A local farmer discussed the challenges of farming in Ontario on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
Paul Burnham has been a life-long farmer between Cobourg and Port Hope.
Burnham was invited to speak at Trinity United Church after the morning service about farming and the future of it.
In his speech, Burnham spoke about how many things can affect the future of farming.
As an advocate of prime farmland Burnham says it’s imperative to save “good” farmland.
Something which many people may not be aware of.
Any farmer can tell you that the best land is already covered. 80% of Ontario’s Class 1 and 2 soil can be seen from the top of the CN tower, that’s right, it is covered by the skyscrapers, factories and suburbs of Toronto.”
Currently there is a local proposal to turn 1,600 acres of prime farmland between Cobourg and Port
Hope in houses and industry.
Once the farmland is gone – it is gone forever.
And Burnham says the land is some of the best farmland in Ontario, or possibly even Canada.
Below is Burnham’s speech in its entirety.
As the life-long farmer says, “We have only one chance. Lets get it right.
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Good evening and thank you for inviting me to this meeting. As supporters of this grand building, I’m sure you understand the importance of historical events and how the future is molded and affected by them. Be they wars, political scandals or successes, local heroes and villains, our community history, climate change, and even our own individual family histories.
Today, I am going to take on settlement and development, the importance of agriculture, what has happened, what is happening, and what could happen in the future. I will also relate this as it pertains to my and my families’ personal situations and challenges.
As most of you know, settlement by our European and American ancestors started around water sources and good soil. Those early settlers chose land close to rivers and streams for their lifegiving water. This water could also be used to power mills and provide transport for trading goods. The communities grew and land was needed to feed everyone so trees were cleared and fields were planted. Food was not imported then, and locally grown food was not just an option, it was survival. Therefore, good, fertile, land was respected and valued.
Years pass and we now see these communities turn into towns and cities with complicated infrastructure such as water purification and sewers. The problem is that the very soil that they sought in the beginning, the rich loams and silts that occurred along river valleys, slowly got eaten up by the urban sprawl.
Currently, we rely on other countries for some of our food. We no longer eat seasonally, that is, fresh fruit when it is in season, and preserved food in the off season, we have most foods available all year round. A good example is strawberries. This used to be a 3 to 5 week season in June and July. Now we have berries available all year. The good news is that Ontario growers have adapted greenhouses to grow our own all year long instead of relying solely on American fruit.
I have been advocating for as long as I can remember for the preservation of good farmland. Any farmer can tell you that the best land is already covered. 80% of Ontario’s Class 1 and 2 soil can be seen from the top of the CN tower, that’s right, it is covered by the skyscrapers, factories and suburbs of Toronto.
Dad sat me down at the Kitchen table in the early “70’s when I was 16 and asked me, “Do you want to farm”? Because, developers had the great idea that the land between Cobourg and Port Hope was ripe for speculation and possible development. My answer was yes, and Dad didn’t sell the land.
Development pressure eased and all those farms that were bought up changed hands a couple of times so that now one individual owns a lot of the land between our two towns Remarkably, little interest has been shown since that time, until just recently, but I’ll talk about that in a bit.
Being caretakers of a piece of land that was settled by my ancestors some 250 years ago is a an honour and somewhat of a curse.
My Dad, during his lifetime, myself and now my kids know the land intimately. We know the fields, we know the hilly parts, we know the wet spots, the different tree species in the fencerows. We have the privilege of being able to step out our back door and taking a refreshing walk on our fields, watching the progress of the crops as the season change. We know what the land is capable of. Food, lots of it.
We are also cursed by this attachment. How many people here own old cars, art, furniture? I’m sure you treasure these items and a lot of times pass them on to your next generations for them to enjoy. So it is with the farm we live on. Any threat to selling the property for subdivisions or factories just seems wrong. We have nurtured and loved the land and are too attached to it to consider reaping any financial reward that would come by selling it.
Call us sentimental, call us tree huggers. These are badges we wear with pride.
And yet we see land disappear at alarming rates all around the world.
The most recent and local proposal is to turn 1600 acres of prime farmland, again between the 2 towns, into houses and industry. This land extends from the land where our market is almost to Hamilton Road, where the lights are as you enter Port Hope. This includes land from the lakeshore to the 401.
