The family farm: new future or new folly?

by Norm Mason

Oct 24, 2007

For those who are native to the Parry Sound District and are sons and daughters of original land grant settlers, their generational pattern is similar to this:

• 1880s Generation One: Original land grant settlers, land clearers and establishers of the original family farm.

• 1900-1920 Generation Two: Farmers on the original family farm or their own land grant farms.

• 1930-1950 Generation Three: May or may not be farmers because of large families. Some leave to work in the towns and cities.

• 1950-1970 Generation Four: Unlikely that any family member is a farmer. Only the exception is still farming. all others are working in towns or in business.

• 1970s to the present Generation Five: Not only are there no farmers, but 80 per cent of the original family is living outside of the original area.
Not surprisingly, the decline of farming in the Parry Sound District is due to the lack of economic viability of farms.

In fact, recent articles in the Toronto Star and Harrowsmith outline the decline of farming and farmers in Ontario and Canada, respectively.

According to the Toronto Star article, a southern Ontario farm sitting on real estate coveted by developers and worth $500,000 to $1 million may generate as little as $25,000 in net income.

Naturally, a farmer’s son or daughter is unlikely to want to take over the family farm to work 60 to 70 hours per week for next to nothing.
Harrowsmith lists the following statistics about the number of farms in Canada: 1941, 732,832 farms; 2001, 246,923 farms; in 2006, 229,373 farms.

The fact that farms are much larger in 2006 than in 1941 reduces the number of farms, but the number of farms also declined from 346,195 in 2001 to 327,060 in 2006.

Does that mean that Parry Sound District is destined to have no farms at all in the next 20 to 30 years?

Because there isn’t the same development pressure on farm land in the Parry Sound District, the few farms that can be successful may survive.

But there are other possibilities. As farming becomes less viable throughout Ontario, the high price of land could force southern Ontario farmers to sell. These farmers, flush with capital, may gamble on a farm in Parry Sound District, not so much an economic decision but as a lifestyle decision.

Once farming is in one’s blood it can be difficult to erradicate, despite the economic negatives.

Another possibility, and perhaps a more likely scenario, is that of the business person who, because of the nature of his/her business, and the use of information technology, can work in the home and again make a lifestyle choice to farm.

Yet another model could be the person who has made considerable money in business and again makes the lifestyle decision to farm. There could be tax advantages to farm losses for this group.

The point in these examples is that if farms are of little value because of the poor return on investment and are thus cheaper to purchase, this fact could draw those who do not need a full economic return to farms.

The reference here is not to hobby farms but slightly larger. (By census definition a farm must earn at least $2,500 in receipts to be classified as a farm.)

Wishful thinking?

Let’s hope not. The quality of life for those on farms is what some people are willing to sacrifice to gain. However, the whole community area benefits from the presence of farms. The economic benefits are obvious to all, but the quality of life is also better for all. The next time you are driving in the countryside, contrast the emptiness of an unused or underused acreage with that of fields filled with farm activities.

In Parry Sound District let’s hope our existing farms can survive, but also hope that people will see new opportunities as farmers.

We all lose when farms cease to operate. We all gain when farms survive or are revived.