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Tour of five Dufferin farms set for Saturday of next week

September 22, 2016   ·   0 Comments

There is a lot to be learned about the farms and communities throughout Dufferin County that contribute largely to agriculture in Ontario. In a County that was built of smaller, rural communities, buying, eating, and supporting local is a large component of life here.

Oftentimes, however, many people do not know much about the local world we are buying from, beyond the idea that we are supporting them and helping our communities grow by keeping revenue in the local economy.

In order to introduce the public to the world of Dufferin’s agriculture and farming communities, over the last 16 years, Dufferin farmers have welcomed the public for the Dufferin Town and Country Farm Tour.

This year, the tour is set to take place on Saturday of net week, October 1, as five farms in South Dufferin will open their doors to the public. The event will take place rain or shine, and allows attendees the opportunity to explore local farms as well as meet with the farmers at each site.

“This is the best farm tour in Ontario,” said Gail Little, a committee member for the tour. “It’s been so popular that people return year after year. It’s a great family outing. Everyone has great fun and takes away a greater understanding of where their food comes from.”

Although Dufferin is home to more than 520 farms, the committee behind the tour believes that often the connection between the food we put on our plates and the farms they come from gets lost. The tour was created as a way to provide an opportunity to share dialogue about this process and witness farming as it happens.

This year, the tour will include a working dairy farm, Lincoln Red Beef farm, racing quarter horse farm, crop input and grain elevator business, and a ‘seed to plant’ retail greenhouse. Visitors will have the opportunity to see agriculture production in action, participate in educational activities, talk with farmers, and learn how food is grown or raised, harvested, and marketed.

“Today, farming in Dufferin is under pressure from many sources,” explained the committee. “Urban sprawl, threats from industry, and climate change are only a few challenges facing our farmers to produce a safe, affordable, and sustainable supply of nutritious food. Every day prime farm land is being lost to these demands.”

For Dufferin, agriculture operates as the largest economic contributor to the area. According to statistics provided by the tour committee, in 2013 the more than 520 farms in the county produced $25.6 million in beef, $16.9 million dairy, $15.4 million potatoes, along with many other products. 117 of those local farms sold more than $250,000 worth of product.

The Dufferin Town and Country Farm Tour is a self-guided tour that is free to attend with a donation to local food banks. Each farm will have additional activities, including the opportunity to buy fresh produce, eggs, honey and more, so the committee advises participants to bring cash and a cold pack container.

Passports are used to navigate through the tour, and can be downloaded prior to the tour at www.dufferinfarmtour.com. They can also be picked up at any of the following locations on the day of the tour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m: Orangeville Visitor Information Centre, highway 10 and Buena Vista Dr.,  and Arthurs Fuel, County Roads 109 & 25 (Grand Valley Corner).

The tour will run on Saturday, October 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, rain or shine, and admission is free with a donation to a local food bank. For more information, you can email the committee at learn@dufferinfarmtour.com or phone 519-939-7486.

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