ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER SUSTAINABILITY 17 1.6% of Canadians farm. But who says the few can’t be the mighty? UNCOMMONMIGHT.ca ALWAYS FOLLOW GRAIN MARKETING AND OTHER STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES AND PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Bayer and Bayer Cross are trademarks of Bayer Group. Used under license. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada. ©2026 Bayer Group. All rights reserved. LANDOWNER SUPPORT For Sid Vander Veen, currently with the Land Improvement Contractors of Ontario, and retired drainage coordinator for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, incorporating more nature-friendly designs into drain construction and maintenance has long been a topic of discussion. He does not, however, consider it necessary to change the Drainage Act to do so. “There’s nothing in the Drainage Act that says drains need to be straight and trapezoidal. There’s ability to do other things, but it all comes back to willingness, politics, the property owner, and cost. Those are big hurdles,” says Vander Veen. “Is it a problem with the Act? I don’t think so. But there is the ability to levy costs from property owners, and the province provides a one-third cost grant to property owners on agricultureassessed lands.” Vander Veen adds that while the province does provide a grant covering one-third the cost of drain construction, there is no specific incentive for more environmentally beneficial project designs. Cost savings for inclusions such as buffer strips, riparian areas, and two-stage ditches are only available through some Conservation Authorities, willing local governments, or other external organizations. In their absence, the full cost is borne by the property owner. “I still would prefer to see an incentive to encourage some of these practices, but it doesn’t exist right now,” says Vander Veen. “Conservation Authorities do stream rehabilitation projects, where they spend money to rehabilitate streams to make them pristine. Better for habitat, water quality, they do all these things. You can accomplish the exact same thing under the Drainage Act, and have the further benefit of having it codified with a municipal bylaw.” Vander Veen says drains are incredibly important for rural agriculture in Ontario. In his mind, a perfect drain provides drainage for farmers, but that’s also habitat. “What’s the harm? There is no harm. Can we do things better? Yes, we can,” he says. •
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