Local advocates to pitch farmland buyout plan for Centre Wellington
Farmers 'would be assured that their land would remain in production for decades': McPhedran
WELLINGTON COUNTY – As pressure grows to build more housing across Ontario, retired University of Guelph ecologist Tom Nudds and physician Peter McPhedran, are making the case that Wellington County farmland should be preserved for future generations.
Nudds argues farmland supports biodiversity that can help buffer against future environmental challenges, but these “environmental goods and services” are absent from the market value placed on farmland.
McPhedran sees lost agricultural land and urban sprawl as lost food security for Wellington County.
They are using their shared expertise to prepare a proposal for Centre Wellington Township, encouraging the municipality to purchase farmland that might otherwise be sold for development.
Nudds says farmers face strong financial incentives to sell their land to developers but he believes municipalities should intervene to preserve it for future generations.
From an economic standpoint, selling farmland for development often provides farmers with a substantial financial return.
However, Nudds maintains that farmland provides natural benefits, the value of which is not reflected in its sale price.
One example, he says, is productive agricultural soil. Microfauna and other organisms living within the soil contribute to healthy ecosystems, improve carbon storage and support long-term agricultural productivity. When farmland is developed, these ecological functions are lost.
Rather than viewing environmental protection as a cost, Nudds argues conserving these natural systems can reduce future expenses associated with environmental degradation.
“The value of environmental goods and services comes in the avoided costs of future damage,” said Nudds.
He and McPhedran hope the municipality will offer farmers close to market value for land that might otherwise be sold to developers.
Given many farmers sell for financial reasons rather than out of enthusiasm for development, McPhedran believes such a program could provide another option.
Central to the proposal is the use of municipal conservation easements. Under the model, the municipality would acquire the land to protect its ecological value while allowing it to remain available for agricultural use.
Should future community needs change, the easement could be repurchased by farmers or rented from the municipality, providing flexibility to adapt while safeguarding environmental benefits.
“(Farmers) would be assured that their land would remain in production for decades, maybe even generations, to come,” said McPhedran.
Nudds notes conservation organizations have successfully purchased land to protect important environmental resources.
Ducks Unlimited Canada, for example, has acquired farmland to restore and protect wetlands before working with farmers to keep the land in agricultural production. Nudds said a similar model could be adapted to preserve farmland around Centre Wellington.
Nudds and McPhedran say farmland preservation should be a prominent issue in this fall’s municipal election.
They hope to draw attention to the “cascading costs of farmland loss on both the environment and human health and well-being.”
