Funding aims to draw new farmers to region

MPP Dave Smith announces up to $20,000 for project

More first-time farmers may soon find it easier to gather information online about the availability of farmland and other resources in the Peterborough area, thanks to a new project that got funding from the provincial government on Monday.

MPP Dave Smith announced up to $20,000 for Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development on Monday for a project designed to make the region more inviting to first-time farmers who might like to move here.

Not all rural land is being farmed in the Peterborough area, Smith said, and this new project is meant to make it easy for firsttime farmers to find out whether they can lease land here.

“We want to make sure we have a healthy rural community,” he said.

Smith said the money is coming from the Ontario government’s Rural Economic Development (RED) Fund. Matching funds have already been offered by the County of Peterborough.

Rhonda Keenan, president and CEO of Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development Agency, explained the project.

She said the idea is to create an online “matchmaking” service that will pair young farmers who’d potentially like to move to the area with established farmers who have land to lease, farm equipment to lend or are willing to serve as mentors.

Sometime in the latter half of 2019, Keenan expects there to be a button on her agency’s website that shows first-time farmers what’s available in the Peterborough area in terms of land, equipment and mentorship.

Mayor-elect Diane Therrien said she the city is “reliant” on the county and the food grown there when she thanked Smith for the funding.

County warden Joe Taylor was also present, and he the money “further supports agriculture” in the area.

“I hear that Doug Ford dollars are hard to come by,” Taylor said to Smith. “I thank you.”