The+Incredible+Disappearing+Farmland

“On a clear day, you can see most of the best farmland in Ontario from the top of the CN Tower. On a quiet day, you can almost hear that land being paved over.” Basic Facts • 37% of Class 1 land in Canada is within view of the CN Tower. • 20% of Class 2 land in Canada is within view of the CN Tower. • 43% of the value of agricultural production in Canada lies within 80 kilometres of 22 different cities. Canadian Land Inventory • the amount of Class 1 land in all of Canada is less than the size of New Brunswick (0.5% of Canada’s land surface – 4.2 million hectares) • only 11% of Canada’s land surface is capable of agriculture of some kind • only 5% of Canada’s land surface is capable of crop growth • 50% of the Class 1 land in Canada is located in Ontario, BUT • Ontario has the greatest degree of urbanization in Canada

Class 1 land: no significant limitations to crops Class 2 land: moderate limitations that require good conservation practices Class 3 land: severe limitations  Activity 1. Think back to our unit on urban land use. Why is suburbanization so bad for our farmland?