On-Farm Diversified Uses

Having well established policies for agricultural areas helps to protect our farmland from urban sprawl, contamination, and parcel fragmentation. Our updated policies help reduce the timelines, fees, and applications attributed to establishing a use on a farm property in order to help diversify our agricultural economy.

Do you have questions about adding an Agriculture-Related or On-Farm Diversified Use to your farm?

Check out our helpful Planning your Agriculture-Related Use and On-Farm Diversified Use Guide to help you get started with your renovation or building protect for your farm.

The guide will let you know if your property will qualify for a project like this, what requirements there may be to safely pursue your project, and what options are available if your property doesn't quite meet the requirements to get started.

Policy Directions for Agriculture-Related Uses

The maximum lot coverage for an agriculture-related use shall not exceed thirty percent of the total lot area of the subject lands.
The majority of the product processed, preserved, packaged and/or stored shall be from the farm operation of the subject lands, including crops used to produce wines, beers, spirits, or similar.
If a value-retaining use provides support to surrounding farm operations within a reasonable distance of the subject lands, it shall be considered an agriculture related use.
An agriculture-related use may be subject to the Province of Ontario’s Minimum Distance Separation guidelines for compatibility between livestock facilities and sensitive land-uses.
The agriculture-related use shall be secondary to the main farm use on the subject lands.
Prior to an agriculture-related use being established on a property, site plan control shall be applicable to mitigate the impacts of traffic, parking, size, scale, etc. in relation to the applicable requirements of By-Law 61-16.

Policy Directions for On-Farm Diversified Uses

An on-farm diversified use shall only be permitted on a property with a farm operation.
On-farm diversified use(s) shall not exceed a combined total of the lesser of: One (1) hectare, or two percent (2%) of the area of the lands on which the use is proposed.
The gross floor area of all buildings used for an on-farm diversified use shall not exceed twenty percent of the acceptable land area, as stated by item two above.
The land area and the area of existing buildings used for an on-farm diversified use may be discounted at the rate of fifty percent. Where an on-farm diversified use uses the same footprint as a demolished agricultural building, the land area for the use may be similarly discounted by fifty percent.
One hundred percent of the area needed for a parking space and outdoor storage for the on-farm diversified use will be included in the area calculation.
Where an on-farm diversified use uses an existing farm laneway, or parking area, the area of the laneway or parking area will not be included in the area calculations.
Services required for the use proposed are provided on the property, as verified by the County of Brant, and will not have any negative impacts on neighbouring and surrounding land uses.
On-farm diversified uses that include agri-tourism and farm experience activities shall be clearly farm related.
Production lands which are used for the growing of crops and are simultaneously used as part of an activity area, such as a corn maze, shall not be included in the area calculations for the on-farm diversified use. However, these activity areas shall not exceed five percent of the total lot area of the subject lands.
An on-farm diversified use shall be subject to the MDS formulae and guidelines
The on-farm diversified use must meet all applicable requirements of the Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code and requires an approved building permit to legally establish the OFDU.
Prior to an on-farm diversified use being established on a property, site plan control shall be applicable to mitigate the impacts of traffic, parking, size, scale, etc. in relation to the applicable requirements of By-Law 61-16.

We've updated our land-use policies to consider options for diversifying agricultural areas
throughout the County of Brant.

Farm Market and Chicken Based on Provincial legislation and a noted desire for certain permissions in our rural areas, the County has updated our agricultural policies. These changes will improve our agricultural economy and help our farms branch out and add to their income potential. This project focused on the Province's permitted uses in the prime agricultural areas, including agricultural, agriculture-related and on-farm diversified uses (OFDUs). The goal of this policy update was to help the County of Brant enhance its agricultural systems and land base to further protect and enhance the important functions of the agricultural economy in our area. Check out the project time-line at the bottom of this web-page for more information, including key dates and contact information.

Did you know?

The Province of Ontario considers the County of Brant to be a prime agricultural area. The majority of the soil in the County of Brant is considered to have fair to high productivity for common field crops to grow. As a prime agricultural area, our planning policies are required to protect agricultural practices to ensure they are not hindered by surrounding uses.

What's Permitted in Agricultural Areas?

As a way to protect the Province's agricultural land, the Provincial Policy Statement, or PPS (2020) sets out 3 categories of uses that are permitted in prime agricultural areas, as shown below. They are meant to be general land-use permissions that guide a municipalities specific permissions in rural areas and are further described by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in their Guidelines on Permitted Uses in Ontario's Prime Agricultural Areas (Publication 851). These permissions are dependent on the location and size of the use, and its relationship to a property's farming operation.

