WESTERN ONTARIO: Snowmobilers swarm fields, farmers ticked off

CHATHAM-KENT — Chatham-Kent-area farmer Stan Brien has been frustrated with snowmobilers for a long time. He doesn’t even have trails on his farm, but still regularly sees snowmobilers in his fields of winter wheat and alfalfa. He puts up multiple signs saying no snowmobiling, but they just come back at midnight, he said.

“(Either they) don’t believe they’re doing any harm or don’t care,” he said.
He’s not the only one. Farmers have been taking to Twitter to vent frustration about the throngs of snowmobilers, both on and off the trails.
Tweeted one irate farmer: “Snowmobilers are gonna wreck the sport. Farmers are gonna say not on my land anymore. I snowmobile and have had enough of guys running closed trails.”

With COVID-19 lockdowns still in place, the great outdoors have never been a more attractive entertainment opportunity, and anecdotally it seems that plenty of people are sledding.

But snowmobilers going off-trail has been a big issue this year. So big, said snowmobiler and grain elevator owner Ron Van Der Burgt, that he’s concerned about the future of the sport. The Mitchell-area grain merchandiser (who has a trail on his property) said that while the number of snowmobilers ripping through fields is well in the minority, it’s still enough that the sport is at risk in areas. When people go off-trail and through fields, the farmer tends to come back at the local club. Local clubs are run by volunteers and they put in a lot of work for the good of the sport, he said. Even if farmers don’t decide to yank the trail, the volunteers might decide they’ve had enough of getting blasted by landowners, Van Der Burgt said.

It’s gotten to be such an issue that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture felt the need to put out a public statement last month, urging snowmobilers to respect private property. “This year there have been recorded complaints of winter wheat being destroyed, significant damage to irrigation systems and farm gates being opened without permission,” wrote communications director Tyler Brooks in a commentary. The OPP has also had to weigh in, reminding snowmobilers that cutting through a field is trespassing.

Said Van Der Burgt: “At the end of the day, it’s not a right, it’s a privilege. It’s private property you’re crossing. (Farmers are) giving permission for a short period of time in the winter for your enjoyment. It shouldn’t be taken lightly.”