The Citizen, 2016-11-24, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016. PAGE 13.
County may allow smaller farms, considers study
A Huron County -wide study on
agricultural lot sizes will have to
wait until the results from a similar
study being undertaken in Essex
County are released.
The concept of smaller
agricultural lots has been identified
as a major economic development
issue for the county. As the price of
agricultural land continues to rise
and the size of the average farm
continues to grow, several
councillors have identified starting a
new farm as an impossibility for
many.
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn
said at council's Nov. 9 committee
of the whole meeting that young
people who want to start a career in
farming simply can't pull together
over $1 million to start from the
ground up.
Bluewater Mayor Tyler Hessel
agreed, saying that smaller parcels
of farmland are a perfect way for the
county to practise what it preaches
in terms of creating opportunities for
economic development and avenues
for young people to follow their
dreams in Huron County.
The study would investigate the
possibility of allowing farms under
100 acres in size, all the way down
to 25 acres. Some councillors, while
supportive, were worried that if the
county were to go too small that it
would encourage "estates".
North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent
raised the issue of estates in the
Huron County countryside, saying
that encouraging lots of 10 acres or
less would be dangerous to
agriculture. However, he would be in
favour of smaller lot sizes to
encourage starter farms for young
people, just not too small.
Sandra Weber, Manager of
Planning, presented the report to
council suggesting that for the time
being municipalities continue to use
the avenues available to them for
small lot creation.
She told councillors that Essex
County recently commissioned an
agricultural lot size study which cost
$55,000. While the study is now
complete, it has not yet been
released to the public.
Weber said that it would make
sense to wait for the results of the
Essex study to be released in order to
determine if the recommendations
would be feasible for Huron County.
She also suggested some
alternatives for the "evolving
agricultural industry" in Huron
County, such as mentorship
programs for young farmers,
innovative and ownership models for
Amish and Mennonite communities
and identifying areas with a
concentration of smaller lots for
certain communities.
Toy drive returns
The service groups of Blyth are
again joining forces to collect food
and toys for those in need this
Christmas season.
The Blyth Lions Club initiated the
toy drive last year, which yielded
great results for the local branch of
the Salvation Army and the North
Huron Food Share.
This year, the Lions, as well as the
Blyth Legion and the Legion Ladies
Auxiliary, are collecting toys and
non-perishable food items through
Continued on page 22
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