Relations with local communities

Learn how you can positively impact the social fabric of your community through open dialogue, involvement in local organizations and the promotion of the cultural and natural heritage of the agricultural landscape.

Although nuisances such as noise, odour and dust inevitably arise from normal agricultural activities, farmers can minimize their impacts on local quality of life by using different production methods and informing neighbours before the most disruptive activities.


Many practices can help minimize the risk of complaints from neighbours:



  • complying provincial and federal legislation

  • implementing responsible and defensible farm management practices

  • building facilities and manure storage structures as far from neighbours as possible

  • reducing the amount of farm odours, spray drift and noise through simple practices (e.g. use sound-absorbing materials to reduce noise from crop-drying fans)

  • possibly changing the design or management of facilities (e.g. in certain applications, manure composting can reduce storage volume, odour and nuisance pests and adding liquid manure to the storage from the bottom rather than the top will enable the surface to crust over, curbing the release of odours)

  • contact all neighbour(s) a few days before events such as manure spreading to give them time to take appropriate action

Potential benefits:

  • Business risk
  • Good neighbourliness


When complaints arise, the first step is to try to resolve the conflict by speaking to your neighbour in order to open up the lines of communication. Provincial legislation also can provide guidance and protocols to resolve issues.

Easy to implement

Potential benefits:

  • Business risk
  • Good neighbourliness


Best management practices are important but do little to pacify neighbours who do not understand or appreciate the efforts and investment you are making in environmental quality or even the contribution that agriculture makes to the economy.



Helping to organize a local farm tour, an agricultural fair or other non-farming community events enables farmers to put a face on the industry by answering questions, explaining farm practices and forging relationships.



Also, it is important to make sure that local community members are aware of the communication channels, which should facilitate exchanges between the farm and citizens.

Easy to implement

Potential benefits:

  • Business risk
  • Good neighbourliness
  • Farmer's well-being

Producers can foster local development and contribute to a harmonious community environment by getting involved in their communities. In addition, dairy farming activities can substantially contribute to local economic development through value and job creation and infrastructure maintenance and development.


The farm is an important part of the local community and farm practices can affect the community. Community issues and actions can also affect the farm. Community involvement can include making donations to local organizations, providing free services to community members or employing people in social rehabilitation.

Easy to implement

Potential benefits:

  • Good neighbourliness
  • Farmer's well-being


Fair opportunities for local employment should be offered whenever possible. This can be achieved, for instance, by advertising positions in public media, such as newspapers, websites and bulletin boards for local citizens who would be potential candidates for the position.

Easy to implement

Potential benefits:

  • Good neighbourliness


To support your local economy and avoid potential environmental impacts, local suppliers and products can be preferred.

Easy to implement

Potential benefits:

  • Good neighbourliness

Farming activities constitute a key factor in shaping the visual features of rural areas. As the countryside’s natural and built heritage is increasingly valued, producers should get involved in initiatives to preserve and promote it.


Agriculture serves several functions, in addition to food and fibre production. It can contribute to flood prevention, cultural elements preservation, biodiversity conservation, to maintain rural life and to attract tourism. Protecting and promoting agricultural landscapes is a way to benefit from the multiple functions of agricultural activities.

Potential benefits:

  • Good neighbourliness