The Rocky Road to Protecting Prime Soils in Stone Mills

Back in 2006, after a partial and incomplete survey of local farmers, Stone Mills Township rezoned the bulk of its agricultural lands (including prime farmland with class 1 to 3 soils) as “rural,” paving the way for development by skirting the Provincial Policy Statements’ protections on prime farmland.

The loss of prime farmland protections came home to roost in 2023 after a developer – in spite of significant farmer-led opposition – received Township approval to sever a 50 acre plot of farmland off Robinson Road for the construction of executive homes. While much of Stone Mills is covered in marginal, shallow (0 to 8 inch) soils, this 50-acre tile-drained field has several feet of Class 2 soil that has supported corn, soybean and wheat for decades under the previous owner, the Galbraith family.

Concerned farmers and community members have since packed Stone Mills Township meetings to ensure that what happened to the Galbraith land will not be repeated in the township’s estimated 25,000 acres of remaining prime farmland. Following public input, Reeve John Wise – himself a long-time farmer – and council have requested a county-wide Land Evaluation and Area Review (LEAR) study to help identify and protect prime agricultural lands from further loss.

With the LEAR study requiring up to four years to complete, a farmland protection group is asking the council to provide immediate provisional protections.

“Working with local farmers to protect our prime farmland is essential for securing our food system, our heritage, and our rural identity. We cannot forsake our responsibility to those who will come after us.” – Krista-Lee Woodcock, Stone Mills councillor and NFU-O member

Reach out to Krista-Lee Woodcock if you’d like to share your concerns around the need to protect farmland in Stone Mills Township:

krystaleewoodcock@gmail.com, 613-885-9448

Contact Andrew Michalski, NFU-O member, farmer, and member of a Stone Mills farmland protection group for information on the public campaign to protect farmland in the Township:

stisidorefarm.net@gmail.com, 613-377-6302