Did you know that one of the largest industries in the County of Brant is agriculture? In fact, all five food groups are produced, as well as processed in some form or another right here in our own backyard.
From grains and oilseeds to beef and dairy products, eggs, apples, cherries, hazelnuts, ginseng and sweet corn, there are a variety of crops being grown throughout the County.
According to 2021 data from the Canadian Census of Agriculture, the County’s agriculture sector features around 669 farms across 148,590 acres of land and while that may seem like a lot, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has noted that Ontario is losing an average of 319 acres of productive farmland every day.
Although the County of Brant is said to be home to some of the most fertile land in Ontario, Brant alone had a 10 per cent decline in total area of farms between 2016 and 2021.
That’s just one reason why the Brant County Federation of Agriculture’s (BCFA) mission is to support, protect and celebrate the industry; to advocate for issues impacting local agriculture.
“We’re really the local advocacy group for the OFA and we work at the municipal level to represent Brant County farms and farmers in regards to things like trade and especially farmland preservation,” said Chris Stuart, president of BCFA.
Made up of farmers, producers, and agricultural professionals from all sectors, the BCFA’s primary purpose is to promote the interests of agriculture in the County, advocate for policy changes at local, provincial, and federal levels, and to provide valuable resources and support for its over 500 members.
Stuart, the 34-year-old third-generation dairy farmer who runs Stuartmere Farms alongside his dad and his cousin, has been involved with the BCFA for several years and having served previously as the Board Vice President, was recently elected as the BCFA’s new president this past September.
“So far, it’s a lot of emails and trying to organize things here and there while everybody has a bit more time in the winter,” he said. “Our members meet monthly to talk about the upcoming seasons, what’s happening in the news that may affect us locally and how to navigate different challenges.”
Stuart said that while advocating and lobbying for local farmers is a large part of the job, educating the non-farming population about the industry is too.
“I think it’s important to help educate people because they’re becoming more aware of where their food comes from and they want to know that we have the best interests in mind,” said Stuart. “In the past few years we’ve really tried to get involved in a couple initiatives like putting up signs on the border of fields; they just give you a summary of what crop is growing there and what it’s used in, and that’s been a great way to help make people aware about the value of farmland. As well, our past President, Mark Eddy, has been spearheading an initiative to help with safety around farm equipment on the roads.”
Stuart said that as development expands further and further, local farmers are finding that traffic has been increasing on county roads, meaning that there’s been an uptick in close calls.
“We’ve seen so many near misses and it’s getting worse. Not every farmer may see it, but I know Mark is on the road quite often and personally at my family’s farm, we certainly see it as well,” he said. “You know, farmers do their best to have hazard lights and slow moving vehicles signs and so I don’t know if it’s because drivers don’t recognize the signal or if they’re just in a hurry, but some of them are just driving so quickly and they’ll take that chance to pass you and it gets scary.”
He said that while the County of Brant has been working on getting signs and putting out its educational campaign during the spring and fall seasons, Eddy has also managed to secure a few dash-cameras for farmers working in high-risk areas so they can physically show the OPP and the MTO the severity of the issue.
Stuart explained that while the agriculture industry is rapidly evolving and fewer people are perhaps willing to take on their family farms full-time, he hopes to encourage younger generations to get involved in the industry even if it’s not primarily hands-on farming.
“I’d like to see more young people involved because a lot of our farmers are getting older; it’s no easy task taking on a family farm but it can be done. Actually, another thing some of our BCFA members do is help out Jean Emmott with the Bite of Brant program for Grade 5s; I know I’ve helped out a few times and it’s a great chance for kids to see that there are so many jobs in the industry that aren’t necessarily farming, but go hand-in-hand with farmers. We also give out two bursaries every year for post-secondary students in agriculture programs so I know that really helps them out.”
While the year has just begun and the growing season is quickly approaching, Stuart said that as far as what’s coming up in the near future, members can expect the return of the annual BCFA banquet.
“We haven’t had one since 2020 and so we’ll be bringing that back. It used to be the first Saturday in February but this year it will be on March 1 at 6:00 p.m.,” he said. “We’ll have door prizes and a silent auction, and following dinner we have Dan Needles up there as our guest speaker so we’re looking forward to doing that again.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