Agricultural Uses

This includes growing crops, raising livestock, greenhouses, tobacco kilns, plant/tree nurseries, and minimal amounts of processing to make a product saleable.

Click the image to learn more about these uses.

Agricultural-related uses

This includes research, storage, processing, distribution, supply, sale, and auction of products grown or produced in the area's agricultural system.

Click the image to learn more about these uses.

On-farm diversified uses

This includes a broad range of complimentary and value-added uses such as breweries, bakeries, cafés, cooking classes, specialized trades (woodworking, welding etc.), recreational and agri-tourism uses (bed and breakfast, wine tasting etc.), retail uses (farm market, antiques, etc.) and home occupations that support rural areas (a professional office, hair dresser, day care etc.).

Click the image to learn more about these uses.

Project Timeline

We've updated our policies! This project was approved by Council on November 3rd, 2020.

If you would like to see what the process looked like for this project, view the checklist below.

If you have any questions about this project please contact Staff below.

Project Timeline - OFDUs

Project Item has been completed Background Research

(June/July 2020)

Project Item has been completed Information Report to Council

(on YouTube September 1st, 2020)

Read the Information report to Council, presented to initiate this project
Download and share our ‘Glossy’ project summary

Project Item has been completed Public Engagement & Participation

(September/October 2020)

Take our survey (View the results below)
Sign-up to our digital circulation list for emailed updates on this project
Send an email to policyplanning@brant.ca providing comments on the project
Give us a call at 519.44BRANT (Policy Planning Division)

Project Item has been completed ‘As We Heard It’ Feedback Report

(October 2020)

To summarize what we’ve heard from the public, stakeholders, and various agencies about the project, we presented a summary of the feedback that helped shape the proposed policy directions.

Check out the ’As We Heard It’ feedback summary

Read the proposed policy directions that have been created with the public’s feedback, provincial requirements, and other County of Brant policies and procedures in mind.

Policy Directions for Agriculture-Related Uses

The maximum lot coverage for an agriculture-related use shall not exceed thirty percent of the total lot area of the subject lands.
The majority of the product processed, preserved, packaged and/or stored shall be from the farm operation of the subject lands, including crops used to produce wines, beers, spirits, or similar.
If a value-retaining use provides support to surrounding farm operations within a reasonable distance of the subject lands, it shall be considered an agriculture related use.
An agriculture-related use may be subject to the Province of Ontario’s Minimum Distance Separation guidelines for compatibility between livestock facilities and sensitive land-uses.
The agriculture-related use shall be secondary to the main farm use on the subject lands.
Prior to an agriculture-related use being established on a property, site plan control shall be applicable to mitigate the impacts of traffic, parking, size, scale, etc. in relation to the applicable requirements of By-Law 61-16.

Policy Directions for On-Farm Diversified Uses

An on-farm diversified use shall only be permitted on a property with a farm operation.
On-farm diversified use(s) shall not exceed a combined total of the lesser of: One (1) hectare, or two percent (2%) of the area of the lands on which the use is proposed.
The gross floor area of all buildings used for an on-farm diversified use shall not exceed twenty percent of the acceptable land area, as stated by item two above.
The land area and the area of existing buildings used for an on-farm diversified use may be discounted at the rate of fifty percent. Where an on-farm diversified use uses the same footprint as a demolished agricultural building, the land area for the use may be similarly discounted by fifty percent.
One hundred percent of the area needed for a parking space and outdoor storage for the on-farm diversified use will be included in the area calculation.
Where an on-farm diversified use uses an existing farm laneway, or parking area, the area of the laneway or parking area will not be included in the area calculations.
Services required for the use proposed are provided on the property, as verified by the County of Brant, and will not have any negative impacts on neighbouring and surrounding land uses.
On-farm diversified uses that include agri-tourism and farm experience activities shall be clearly farm related.
Production lands which are used for the growing of crops and are simultaneously used as part of an activity area, such as a corn maze, shall not be included in the area calculations for the on-farm diversified use. However, these activity areas shall not exceed five percent of the total lot area of the subject lands.
An on-farm diversified use shall be subject to the MDS formulae and guidelines
The on-farm diversified use must meet all applicable requirements of the Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code and requires an approved building permit to legally establish the OFDU.
Prior to an on-farm diversified use being established on a property, site plan control shall be applicable to mitigate the impacts of traffic, parking, size, scale, etc. in relation to the applicable requirements of By-Law 61-16.

