Half of Ontario farms have had unwanted visitors in last 5 years: OFA

As many as half of Ontario farms reported an unwanted visitor or trespasser in the last five years and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture says it’s past time for farmers to take steps to protect themselves.

Of the 740 farmers that the OFA surveyed, over half said they’d had unwanted visitors, and most said they had no biosecurity program in place. About two-thirds of farms didn’t have No Trespassing signs posted.
Other organizations are taking steps: The Dairy Farmers of Ontario, through late July and early August, mailed out No Trespassing biosecurity signs to every dairy farm in the province.

Obviously, some of the biggest concerns are for livestock farms, said OFA director Bruce Buttar. Animal activists coming to the farm and trespassing or disrupting operations are only an issue on farms with animals. But crop farmers have reason to be cautious as well, he said.

That’s because most of those visitors, said Buttar, aren’t activists. Mostly they’re just curious people, many of whom seem not to be aware that the field they’re wandering into is private property. If they aren’t aware that they’re not allowed to walk through that field of corn or soybeans, it might not be the first one they visited, and they could be carrying diseases or weed seeds on them.

Livestock farms are more concerned with biosecurity. The OFA recommends putting up biosecurity specific signage, locking barns and other buildings, having biosecurity apparel in place (like disposable boot covers and foot baths), and having a biosecurity plan.