Monday, June 26, 2023

Essex honours farmers

 Essex County is inviting applications to honour farms that have been in the community for more than 50 years.

Mayor Sherry Bondy said the farms will be designated with plaques and said the program recognizes that an average of nine family farms are gone weekly in Ontario.

"We know that we are losing farmland and family farms, so we wanted to do something to inspire and celebrate the existing family farms we have here," Bondy said.


Bronze plaques will be installed for farms in the family for at least 50 years, silver for at least 75 years, gold for at least 100 years, and platinum for at least 150 years.


Each plaque will be equipped with a scannable QR code with a history of the farm and the family that has operated it.


Bondy said with agriculture the lifeline of the Windsor-Essex economy, it has become vital to preserve the Town's farmland as development continues to creep in.


"Municipalities are facing a lot of pressure to grow, whether it's residential or industrial, and we need to make sure that our farm properties are celebrated and recognized," said Bondy. "Because there's only so much land to go around."