Lennox Farm donates $2,000 to North Dufferin Agricultural Taskforce

October 19, 2023 · 0 Comments

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) has received a donation of $2,000 from Lennox Farm.

“To be chosen as the organization Lennox Farm was going to donate to this year, was really great and unexpected. They do so much for the community that goes under the radar and we’re so thankful and moved to receive this donation,” said Karen Wallace, chair of NDACT.

The money donated to NDACT was raised through Lennox Farm’s Field to Fork dinner series, which sees attendees tour the farm, harvest some vegetables, learn about some of the farm’s techniques and how it is run, and then enjoy a four-course meal.

Jeanette French from Lennox Farm said they chose to donate the money to NDACT based on their joint focus on maintaining prime farmland.

“Dufferin County’s main business is agriculture and we have such beautiful, amazing lands that have fertile soil. Agriculture does so much for our community, not only do we have local farms producing healthy food for our community, but they bring a lot of money into the County,” said French. “If we don’t protect the land, we’re going to lose it – we need to make sur these lands stay here for future generations.”

North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce is an organization of local farmers and residents working to change legislation and regulatory amendments to protect prime agricultural land and water sources. The task force was formed in 2009 to protect farmland in Melanchthon from a proposed mega-quarry, and today, they continue to advocate for preserving prime farmland in the Dufferin County region.

“It’s really important that groups like ours keep hammering away on the message, ‘aggregate may be rare, but prime farmland is far rarer and irreplicable,” said Wallace.

Recent projects undertaken by NDACT include a proposal from Strada Aggregate to quarry under the water table. In June, NDACT and Strada Aggregate signed an agreement, which gave NDACT input and decision-making into Strada’s quarry application prior to being submitted. As part of the agreement, NDACT will not oppose the application until and unless the science shows the quarry could harm the environment,

One aspect of the agreement included residents within the quarry recharge area having their well water monitored before the project began to have a baseline for any potential impacts.

Wallace said a portion of the donation will go towards community awareness of the well monitoring and joining in the program.