Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Greenbelt timelines short says task team leader

Thursday, March 20, 2008

by DON STONEMAN

Pearse’s farm counts among the 1.8 million acres of “environmentally sensitive and agricultural land” encompassed when the Greenbelt Act was passed in early 2005. The designation prevents urban development within the area.

The province is considering expanding the Greenbelt to areas adjacent to it. A licensed real estate agent as well as a farmer, Pearse says the Greenbelt designation, like any other “encumbrance” on a deed, devalues his property and there is no compensation.

To add to injury, Pearse says the Greenbelt enactment stopped him mid-way through the process of severing a rural retirement lot for his father. Pearse says he was using a planner to obtain the severance and fees cost him $15,000, money he says he can’t get back.

Haldimand farmer Wendy Omvlee can expect to hear from farmers in favour and against a Greenbelt expansion. She was named chair of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) “Greenbelt expansion task team” on Thursday. She says the team will be made up of farmers already inside and outside the Greenbelt.

Terms of reference for the task team will be developed at a meeting this coming Wednesday, she told Better Farming.

“Upper tier” municipalities can apply for inclusion if they are adjacent to the existing Greenbelt area. They include the Omvlee’s own county of Haldimand, as well as Brant, Wellington, Dufferin, Simcoe, Peterborough and Northumberland; the Region of Waterloo, areas of Niagara not already included, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Omvlee says she “wouldn’t be surprised” if Brant County seeks the Greenbelt designation. “Because of the Greenbelt a lot of leapfrogging (of development) has been going on in Brant County.”

The province will hear comments on the Greenbelt proposal until Apr. 30. The OFA task team plans to present its findings to an OFA board meeting in mid-April.

Omvlee’s task team is holding three consultation meetings on expanding the green belt – Friday, Apr. 4 in Ancaster, Monday Apr. 7 in Orangeville, and Tuesday, Apr. 8 in Peterborough. All meetings are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and conclude by 3 p.m.

Might there be more meetings? “I don’t want to say no,” Omvlee says, but time is short.

OFA policy researcher Peter Jeffery has already met with federations in counties where a Greenbelt designation might be imposed.

The Greenbelt expansion proposal, number 010-2866, is posted on Ontario’s Environmental Registry BF

 

Current Issue

October 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Gleaner T Series Combine Updates

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Gleaner continues to advance harvest technology with its new T Series combine, delivering major improvements in power, reliability, and ease of operation. Designed with the farmer in mind, the T Series focuses on performance, accessibility, and cutting-edge precision tools for... Read this article online

New MacDon FD2 Plus Draper Header

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Case IH continues to expand its innovative harvest equipment lineup with the launch of the MacDon FD2 Plus Draper Header, a new series designed to provide farmers with smoother, cleaner, and more efficient harvesting. Available in multiple widths — 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and even 61... Read this article online

New Holland IntelliSense Tech Elevates Crop Efficiency

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

The IntelliSense system features a forward-looking sensor mounted at the cab’s center line, allowing the sprayer to assess crop quality up to 50 feet ahead. It operates in two main modes: variable rate application and spot spraying. In variable rate mode, the system uses sunlight... Read this article online

Horror movies filmed in rural Ontario

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

As picturesque as rural Ontario and its farm settings can be, the landscape can also create the perfect backdrop to send chills down a spine. With that at top of mind and in celebration of all things spooky and horror in October, here are some horror movies filmed around rural... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top