The Observer that this platform is a great opportunity for these stakeholders to talk and interact and also learn about a critical theme facing agriculture.
“At times, folks working within the conservation sector often ask us, ‘How do we get ourselves in front of the agricultural community and in front of farmers? And how do we talk the talk that agriculture understands in a way that might sound slightly different than the way the conservation community sounds?’”
That sentiment also goes the other way, with farmers being interested in environmental conservation, noted Straathof. An interest in collaboration and learningis also a major focus for OFT and the forum, in which all its panels and talks promote networking and interactions.
“We also have dedicated discussion time for folks. If you’re joining us in person, there are prompts with questions that prompt table discussion. We also encourage folks to get up and move tables periodically throughout the day,” said Straathof.
“It’s a great opportunity to build those networks and be able to have those people being able to contact other experts within the field to be able to discuss these topics, but also hear from the others where we were hearing from the speakers and the panellists, but also you hear from around your table with some of the challenges that they see within their communities, but as well as the opportunities as well.”
People attending online via Zoom can also participate in these discussions through breakout rooms.
“We can find ourselves in echo chambers of similar groups quite consistently… getting all of these different types of stakeholders into one room and listening and communicating with each other is so critical to being able to help support the agricultural sector.”
Registration for the event is open until March 13 for in-person attendance and March 18 if you plan on attending online. More information is available at www.ontariofarmlandtrust.ca.
