Council in both the County of Wellington and the Township of Wellington North are very concerned about a recently proposed Provincial Policy Statement (PPS).

The statement, released on April 6, plans to build residential lots on agricultural land. It proposes merging the 2020 PPS with the "A Place to Grow" Growth plan to help Ontario build more homes.

The goal of over a billion homes would be met by building residential lots on agricultural land; a potential 12,000 lots may be built on farmland in Wellington County, according to a presentation at a Tuesday Wellington North Council meeting.

Township Mayor and Warden of Wellington County Andy Lennox said his son is looking to get into agriculture and he is concerned for the future of the industry locally were the policy to take effect.

“If the current provincial policy proceeds, and you’re interested in farming, or going on to university, we need to move somewhere else, because there’s going to be no future left in this industry, in our community,” Lennox said.

“That’s the reality that many families will face,” he added.

Lennox recognizes there are those who might find the idea appealing, but worries for the longevity of farmland.

“Someone at the later stages of their farming career, if you use my $2 million farm example, now worth $3.5 million, that extra million-and-a-half on the retirement fund is pretty attractive," he said. "But what we’re talking about here is sterilizing it for future.”

Meanwhile, at Thursday County of Wellington meeting, Wellington Federation of Agriculture President Janet Harrop was equally taken aback by the statement that would add up to three residential lots per farm.

“These additional lot severances will essentially prevent a lot of properties from building any livestock farms or manure storage and for sure expansion, so it’s massive implications to agriculture.”

She also told council the damage would affect more than just the farms themselves.

“We’re going to see a lot of those primary industries moving to areas where they need to make a living,” Harrop said.

“If you see farms and farm businesses leaving, you’re also going to see a lot of those trickle down, support businesses closing their doors and leaving, which would be catastrophic for Wellington County,” she concluded.

Harrop added that the province has typically been very supportive of agricultural development, so the policy "blindsided" a lot of people within the field. She said farmlands should not grow homes; they should grow food.

County Councillor and Centre Wellington Mayor Shawn Watters backed the message of the local federation, stating that the policy and its urban sprawl effect would “destroy our communities.”

Several ideas were presented on the best way to respond to the policy, including a video submission, as council gets their collective ideas together ahead of commenting.

After meeting with local MPPs, Warden Lennox believes the June 5 deadline for commenting on the policy statement may be extended.

Listen to the CICW story below: