Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
June 08, 2005
Farmland Preservation Group Receives Grant
An organization that is dedicated to protecting Ontario’s farmland and has roots at the University of Guelph has received a $195,400 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF).
The Ontario Farmland Trust will use the money to promote agricultural land trusts to farmers, municipal planners and the public, preserving land through donations and easements.
The funding was announced Tuesday by Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario’s minister of culture, and Steve Peters, minister of agriculture and food. OTF is an agency of the Ministry of Culture and receives government funding of $100 million annually to invest in community-based initiatives.
“We are delighted with the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant,” said Prof. Stew Hilts, who chairs the trust and U of G’s Department of Land Resource Science. “It acknowledges the importance of the farmland preservation issue and enables us to work toward building a positive program of supporting farmers and farming in Ontario for the future.”
The trust is an initiative of the Ontario Agricultural College’s Farmland Preservation Research Project. It brings together farmers and conservationists to focus public attention on the land-use issues facing agriculture in the province. It also helps sponsor an annual conference on farm preservation. This year’s event runs June 28 at U of G with the theme “Meeting the Challenge of Farming in the Urban Shadow.” It will include speakers from the U.S. Center for Agriculture in the Environment and the Michigan Land Use Institute. For more information on the conference or Ontario Farmland Trust, contact Hilts at (519) 824-4120, Ext. 52447.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt (519) 824-4120,Ext. 53338, or Rebecca Kendall, Ext. 56982.
