When Industry Moves Next Door: Farming on the Edge of Uncertainty

Monday, September 22, 2025

‘Who is Going to Feed Us Now?’

By Mary Loggan

Eva Wagler farms at a crossroads – operating next door to the controversial Wilmot Township expropriation boundary and now bracing for the industrial development to come.

Wagler and husband Tim are one more example of how Ontario farmers are struggling to survive as industrial development continues to overtake prime agricultural land.

With more farmland being converted into sprawling business parks, one urgent question arises: How can family farms survive?

For Wagler, the growing tension between farmland and industrial sprawl influences every decision she makes.

The years of investment, the careful stewardship of water and soil, and growing food for the region’s dinner tables are now threatened by new neighbours whose priorities are industrial development and corporate profits.

At stake is not only this farm’s future but a part of Ontario’s food system – one that, once lost, can never truly be reclaimed.

Better Farming recently connected with Wagler to discuss what it’s like to be farming on the edge of uncertainty.

Farm beginnings

Wagler’s farming journey began when she arrived in Canada from the Czech Republic. “I came to Canada 19 years ago and started working on this farm.”

The farm itself has a deep history in agriculture, established by some of the first settlers of Wilmot in 1825. Eventually, Wagler purchased the farm in 2015.

“The only reason they sold us the farm was because they wanted it to stay a farm – to keep the land productive and protect it from industrial development.”

Central to Wagler’s operation is their family-run business, St. Jacobs Foods, which specializes in producing traditional, naturally fermented Eastern European foods made directly from the farm’s own cabbage crop.

“We grow our own cabbage, harvest it by hand, and process it right on the farm – keeping everything as pure and natural as possible,” says Wagler.

Signature products include sour cabbage heads, whole cabbages fermented in salt brine and favoured for making European cabbage rolls, and naturally fermented sauerkraut – shredded cabbage mixed with salt and fermented without additives or pasteurization.

Wagler notes, “We have both full-time and seasonal workers,” reflecting both local job creation and community engagement.

She also highlights the role of natural resources: “Water is one of the main ingredients for our products. We have a pond for irrigation, fed by creeks flowing through neighbouring properties,” showing the close link between sustainable farming and product quality.

“It was hard work, but the land spoke to us. We were not just growing crops; we were building a livelihood and a community.”

Encroaching threats

The Region of Waterloo’s plans to convert roughly 770 acres of fertile farmland in Wilmot into industrial zones present an existential threat.

The latest update is that the Region has secured over 70 per cent of the farmland needed for the project, having acquired about 550 acres spanning six properties near Nafziger Road, Bleams Road, and Wilmot Centre Road.

Although Wagler’s farm currently lies just outside the expropriation boundary, its proximity feeds persistent anxiety.

“How do I know they won’t come for my farm next? How is living beside industry going to impact my crops, water, and business?

“My future is so uncertain now. Having your name on the deed used to mean something, but it doesn’t anymore.”

Wagler and her neighbours face an ever-growing series of challenges as industrial development edges closer to Ontario’s most productive farmland.

As natural creeks nourishing the farm’s irrigation pond are put at risk, the threat of industrial runoff becomes very real; oil, heavy metals, plastics, and other contaminants from truck traffic and manufacturing could find their way into the water that feeds their crops, ultimately jeopardizing both food safety and yield.

The 39-year-old’s worries do not stop at water. She also faces fears about air quality, with dust and pollution from heavy trucks possibly settling directly onto her cabbage crops.

Such pollution, she notes, isn’t just an eyesore – fine particulates from diesel exhaust and increased road traffic can affect plant health, damage soil structure, and introduce harmful residues into her crop.

“If the land is paved over or polluted, its productivity is gone forever,” she says.

There’s also a human cost. Noise, vibration, and intrusive light from nearby industrial development disrupt the rhythms so crucial to farm life.

The rise in truck and machinery traffic is expected to create busier roads and safety concerns for all who use rural roads, from slow-moving tractors to school buses, and families simply trying to get home, she says.

“We will see these impacts all the way to Kitchener. It’s going to affect all the farms along the way.”

The threat of expropriation, declining property values, and the inability to plan for the future leaves farmers, as Wagler describes, “always looking over our shoulder.”

Beyond the business and financial uncertainties, there’s the slow unravelling of the social fabric as more farmers feel pressured to sell – threatening crops, market networks, and an entire rural way of life. “These impacts are devastating because you can’t just get farmland back. Once it’s lost to industry, it’s lost for good.”

Financially, the uncertainty undermines their ability to grow the business they have worked so hard to build.

“This year, we had a chance to expand because demand was high,” She explains.

“We built an addition and invested a lot, but now our investment might be wasted. Our livelihood is at risk.”

Frustration mounts as decisions seem out of the hands of those who actually live and depend on the land.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. The people making these decisions have no brains!

“Don’t build on the land we need to grow food! Build on the land we don’t rely on to live.”

Wagler is clear that she and her neighbours are not opposed to progress outright. “We’re not fighting progress; we just want to protect the land that feeds people.”

The group is calling for balanced development that protects prime farmland and sustains the local food system while allowing for thoughtful, planned growth elsewhere.

Facing the future

The future holds many questions, Wagler admits.

“What rights do we have? What can we do? Should we start thinking about relocating? What if the water gets contaminated and our property loses value?”

Despite these fears, her resolve is firm: “I’m not going to sit around and let this opportunity go to someone else when I’m offered the opportunity to expand my business.

“It’s not fair that I always have to be looking over my shoulder. I wake every morning, wondering what’s next. What are they going to throw at us now?”

She still dreams of a future free of industrial intrusion. “I want to farm here until I retire. I want to enjoy my land and the outdoors, not be poisoned or face a factory in my backyard.”

For Wagler, farming is inseparable from core values. “There’s nothing more important than being able to grow our own food here at home. Why destroy the land that feeds us? This is prime farmland. It’s foolish to put that at risk.”

She points to environmental lessons nearby: “Our groundwater should be protected. It happened in Elmira, where water wasn’t protected, and they are still trying to clean it up. That could happen here.”

(Elmira’s groundwater has remained undrinkable since 1989 due to persistent contamination from industrial chemicals such as NDMA and, more recently, chlorobenzene, with decades-long cleanup efforts unable to meet drinking water standards.)

The threat to local food sovereignty rings alarm bells as well. “Food should always come first. Why would we import food when we can grow plenty right here?

“Soon, we won’t have any farmland left. But they want factories here? It just doesn’t make sense.”

She notes the economic role of agriculture too: Ontario’s agri-food industry contributes nearly $51 billion to the province’s GDP and employs one in nine adults across the province, making it a cornerstone of both the economy and the community.

The call to protect farmland

Wagler poses important questions: “How can we protect ourselves? What can we do? I don’t feel like I have any rights or a chance to fight this. They bully and push everyone around and don’t care.”

She calls for stronger government protections and meaningful consultation with those living on the land: “We need more protection from development and government involvement. There should be more consultation with people who live here. This is their home.”

She is skeptical of current land-use choices: “There are so many other options. Now they’re even turning land zoned for industrial use into houses. But they say they need industrial land now. The demand is real. But is it, though? If they are building houses instead?

“Nothing about this makes any sense.”

Her call to the farming community is clear: “We have to figure out how to protect our farms. Don’t let yourself be bullied. Don’t let them push you around. The reality is stark and urgent.

“Expropriation is a scary word, and everyone should be worried.”

Wagler says choices made now will determine whether farms like hers endure or fall victim to industrial expansion, with implications for local food systems and community identity.

“Every farmer could be at risk, no matter where you are. So what are you going to do about it?” BF