Agricultural mapping (In Progress)

Northumberland County is currently reviewing and updating maps and policies related to agricultural land in Northumberland County’s Official Plan. Share your feedback as we protect and preserve Northumberland's thriving agricultural landscape.

After extensive consultation with the community and our partners from 2022 until 2025, the project team has developed an Agriculture Amendment to the County's Official Plan that is now available for online review.

The purpose of the amendment is to:

• update the mapping of prime agricultural areas in Northumberland County that takes into account the mapping of the Agricultural System provided by the Province;
• update the policy framework on agriculture-related uses and on-farm diversified uses to provide greater clarity and direction to the local municipalities on these uses;
• update a number of policies and definitions dealing with prime agricultural areas and rural lands to ensure consistency with the Provincial Planning Statement; and
• make a number of minor structural changes to Section A of the Official Plan.

Attend an open house this fall

Public open houses will be held in October 2025 (dates and locations coming soon!). Please review the documents below and bring your questions and feedback to one of our upcoming open houses this fall.

Review project documents

For information about the proposed agriculture mapping updates, please visit our in-person open houses coming this October, or view the PDF maps available in the Documents tab or linked below.

Draft amendment

• Draft Agricultural and Rural Official Plan Amendment (September 10, 2025)
• Memo: Prime Agricultural Mapping Analysis Report (September 10, 2025)
• Memo: Requests to Remove Land from Agricultural Area Designation (September 10, 2025)

Agriculture mapping

• Schedule A-2 - Land Use Designations Map
• Schedule A-3 - Agricultural Area and Rural Area Designations Map

What is agricultural mapping?

Northumberland County is known for having a thriving agricultural community and high-quality farmland, with over 31% of land in the County currently designated as protected agricultural land.

As part of the Northumberland Next initiative, Northumberland County is reviewing and updating mapping and policies in the County's Official Plan to ensure this vital system of agricultural land remains protected for future generations.

This amendment will result in updates to the Northumberland County Official Plan, including mapping and policy updates that will increase the amount of protected agricultural land in Northumberland, and will support the collective well-being of the agriculture economy by:

• Identifying the best areas for agricultural production within Northumberland County
• Preserving our local agricultural land base for food production to meet the province's long-term needs by aligning our local mapping with provincial policies
• Introducing/updating land use policies to ensure agricultural uses can continue, now and into the future

What is the Agricultural System?

The agricultural system is a defined term in the Provincial Policy Statement (2024) which provides policy direction to municipalities across the province. The province has developed a methodology for identifying and classifying lands as part of an agricultural system to ensure consistency, clarity, and standardization across the province.

The Agricultural System is comprised of a group of inter-connected elements that collectively create a viable, thriving agricultural sector. It has two components:

• An agricultural land base comprised of prime agricultural areas, including specialty crop areas, and rural lands that together create a continuous productive land base for agriculture; and
• An agri-food network which includes infrastructure, services, and assets important to the viability of the agri-food sector.

Planning authorities are encouraged to use an agricultural system approach to maintain and enhance the geographic continuity of the agricultural land base and the functional and economic connections to the agri-food network.

How does the County review mapping updates?

One of the components of the County's Municipal Comprehensive Review is a review of the location of the prime agricultural area in the County. Prime agricultural areas are areas where Class 1, 2 and 3 prime agricultural lands predominate and includes associated Class 4 through 7 lands, and additional areas where there is a local concentration of farms that exhibit characteristics of ongoing agriculture.

The County's Official Plan identifies current prime agricultural areas, using areas defined in our local municipal Official Plans. Project consultants have developed mapping that compares the provincial and County's Official Plan mapping of prime agricultural areas and have determined that a considerable amount of additional land throughout the County has been identified as being within a prime agricultural area by the province.

Soil review

DBH Soil Services Inc. completed a review of the provincial agricultural land mapping. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping was received from the province and County, which included soils data, municipal boundaries, road networks, Official Plan land designations, etc. DBH Soil Services Inc. determined that some lands require additional review and assessment to determine appropriate soil classifications.

Project timelines

Completed

June/July 2022

• Open houses in Campbellford, Colborne and Port Hope regarding updates to agriculture mapping and policies in the County Official Plan.
• Launched online review process of proposed mapping and policy updates.

Current stage

Fall 2025

• Launched online review of amendment and proposed mapping in September 2025.
• Open houses planned for October 2025 (dates and locations coming soon!) regarding updates to agriculture mapping and policies in the County Official Plan.

Next steps

• Present final recommendations for agriculture mapping and policies to County Council for adoption.
• Submit the amendment to the Province for approval and implementation.

News updates

2022

• Upcoming open houses to review agriculture mapping updates to the County Official Plan - June 6, 2022