Industry applauds new farm sign law

A landmark Ontario law allowing farmers to post seasonal directional signage on private agricultural land adjacent to highways is being widely applauded as a huge victory for the province’s farming community.

For Norfolk County asparagus grower Chuck Emre, the law’s passage represents personal vindication.

His troubles began in 2007 when Ontario Ministry of Transportation officials told him to remove signage promoting his locally grown asparagus from a neighbour’s property.

Complying with the order, he created a smaller hand-painted sign with an arrow and, with permission from another neighbour, placed it in on that property.

Officials removed the new sign and sent a letter to the neighbour threatening him with fines up to $5,000. Emre says he was told not to erect a sign – even if placed beyond the MTO’s jurisdiction of 400 metres from a provincial highway – unless he owned the land.