As you can imagine, the hairs on our backs stood on end when we heard this. To be truthful, this comes as no surprise. This land is mostly owned by one farmer close to 80 years old who has no family interested in continuing farming. This is a developers dream, only having to deal with one land owner with such a large acreage, a project that could easily last 50 years or more.
So here if the dilemma, when land is headed to development, the price to purchase this land skyrockets, farmers interested in expanding cannot afford the purchase price. Only companies with deep pockets can afford to buy the land, sit on it for any length of time until the time is right to build and resell.
The planners of today who are hired by the local municipalities are pressured by the owners/developers to designate their acreages as expansion for the towns. Our provincial government, while acknowledging the value of farmland, also bend to the wishes of these developers. They have been convinced that the 401 corridor is the preferred area for all industry and housing. This corridor also is right through the middle of the best farmland in Ontario, and possibly Canada. It is disappearing, it is gone forever once built upon.
Ontario is a huge province. One would think that we can provide food by expanding north. We cannot. I would say that all land that is available for food production in this province is already under cultivation. Once we travel north of Peterborough, more or less, we run into Canadian shield, with only pockets of good farmland between there and James Bay. There simply is no soil there and a warming climate will not change that.
Our family is facing, and will face, over the next number of years, decisions that will affect their personal lives, the life that the farm represents, and the resultant strain on our own mental health. If money could solve all the problems, we could sell, walk away and never look back. The monetary value of our land will only increase. Society will suffer the loss. If it were only that simple. If my kids didn’t want to farm, and a lot of farmers face that reality, their families chose other careers, then the decision would again be simple, sell the farm, distribute the proceeds, and try and enjoy the rest of my life.
As it stands now, all my family is committed to farming, Jen with her horses, Mark with his cash crop operation, Amy with her horticulture crops and bees, and Kate with the market. Selling out to the current development pressure is not an option. But what happens when the farm gets surrounded by houses. More people means more concerns about our noise, trespassers, safety concerns, etc. Will farming become unpleasant? Will we be forced to limit our hours of operation? I don’t know the answers to these questions.
If this development project goes ahead, we probably have another generation before pressure hits our fences.
What can we learn from the past? Ask the Dutch. During the second world war, a lot of their farms were commandeered by the Germans. Food was confiscated to feed the vast invading forces. They were hungry. AS a result, they now have very stringent development policies. Land is valued. Food sovereignty is uppermost. They know the value of feeding their own people. Lets hope that we develop strategies long before we lose the sovereignty provided by our land.
At present, we look for signs of a better and wiser thinking. I travelled to Guelph and then Simcoe, which is close to the north shore of Lake Erie this week. I saw the usual signs of development along the way. Large fields with the topsoil stripped and piled along the edges and roads marked out, huge houses on postage stamp lots. But I also saw more multi story townhouse units, and around city centres, more high rises. To me, that is encouraging, for, while reeling against losing all this land, I am realistic enough to recognize that, until we face food shortages, we will continue to expand our urban boundaries onto the fields surrounding these centres. If we are going to continue this way, then concentrate the development. Build dense subdivisions with these multi-story residences. If our population continues to spiral upwards, then are individual houses really the best use of the land?
In Pennsylvania and other states, concerned municipalities have introduced easements on farmland, where the farmer can take a one time payment per acre to give up his development rights. This keeps the land in agriculture for years to come.
More people are taking notice, our government is being pressured by agriculture advocates to save farmland, and we see government statements reflecting these concerns. We need to keep the pressure up so that more change happens. Talk to your local, provincial, and federal politicians. Offer solutions, because they are bombarded often with complaints but no answers.
The new political climate south of the border has given Canada a huge patriotic boost. Everyone, it seems, is talking about how they can buy more Canadian products. This is great. It supports the Buy local movement started a number of years ago and opens people’s eyes to how fast things can change as a result of a handful of power hungry dictators.
Last week, I talked to a farmer who has put his land into the Ontario Farmland Trust. This protects his farm for 1000 years from uses other than farming. Will our farm follow that lead? We’re not sure.
Meanwhile, back on the farm, we will continue to seed the land and reap the harvests.
We have only one chance. Lets get it right.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
