No Farms No Food members keep an ever watchful eye on farmland and the support farmers require to produce safe, healthy food. Currently, the County of Kings is completing its Kings 2050 initiative. This will result in a new Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) and Land Use Bylaw (LUB). The public will get its first chance to debate a final draft in public during September 2017. The plan is to pass the strategy and bylaw as soon as possible and no later than March 2018. This draft is a complete rewrite of the first draft. Essentially, an “out with the old” and “in with the new” approach is being taken. No Farms No Food volunteers are working hard to understand the impact of the colossal change since earlier drafts. Detailed, written reports are being prepared and a preliminary report has been submitted to the Mayor.

The final draft of the MPS and LUB can be accessed here

You can read a pointed letter from the Kings County Federation of Agriculture by clicking on the link below. It questions the process by which things have been moved forward by key staff.

Jan 13 2016 Letter to County CAO from KCFA

Please visit and like our No Farms No Food Facebook site

You can find the details for three public meetings scheduled for September 11-14, 2017, at the bottom of this media release from the county

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization says 33% of global soils are being degraded right now. It’s reminding us that is can take up to 1,000 years for one centimetre of new soil to form.

The goal of the International Year of Soils is to encourage everyone, especially farmers, to improve soil management. This is being done through over 120 soil related projects.

See the FOA world soil map

Since its founding No Farms No Food (NF2) has lobbied the Municipality of Kings and the Province of Nova Scotia to protect farmland. We’ve put our money where our mouth is too!

Our fundraising efforts have resulted in the following donations:

• $19,604 to the Annapolis Valley Farmland Trust to kickstart their work to preserve farmland for farming, forever.
• $12,882 to Oxfam Canada for women farmers in Africa.
• $6,722 to Farmers Helping Farmers for their work in Kenya.

This grand total of $39,208 was raised on the basis of: 50% for local; and 50% for fields faraway. Why?

Kings County is home to some of the best soils on our planet and our support for the Annapolis Valley Farmland Trust signifies the importance of protecting farmland.

The inclusion of Oxfam and Farmers Helping Farmers caused us to pause and reflect on what can happen when food security is taken for granted or lost. Our action on two fronts serves to highlight this while helping those much less fortunate.

These fundraising efforts remind each of us of what can be achieved through the generosity of others who care about farmland and farmers, both here and away.

Contact Decision Makers

Contact information for the Minister of Agriculture

Minister of Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Affairs

Contact information for Premier of Nova Scotia

Click here to find contact information for all Members of the Legislative Assembly. The members for the County of Kings are: Leo Glavine, John Lohr and Keith Irving.

Contact information for the 10 members of Kings Municipal Council are as follows:

Residents of Kings County can click here to visit a map, determine which district they live in, and discover which councillor represents them.

No Farms No Food is a community coalition located in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Our volunteer work aims to preserve farmland from residential, commercial and/or industrial development.

We are farmers, tourism and business operators, wildlife enthusiasts, teachers, health care professionals, lawyers and individuals from every walk of life. Our commonality? We all call the Annapolis Valley “home” or recognize its importance to our future. We are committed to the long term sustainability of farmland.

We work hard and on a completely volunteer basis to increase food security in Nova Scotia, support our farm economy, and to protect the soils and farmlands that have sustained families in Kings County,Nova Scotia, since the 1700s.

Join us in supporting the concept of a 100-mile diet and the importance of purchasing and promoting locally produced foods.

Other interesting facts… Members of No Farms No Food have been active in the development of Farmworks and in the development of the Annapolis Valley Farmland Trust. In fact, among our most ardent members are Paul and Marilyn Cameron of Grafton who were the first farmers to donate an agricultural easement to the trust.

We need your help to oppose the loss of farmland. Be seen, listen, speak out, write a letter to Councillors and to the Minister of Agriculture. These are all necessary steps on the road to stopping any additional development of our farmland.

Follow and like our Facebook page. In the months ahead we face the challenge of ensuring that the new Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw is capable of fully preserving the future of our farmland. Our Facebook page will keep you current.