Loss of farmland continues to be top of mind for Ontario farmers

May 16, 2023

Land development policy changes in Ontario continue to cause confusion within the agricultural sector.

The Ontario government has introduced several policies aimed at accelerating housing construction, including opening up the Greenbelt and other farmland, reclassifying wetlands, and allowing municipalities to expand beyond established urban limits.

While the government claims these changes will facilitate housing development, critics argue that they will exacerbate the loss of farmland.

The lack of transparency and communication from the government has made it challenging for journalists and municipal planners to understand the impacts of these complex policies. With Ontario losing an average of 319 acres of farmland per day to development, there are growing concerns about the long-term consequences and the protection of prime agricultural areas.

Farmers and agricultural organizations are calling for a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of these policy changes before further modifications are made. They fear that the increased severance allowance and minimum distance requirements could hinder livestock operations and lead to a decline in the number of livestock farms.

The government’s fast-paced approach without considering the impact of previous actions has raised concerns about the future of Ontario’s agricultural sector and the preservation of its valuable resources.

Source : Black Burn News

Video: How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Across the open plains of North Dakota and South Dakota, sunflower fields turn the American landscape into a sea of gold. In this farming documentary, we go inside modern sunflower farming to see how farmers plant, grow, harvest, clean, dry, process, and transform sunflower seeds into valuable products used every day.

In 2024, American farmers harvested about 1.15 billion pounds of sunflowers. This video follows the full journey from warm spring planting to combine harvesting, seed cleaning, storage, oil extraction, refining, roasting, packaging, and animal feed production.

You will see how sunflower seeds are processed into cooking oil, roasted snacks, bakery ingredients, birdseed, livestock feed, and useful byproducts. From golden fields to modern processing plants, this is the story of how a beautiful flower becomes one of America’s important oilseed crops.

Watch until the end to discover how sunflower farming connects farmers, machines, factories, food production, and sustainable agriculture.