Farmers face being forced out of business, NFU-O says.Ottawa—Ontario should follow the lead of Alberta and Quebec, which are considering laws to prevent farmland from being taken over by private investment funds and pension plans, says the National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O).The Ontario government should immediately present, debate, and pass similar legislation to curb farmland grabbing so it remains in the hands of farmers, said Max Hansgen, NFU-O President.“Agricultural land should be owned by the farmers who grow our food and not by companies that are speculating on land prices rising even higher, or seeking to increase dividends through high rents – or both – at the expense of eaters and growers alike,” he said.The Quebec legislation is on hold until after the Oct. 3 provincial election while the Alberta legislation, which was presented to the legislature this spring by United Conservative MLA Glenn van Dijken, is still being considered.The two bills are valuable models for a law to save Ontario farmers from becoming “little more than fieldhands to wealthy absentee owners whose priority is making money for themselves,” Hansgen said.“Our once flourishing agricultural communities are being driven into poverty as the new generation of farmers is priced out of the picture, and an increasing amount of the remaining farmers' production must go to pay rent and/or interest just so they can stay on the land.”The Quebec bill would prohibit the direct or indirect purchase of agricultural land by private investment funds, and would create a public registry of all agricultural land transactions to promote transparency around farmland ownership. The Alberta one would prohibit the purchase of agricultural land by private pension plans.Hansgen said that like Alberta and Quebec, a large amount of Ontario agricultural land has been purchased by private pension plans and investment funds. “Large scale land grabbing coupled with growing development pressure has created a trend of unregulated land speculation which has had disastrous impacts on the socio-economic fabric of rural communities and the future of our food system.”While Ontario has no laws preventing farmland grabbing by foreign or non-farming investors, BC protects farmland from conversion to non-farm uses.“Ontario now has the opportunity to move from laggard to leader by enacting laws that will set the stage for future agricultural prosperity by preventing farmland grabbing by investment companies,” Hansgen said.Ontario should prohibit all private investment funds, private pension plans, wealthy non-farming individuals, hedge-funds, and Real Estate Investment Trusts from buying farm;and.Ontario has lost an average of 319 acres of farmland every day since 2016, the 2021 Census of Agriculture said. “Land speculation, coupled with development pressures, is among the leading causes of farmland loss. Land speculation in Ontario has driven up the prices of farmland by more than 22 per cent with some land selling for as much as $35,500 per acre,The 2021 Ontario average of $13,813 per acre is more than 43 per cent higher than Quebec, the second most expensive province for farmland in the country. “To put these land prices in perspective, based on the profits of the average Ontario oilseed and grain farm in 2020, a new farm purchaser would need to cultivate the land for 50 years before they paid back the initial land purchase.”“Keeping farmland out of the hands of investors is the first step toward attaining real food security,” said Brendan Grant, NFU-O Vice President. “Legislation to prevent farmland grabbing would further the provincial mandate of the Local Food Act (2013) to foster successful and resilient local food economies and systems throughout Ontario.”