The Future and your Farmland

Protecting your farmland from future development

To protect land from development, you may choose to place an “easement” on the land through a federal, provincial or municipal government body, an independent, non-profit conservation organization or a land trust. An easement agreement is registered on title and prevents development of the land by future owners. It is not a transfer of title and it does not guarantee that the land will actually be used for agriculture. You will receive a tax receipt for the difference between the property’s fair market value before the easement is in place, and the fair market value after the easement has been registered.

You can read more about easements here:  https://ontariofarmlandtrust.ca/farmland-protection/farmland-easement-agreements/

Ontario Farmland Trust is a good place to start. You can also visit the Ontario Land Trust Alliance and look through their Land Trust Directory. Note that not all organizations accepting easements are listed and not all place easements on farmland.

Keeping your land in active production

If you want to keep your farmland in production into the future, the best way to do it is to sell it to a farmer, or place it in the hands of an organization dedicated to supporting the future of agriculture. Landowners in Ontario may donate land immediately or through their will. If you donate farmland to a charity, you will receive a charitable tax receipt for its fair market value. 

Supporting New Farmers

New farmers can seldom afford to purchase farmland. As a farmland owner, you can help by searching out a new farmer that shares your goals through, for example, posting on FindFarmland.ca (where you can specify the kind of relationship you are seeking), and then considering the following options:

•       leasing on a long-term basis to provide security. Moving a farm operation is costly and disruptive. Use the Making Good Farmland Agreements Guide to draft your agreement.
•       creating a lease-to-own agreement that allows a new farmer to establish their business and apply all or part of the rent to an eventual downpayment.
•       partnering with them to ease the cost of acquiring infrastructure etc in return for a share of profits
•       donating or selling your land to an organization specifically mandated to support new farmers, who may have a variety of ways to make it available to them

To connect with an organization in your area that works with new farmers, visit ontarionewfarmer.ca. Farms at Work is a charity operating throughout east central Ontario.