Watch Council meeting on the County's Youtube page where we discussed the feedback, directions and decided how to move forward with the project.

Project Item has been completed Formal Commenting Period

(October 2020)

This commenting period, as required under The Planning Act, also provided another engagement opportunity before Staff made their recommendation to Council for a decision on the changes.

See the Notice of Public Meeting for more information on the requirements for this project under The Planning Act
Read a summary of the proposed policy directions

Policy Directions for Agriculture-Related Uses

The maximum lot coverage for an agriculture-related use shall not exceed thirty percent of the total lot area of the subject lands.
The majority of the product processed, preserved, packaged and/or stored shall be from the farm operation of the subject lands, including crops used to produce wines, beers, spirits, or similar.
If a value-retaining use provides support to surrounding farm operations within a reasonable distance of the subject lands, it shall be considered an agriculture related use.
An agriculture-related use may be subject to the Province of Ontario’s Minimum Distance Separation guidelines for compatibility between livestock facilities and sensitive land-uses.
The agriculture-related use shall be secondary to the main farm use on the subject lands.
Prior to an agriculture-related use being established on a property, site plan control shall be applicable to mitigate the impacts of traffic, parking, size, scale, etc. in relation to the applicable requirements of By-Law 61-16.

Policy Directions for On-Farm Diversified Uses

An on-farm diversified use shall only be permitted on a property with a farm operation.
On-farm diversified use(s) shall not exceed a combined total of the lesser of: One (1) hectare, or two percent (2%) of the area of the lands on which the use is proposed.
The gross floor area of all buildings used for an on-farm diversified use shall not exceed twenty percent of the acceptable land area, as stated by item two above.
The land area and the area of existing buildings used for an on-farm diversified use may be discounted at the rate of fifty percent. Where an on-farm diversified use uses the same footprint as a demolished agricultural building, the land area for the use may be similarly discounted by fifty percent.
One hundred percent of the area needed for a parking space and outdoor storage for the on-farm diversified use will be included in the area calculation.
Where an on-farm diversified use uses an existing farm laneway, or parking area, the area of the laneway or parking area will not be included in the area calculations.
Services required for the use proposed are provided on the property, as verified by the County of Brant, and will not have any negative impacts on neighbouring and surrounding land uses.
On-farm diversified uses that include agri-tourism and farm experience activities shall be clearly farm related.
Production lands which are used for the growing of crops and are simultaneously used as part of an activity area, such as a corn maze, shall not be included in the area calculations for the on-farm diversified use. However, these activity areas shall not exceed five percent of the total lot area of the subject lands.
An on-farm diversified use shall be subject to the MDS formulae and guidelines
The on-farm diversified use must meet all applicable requirements of the Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code and requires an approved building permit to legally establish the OFDU.
Prior to an on-farm diversified use being established on a property, site plan control shall be applicable to mitigate the impacts of traffic, parking, size, scale, etc. in relation to the applicable requirements of By-Law 61-16.

View the ’Black-line changes’ to the Zoning By-Law and Official Plan, showing what was removed, added, and changed with the updates.

Project Item has been completed Public Meeting & Council Decision

(November 2020)

This meeting is available for viewing on the County's YouTube page at this link.

The agenda to the meeting, including the report and draft amending By-Law, are posted on the County Council Calendar.

Project Item has been completed Appeal Period

Once the By-Law for the project has been finalized and passed by the Council, it will come into force and effect upon the completion of its appeal period.

There is an approximately 35 day appeal period that will open after the decision by Council is made and the amending By-Law is passed.

1. The County of Brant Clerk's Division will give notice of the By-Law's passing within 15 days of the Council meeting.

2. This will begin a 20 day period for filing a notice of appeal to the Municipal Clerk to appeal the decision of Council to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). More information on this process can be found at this link.

On-Farm Diversified Uses

Do you have questions about adding an Agriculture-Related or On-Farm Diversified Use to your farm?

We've updated our land-use policies to consider options for diversifying agricultural areas throughout the County of Brant.

Did you know?

What's Permitted in Agricultural Areas?

Project Timeline

We've updated our land-use policies to consider options for diversifying agricultural areas
throughout the County of Brant.