News clips: Citizens’ groups welcome sale of mega-quarry land

Statement from NDACT, CORE and CAUSE July 18 2013
The rural citizens’ groups that led the fight against the Highland Mega Quarry have released the following statement. As you’ll read, it is positive and welcoming. A new chapter begins!
Bonnefield Financial purchase of Melancthon farmland:  A Fresh Start
The citizens’ groups that led the movement to protect thousands of acres of Class 1 farmland in Melancthon, Ontario welcome Bonnefield Financial to the community. Bonnefield has purchased the 6,500-acres of potato fields owned by the Highland Companies, including the land once proposed to become a 2300-acre mega quarry.  After several years of uncertainty about the fate of the farmland, this is a new beginning.
The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT), Conserve Our Rural Environment (CORE) and Citizens’ Alliance United for a Sustainable Environment (CAUSE) are pleased to hear that Bonnefield intends to continue farming the Class 1 agricultural soil.  Bonnefield president, Tom Eisenhauer, has stated: “The Dufferin County transaction is the realization of a long-held dream. Here we have Canadian investors, supporting Canadian farmers to ensure that one of our most precious resources – farmland – continues to be used for farming. That’s the core of Bonnefield’s mission: farmland for farming.”
The chairman of NDACT, Carl Cosack, says he is impressed with Bonnefield’s intentions to keep this unique farmland in production. “We are grateful for Tom Eisenhauer’s commitment to sustainable, long-term agricultural practices and want to help Bonnefield succeed with these plans. It seems we share the same interests: keeping the province’s precious farmland productive for all Ontarians.  This is a great outcome after seven intense years of public engagement. Food and Water First!”
NDACT, CORE, CAUSE and the Melancthon community look forward to working with Bonnefield.  We hope this positive development means the Melancthon fields and their bounty are preserved for future generations.
Signed,
North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce
Conserve Our Rural Environment
Citizens’ Alliance United for a Sustainable Environment

Ontario Morning interviews Tom Eisenhauer!
The president of Bonnefield appeared on CBC’s Ontario Morning today and outlined his vision for the now-former mega quarry land. (That feels so good to write!) Tom Eisenhauer told host Wei Chen that when he learned Highland had withdrawn its application last November, he quickly contacted the company to ask about purchasing the farmland. He also says that while Highland is leasing the land now, this arrangement is because there are crops in the ground. Once they’re harvested, it seems Highland will be out of the farming business and Bonnefield will be seeking local farmers to take over.
You can listen to the interview on this podcast. It begins at the 32:30 mark.
http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/ontariomorning_20130718_68877.mp3

Land at centre of mega-quarry fight sold
By Heather Loney Global News July 18 2013
TORONTO – The farmland at the centre of a heated fight, which pitted local farmers and environmentalists against a company backed by a $25-billion Boston hedge fund, has been sold.
Local farmers and citizens’ groups, who fought for years to block a proposed mega-quarry by Highland Companies, are welcoming the new owners.
Bonnefield Financial – a Canadian farmland investment company -announced this week it had bought more than 2,600 hectares of land from Highland Companies.
Bonnefield said the Class 1 farmland would continue to be used for farming.
“Here we have Canadian investors, supporting Canadian farmers to ensure that one of our most precious resources – farmland – continues to be used for farming,” said Bonnefield president Tom Eisenhauer in a press release.  “That’s the core of Bonnefield’s mission: farmland for farming. We look forward to working with local farmers who will operate this land on a long-term basis and to ensure that it is preserved and enhanced for farming use.”
Members of the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT), Conserve Our Rural Environment (CORE) and Citizens’ Alliance United for a Sustainable Environment (CAUSE) welcomed the news of the sale.
“We’re delighted that a Canadian investment firm sees the value in farming,” said NDACT’s chair, Carl Cosack.
“It seems we share the same interests: keeping the province’s precious farmland productive for all Ontarians.  This is a great outcome after seven intense years of public engagement,” he said.
NDACT works to protect resources in North Dufferin County and across Ontario, including farmland and the watersheds. Through its campaign “Food & Water First,” the group is working to see legislation passed at Queen’s Park that would protect Class 1 farmland from all non-farming development. (Class 1 farmland is the highest quality.)
Bonnefield representatives have stated publicly that the farmland will be used for farming – but it’s a sentiment members of the community have heard before.
Cosack told Global News the question for local farmers is not who owns the land, but rather what are they doing with it.
“If 100 years from now we decide we don’t need to grow food…that’s fine,” said Cosack. But, he said, legislation needs to be put in place to protect the land, because if in 100 years “you still need farmland to grow food, you can’t just create it.”
The farmland at the centre of the years-long battle in Melancthon Township, located approximately 100km northwest of Toronto, falls within the region known as Hills of Headwaters, currently home to some of Canada’s richest soil. The countryside attracts hundreds of tourists and cottagers every year.
In 2006, John Lowndes purchased almost 3,250 hectares of land for Highland Companies, telling local farmers of his plan to start a large co-operative potato farm. Local residents eventually grew suspicious of Highland’s plan for the land.
In 2009 it became public that Highland Companies had acquired the land to build a quarry that would stretch over 930 hectares and plunge deeper than Niagara Falls.
Because the quarry would fall below the water table, 600 million litres of water would be pumped out of the quarry every day, and thousands of 40-tonne trucks would travel on local roads every day, 24 hours a day.
After Highland’s plan went public, what followed was years of protests from local residents and groups including the David Suzuki Foundation, Wellington Water Watchers and the Canadian Chefs’ Congress.
In September 2011, after numerous protests and petitions, Ontario’s Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson ordered Highland Companies to undertake a comprehensive environmental assessment of the quarry proposal.
Thousands of letters of objection were sent to Linda Jeffrey, the province’s Minister of Natural Resources, questioning the science of Highland’s initial application.
Meanwhile, the province awaited notification from Highland Companies whether they would participate in the environmental assessment or abandon the project.
The company withdrew their quarry proposal last November.
“While we believe that the quarry would have brought significant economic benefit to Melancthon Township and served Ontario’s well-documented need for aggregate, we acknowledge that the application does not have sufficient support from the community and government to justify proceeding with the approval process,” said John Scherer of Highland Companies in a press release.
Highland Companies also announced Lowndes had resigned as company president.

Bonnefield Launches Canada’s Largest Farmland Partnership
News release — OTTAWA, Canada, July 16, 2013 – Bonnefield Financial today announced an initial closing of its third investment partnership, Bonnefield Canadian Farmland LP III (“LP III”). LP III received various commitments totaling $100,000,000 from Canadian investors and more capital may be raised in subsequent closings to a maximum of $200,000,000.
Coincident with the closing of LP III, Bonnefield used a portion of the funding to complete one of the largest farmland transactions in Canadian history, the acquisition from the Highland Companies of over 6,500 acres of farmland located in Dufferin County, Ontario.  The high-quality land, predominantly used for potato production, is located in the highlands of the Niagara escarpment a 90-minute drive north of Toronto.  With its purchase by LP III, the land will continue to be farmed by local farmers.
“We are pleased to close this transaction with Bonnefield and believe it represents a good outcome for all parties,” said John Scherer of Highland.
“The Dufferin County transaction is the realization of a long-held dream,” said Tom Eisenhauer, President of Bonnefield. “Here we have Canadian investors, supporting Canadian farmers to ensure that one of our most precious resources – farmland – continues to be used for farming.  That’s the core of Bonnefield’s mission: farmland for farming. We look forward to working with local farmers who will operate this land on a long-term basis and to ensure that it is preserved and enhanced for farming use.”