Past, present and future

BY KIRK STARRATT

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The intention of Kings County’s Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) is to protect agricultural land and it has, in essence, remained the same since its establishment nearly 30 years ago.

However, times are changing in the agricultural industry and pressure to develop residential housing on high capability soils remains.

The focus of the quarterly meeting of the Eastern Kings Chamber of Commerce (EKCC) at the Old Orchard Inn in Greenwich Wednesday, Sept. 17 was “Kings County MPS – Past, Present and Future for Agriculture”.

The past

Speaking on the past, Fred Walsh, a former Kings County councillor and a member of the Order of Canada, said when he went to England in 1961 as a farm scholar, he couldn’t believe that the land surrounding a village where he was staying that was being used for agricultural purposes had been zoned that way for 300 years. There was a limited amount of farmland and people wanted to preserve it.

Walsh said he wanted to become a Kings County councillor in part to do something to protect farmland here. He was elected in 1969 and brought in the idea of land use planning. They used to hold week-long seminars and established a land use plan by working diligently. There were people from all across the county involved.

“Once you set a plan, you have to adhere to it,” Walsh said, recalling a time as a councillor when he wouldn’t allow five acres of farmland to be used to establish a business because it would be breaking the bylaw, despite the attitude that it was only five acres. Walsh said every succeeding warden allowed a little bit of farmland to go, destroying the bylaw.

He said they are very stringent with land use in Great Britain and citizens contribute to the subsidization of farmers. Walsh said it’s hard to make money on a farm in Nova Scotia today and most farm families need other jobs. That’s the reason why so many want to sell and we should help these agrarians so they don’t go into receivership.

Walsh said it’s frustrating because he wants to plan ahead for future generations, but things don’t always work that way in this county.

“I think it’s necessary to plan ahead, not for the next generation or two, but beyond that,” he said. “Who’s going to feed all the people? You have to feed them.”

The present

Speaking on the present of agricultural land use from a planning perspective, Kings County Community Development Services director Bill Butler said if you don’t know where you’ve been, you probably wouldn’t understand where you are.

The MPS was established in 1979 and although there have been small changes in the objectives over the years, it has essentially remained the same; to protect good quality farmland.

In 2007, 58 per cent of development went to growth centres and 11 per cent to the agricultural district. He said 2005 was the “high and low”, with 71 per cent of development going to growth centres and only five per cent to the agricultural district. Between 1981 and 2006, there were about 8,200 new dwelling units built in the county, an average of about 328 per year. Butler said the cumulative effect is quite significant.

He said there have been three formal plan revisions since 1979, the most recent being the agricultural review, where individuals served on a committee and prepared amendments soon to be ratified by council.

“What seems simple and straightforward usually isn’t,” Butler said. “The devil is in the details.”

Butler said accurate soil mapping has been an issue in the past, but county maps are now very accurate. However, he said no mapping could be 100 per cent accurate when it comes to detailing the quality of agricultural land. Mapping changes have slightly reduced the size of the agricultural district over the years.

He said the agricultural district is down the middle of the Valley floor, along with the growth centres and towns. There is inherent conflict between agricultural land use and development pressure.

Butler said it’s to the credit of those who have served on council that the basic planning direction has remained the same over the years. Farmland protection led from an industry initiative, but now includes a significant portion of non-farm residents concerned with food security. Because of the level of interest, “buy local” initiatives are being promoted and this is helping local producers stay in business.

He said the province has to play a larger role and establish overall provincial standards for farmland protection.

“We get held up to a higher standard because we’ve chosen to do so,” he said. “The public needs to accept more responsibility for farmland protection.”

Butler said there is a seminar at the Old Orchard Inn regarding land trusts and land banking for agricultural purposes coming up Nov. 17.

The future

Gary Morton of Morton Horticulture Associates, who has worked with farmers for over 25 years and focused his presentation on the future of agricultural land use, said we try to learn from the mistakes of the past, we live in the present and we plan for the future. In terms of market opportunities, since the 1960s the bulk of commodity prices have been going down while value-added has been increasing.

Farmers have the option of going direct to consumers or going through the wholesale chain. There is a huge span between what a farmer gets for a pound of apples compared to what the consumer pays the retailer.

In 2002, we consumed $75 billion in food products in Canada and $5 billion in Atlantic Canada, much more than was produced here. Food represents an average annual household expenditure of 11.4 per cent in Nova Scotia. We have 3,795 farms in our province with a total farm gate of $509 million; $170 million in Kings County, or 34 per cent of the provincial total. There are 995,943 acres of farmland in the province, about 120,000 in Kings County.

“They don’t make any more farmland,” Morton said.

The total number of farms is decreasing; due partially to rising input costs and the financial burden of increasing food safety regulations while the cost of buying farms is rising. On average, most food travels 2,000 km and food sovereignty is a huge issue. Hurricanes, trucker strikes and 9/11 are among events that led to food shortages here in recent years.

The agricultural landscape is changing with more “interface farming” in crossover zones where farming operations and residential communities co-exist.

Agri-tourism is gaining momentum with the number of wineries increasing and people looking for the farm experience. “Buy local” initiatives and the “100-mile diet” are gaining momentum and some farm market operators have told him they didn’t see a dip in business in January and February for the first time this past year. People will want to buy local and this will be helped by trends in value added and retailing.

Morton said there are lots of local success stories and lots of local “agri-vators”; innovators in the field of agriculture.

“When looking to protect farmland, encourage people to buy local and get more people interested in local farms,” he said. “It comes down to how much you like to eat and who is in control of your food. If things change, we’ll have to be able to buy local.”

Conclusion

EKCC Agriculture Committee chairman Gerry Kennie summed up by pointing out that land use planning is a controversial topic. “We need development and we need to attract people to our area to increase the tax base,” he said. A balanced approach and lots of education is needed, he added, and some people will have to become more tolerant.

“I think the balanced approach will rule the day,” Kennie said, pointing out that agriculture is a huge part of our economy and lifestyle here.