Generational farm could be impacted if Wilmot land assembly goes ahead
A family of farmers say their operations would be significantly impacted if the Region of Waterloo goes ahead with a land assembly project in the Wilmot Township area.
Mountainoak Cheese, a dairy farm founded by Adam Van Bergeijk in 1996, owns and rents land within the 770 acres the region is eyeing.
In March, land owners say they were approached by region representatives who were looking to buy land for large-scale investments that have not been made public. The land being considered is located between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Centre Road.
“It was an offer that I would not accept for the value that they appraised the farm at. It’s unreasonable,” said Arjo Van Bergeijk, the current Mountainoak Cheese operator and Adam’s son.
“They said if we don’t agree upon their price, there’s a chance of expropriation.”
FAMILY FARMING
Adam started the farm after moving to Ontario from Holland, where he also ran a dairy farm.
“We processed a big part of our milk over there as well, and were making cheese. That’s what we do here now,” Adam said.
“We came here in ’96 to create a nice place for our family to farm and we had hope that this is going to be a nice place for the future of our children, as well.”
They started with 200 acres and milking just over 100 cows. That has increased significantly over the years as his sons took over and split the farm into two sections.
“The whole farm is milking over 250, and we increased the farm land as well,” Adam said.
“We own 700 acres.”
As Adam and his wife’s two sons and daughter grew up, they helped more and more with the farm until it was time to take it over.
“I was always there. After school, before school, all the time,” Arjo said.
The goal was always to pass the farm down through the generations, which Arjo’s 12-year-old son Jake is already looking forward to.
“I would like to take over the farm. Hopefully I’ll work for my dad for a little while, and then hopefully take the farm and be the next generation,” Jake said.
Unknown Future
On March 8, the future of Mountainoak Cheese, which was always so clear, became murky.
Arjo said they were approached by region representatives looking to acquire the land. He said they, and other land owners, are not interested in selling and losing farm land.
He said the region is looking at a significant portion of their land, which they currently use to grow crops to feed their cows.
“We’re all in a crop rotation we call that. We switch our crops around. We bought that farmland for security for our future,” Arjo said.
“The impact that [losing land] would have on our operation here is that rotations are going to be a lot tighter, manure management is going to be a lot harder because I do have to go somewhere with my nutrients, and all that is going to be a lot tighter to be able to apply it where it needs to be applied, and how much we can apply per acre. We’re going to be pushing everything to the max.”
Since the farm was initially approached, Arjo said they still haven’t heard any updates from the region about what’s happening.
“They don’t want to communicate. Even if we’re there as delegates at the council meetings, everybody has signed NDAs and nobody is willing to talk or speak or communicate with us which is extremely frustrating,” Arjo said, adding it’s been difficult to decide if they should seed or not this spring.
Ultimately, he said they are going to plant their crops and hope they don’t lose it.
Arjo said the lawyer representing area landowners is in talks with lawyers representing the region, and he hopes for updates to come soon.
The Region of Waterloo has also remained tight-lipped with the media throughout this process.
In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson said the land assembly project for future large-scale investment remains ongoing.
“While the details of the negotiations remain confidential, we are committed to engaging with the landowners involved and it is our goal to reach fair and equitable agreements for all landowners,” the region said.
As they wait for more information about the future of their own land, the Van Bergeijks say they’ll continue on with what matters most: farming and family.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Macklem tries to stay out of the fray as MPs do their best to use him to score points
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem navigates a political minefield every time he testifies before the House of Commons finance committee.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.