Perspectives on farming in the Great Clay Belt

It’s often said that farming is not for the faint of heart, and that goes double for working land in the Great Clay Belt.

Read Also

Fruit and vegetable producers optimistic as Bill C-280 moves to second reading

A bill that will provide fresh produce sellers in Canada with financial protection in case of buyer bankruptcy has moved…

In an area three to four hours north of Ontario’s “near north,” the Cochrane-to-Kapuskasing region has the attention of many involved in agriculture, but the stark realities can quickly change peoples’ minds about farming there.

Why it matters: As land prices increase, areas in northern Ontario previously thought too difficult to farm are becoming more appealing.

The two main considerations are availability of what’s mostly Crown land, and the region’s soil type. The latter is classed as a Hearst clay-loam with pockets of lighter soils and areas of bog-like mulch that is four to 13 feet deep. To make those soils productive, tile drainage is imperative.

That necessity is already well known to Gerard and Louise Dinnissen of Claybelt Drainage. Gerard and his brother Martin manage a farm south of Kapuskasing and he’s been tiling land since the late 1980s, when he used an old chain-digger and later moved to a double-link plow mounted on a bulldozer.

In early 2014, he began training for his Class A certification and most of his recent work has been between Matheson and Kapuskasing.

There was never a huge agricultural presence in the Kap and Hearst area, so most of the previously cleared land along Highway 11 (TransCanada Highway) has reverted to the Crown. That has made things difficult for those who accept the challenge of leasing and clearing. But expecting growers to tile-drain before they can take ownership isn’t reasonable.

“There are relatively few serious farmers in the area and they all acknowledge the need for tile to get their land drained as soon as it’s cleared,” says Dinnissen.

“If there was a serious desire to develop the north for agriculture, the government would have to make it easier to acquire Crown land, much of it previously used as farmland. Once farmers own and clear the land, they will tile it.”

Land costs are considerably less in the Clay Belt but the cost of tiling is roughly the same, making it harder to pencil out margins by cropping cereals and canola. And despite ministry literature that suggests warmer conditions due to climate change, there has been little change in what can be grown today compared to 70 years ago.

“My father used to scoff at farmers from the south that figured you couldn’t farm if you couldn’t grow corn,” says Dinnissen.

“With today’s modern equipment, it’s possible for a family to handle more acres, so together with lower land costs, still be profitable with lower gross returns per acre.”

Cropping options

It is possible to earn a living without corn and David Schill has proved it. He farms three kilometres north of Earlton and has been watching development of the Temiskaming Shores region since 2004, when he arrived in the region.

He has expanded his operation to nearly 20,000 acres, all while dealing with shorter seasons. Although the area can accommodate a corn crop under very exact conditions, he now grows an even rotation of wheat, canola, cereal grains and soybeans.

“Getting your mind around living off barley, wheat and canola instead of corn, soybeans and winter wheat is a huge challenge,” says Schill.

“I have seen numerous excellent young farmers throw in the towel because the weather and shortness of season were more daunting than anticipated. The north is not for everyone. Farming the fringe takes patience, endurance and tenacity.”

Benjamin Schapelhouman also looks at the Great Clay Belt with a mix of optimism and pragmatism. The president of TECC Agriculture Ltd. and a certified crop advisor, he has lived in the Temiskaming Shores area for 14 years and agrees with Schill’s contention that corn isn’t ideal, although soybeans can work in rotation with cereals and canola.

“Corn has the problem of higher volume and low value per tonne, so trucking would hurt,” says Schapelhouman.

“What we need up here is lower volume, higher value crops like canola, where trucking is a smaller percentage of the value of the product at market.”

Farmers may find the Clay Belt has an advantage with the advent of remote management. It may take another decade or two to become mainstream, but that will allow land to be cleared and tile-drained.

“I’m not suggesting the Great Clay Belt will be permanently settled; rather it might be commercialized,” says Schapelhouman.

“By the time significant acreage is brought into production, technology will have evolved allowing a fair degree of remote management. Any farms developed in the area will have to be self-sufficient, so we don’t need to worry about ag retailers, grain handlers or equipment dealers locating up there. This opportunity just takes someone who is very bold.”

As for farmers trail-blazing their way farther north, Schill echoes Schapelhouman in saying farmers will come first, then businesses to support them, and then a community effort to augment development, as it has in Temiskaming Shores.

Investments in the ag sector there in the past 20 years have resulted in modern schools, churches, hospitals, service clubs, banks and shopping centres — the kinds of amenities that migrating farmers and entrepreneurs look for.

“It’s essential for municipal leaders, mayors, councillors, Members of Parliament alongside ag groups, committee leaders and banks in these areas to develop a vision in their communities,” he adds.