They are dairy farms on the outskirts of Halifax, maple syrup operations a short drive from Old Montreal, cattle ranches within sight of the Calgary Tower and greenhouses within the sound of ship horns in Vancouver’s English Bay.
These are the farms that Statistics Canada says co-exist with the hustle and bustle of Canada’s major cities.
According to the Statistics Canada census of agriculture results published May 16, more than 15 percent of Canada’s 229,373 census farms operate within the boundaries of what the agency considers the catchment area for a city.
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“We often think of the largest urban areas as the places where people live, shop and work,” the agency said. “Farms are often forgotten in the mix but the reality is different.”
In fact, more than 35,000 farms operate within an easy commute of a major city, some within city limits, according to data collected in the 2006 census.
Not surprisingly, few were hog or beef farms in light of the potential for urban commuter complaints about smells. Grain farms are present but not typical because of the problem of moving seeding and harvesting equipment down busy commuter roads.
Fruit and vegetable farms are common and more than 36 percent of all horticultural operations in Canada were located near big cities last year.
These close-to-city farms are more likely to be organic than is the general profile of Canadian farms and have a higher-than-average presence of greenhouse production.
And almost half of them have gross receipts of less than $25,000.
“Smaller farms can benefit from being in or near a city, either through job opportunities for those whose farm is a part-time operation or in niche markets begging to be supplied or as agritourism destinations for city people,” said Statistics Canada.
The federal agency provided the first national profile of urban area farms.
“It comes as no surprise that operations that often sell directly to consumers – nurseries and U-pick fruit farms, for example – are close to population centres,” said the Statistics Canada analysis.
“Likewise, farms that require a lot of labour – horticultural-type operations – might tend to locate around urban areas where they can source the needed hands more readily.”
The federal agency says there are both “benefits and challenges” for farmers trying to operate within the shadow of a city.
Farmland is expensive because of competition from housing developers. Often the farmer must deal with parcels of land separated by developments and urbanites’ complaints over farming practices can prove more than a mere annoyance.”
But there also are benefits.
“What urban areas do offer are a ready market for many farm products, a supply of labour (as well as competition for it) and an opportunity for farmers to diversify their income with off-farm revenue,” the analysis said.
Regina, in the middle of grain country, reported the highest level of field crop activity of any city within its area of influence. More than two-thirds of farm activity within the city area came from grain production.
