Hobby farms and horse properties in Oro-Medonte

Oro-Medonte allows hobby farms and horse properties on most rural land zoned Agricultural/Rural (A/RU), but the details decide what you can actually do. The township's zoning by-law defines a hobby farm as no more than two horses and/or a limited number of domestic animals for personal use, on a lot of at least 2.0 hectares. Go past that and the property is treated as an agricultural use or an equestrian facility, with bigger lot sizes, provincial setback formulas and, for larger herds, nutrient management rules. Know which category you are buying into before you fall for the barn.

What counts as a hobby farm in Oro-Medonte?

Zoning By-law 97-95 sorts animal uses into a few categories, each with its own minimum lot size in the A/RU zone.

Use	What it means in By-law 97-95	Minimum lot
Hobby farm	No more than two horses and/or a limited number of domestic animals for personal use, with a house on the same lot; not intensive agriculture or a kennel	2.0 ha
Agricultural use	Growing, producing, keeping or harvesting farm products, with a house as an accessory use	2.0 ha
Intensive agricultural use	Raising livestock such as poultry or cattle for consumption, which may include a feedlot	4.0 ha
Equestrian facility	Land where three or more horses are boarded and ridden by their owners or rented out, and lessons may be given	4.0 ha
Kennel, Class A / Class B	Needs a site-specific zoning amendment and site plan approval	4.0 ha / 20.0 ha

A few practical points:

• Three horses of your own is no longer a hobby farm by definition. It is an agricultural use, which is permitted on 2.0 hectares in the A/RU zone but brings the provincial setback and nutrient rules below into play.
• Boarding other people's horses or teaching lessons makes it an equestrian facility, which needs 4.0 hectares.
• A lot zoned Rural Residential (RUR1 or RUR2) is a different zone. Do not assume hobby farm uses are allowed there; check with the township.

Backyard chickens

Chickens are allowed as an accessory use to a house in the A/RU zone, under rules added in 2017. The coop and manure storage together cannot exceed 10 square metres (not counting the outdoor run), the coop must be 2 metres from the rear and side lot lines and manure storage 3 metres, and neither can sit closer to the road than the house. Roosters are prohibited, and so is selling eggs, manure or other products. MDS does not apply to backyard chickens.

What is Minimum Distance Separation (MDS)?

MDS is the provincial formula, published by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness as Publication 853, that sets separation distances between livestock barns, manure storage and other land uses. There are two parts.

• MDS I applies to new development near existing livestock barns and manure storage.
• MDS II applies to new or expanded livestock facilities near existing development, lot lines and road allowances.

Oro-Medonte's zoning by-law applies them like this:

1. Building a house near someone else's barn. A residential use on an existing lot larger than 1.0 hectare must meet the MDS I distance. A new use on an existing lot of 1.0 hectare or less does not.
2. Building or expanding your own barn. A new or expanding livestock facility must meet MDS II. Distances are measured to the nearest point of an existing vacant lot of 1.0 hectare or less, not just to a neighbour's house.
3. Severances, rezonings and second units. New lots, rezonings and additional residential units in the Agricultural and Rural designations must also meet MDS.

The distance depends on the type and number of animals, the manure system and the size of the farm, so there is no single number. If a neighbour has a working barn, ask the township to confirm whether MDS affects where you can build before you buy a vacant lot.

Barns and building permits

Oro-Medonte requires a building permit for detached buildings larger than 10 square metres, and applications go through Cloudpermit after a zoning review. A barn is no exception.

Setbacks for barns

In the A/RU zone, boarding stables, barns and agricultural buildings must be set back at least 30 metres from the front lot line and 15 metres from the side, exterior side and rear lot lines.

Accessory building limits

The by-law caps any one detached accessory building at 100 square metres in the A/RU zone, and all detached accessory buildings at 5% lot coverage. Whether your barn is treated as an agricultural building or as an accessory building to the house can change which limits apply, so confirm that with the township before you design it. The township's zoning review lists accessory structures among its priority topics, and a staff report on accessory buildings went to the Development Services Committee on November 4, 2026, so check for updates.

Nutrient management strategies for barns

Under Ontario's Nutrient Management Act, a farm that has, or will have after construction, more than 5 nutrient units of livestock needs a nutrient management strategy approved by the ministry before applying for a building permit for a barn or manure storage. For horses, the ministry's thresholds are:

Horse size	Example	Horses that exceed 5 nutrient units
Small frame	Shetland pony	11
Medium frame	Typical riding or pleasure horse	6
Large frame	Clydesdale or Belgian	4

A full nutrient management plan is a separate, heavier requirement for farms with 300 nutrient units or more, or for farms needing a strategy within 100 metres of a municipal well. Oro-Medonte has municipal wells, so check the township's source water protection mapping if you plan a barn near a settlement. The ministry's Agricultural Information Contact Centre (1-877-424-1300) can tell you which applies.

Manure management on a small farm

Below the nutrient management thresholds, there is no provincial strategy to file, but the basics still matter. Store manure on a pad or in a structure away from your well, ditches and watercourses, and keep runoff off neighbouring land. If the property is near a creek or wetland, the conservation authority may regulate grading or new structures near it. On a property within a municipal wellhead protection area, ask the township about source water protection rules before you build.

How does the farm property tax rate work?

Oro-Medonte's 2026 Farmlands tax rate is 0.264183%, compared with 1.056733% for residential property. That is roughly $264 versus $1,057 per $100,000 of assessed value. The lower rate applies only to farmland and farm outbuildings. The house and the land used with it are taxed at the residential rate.

Enrolment is not automatic. Agricorp runs the Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program, MPAC assesses the land, and the township applies the rate. Agricorp lists four eligibility requirements:

1. MPAC has assessed the property as farmland.
2. The property is actively farmed by you, a tenant farmer or both, and generates at least $7,000 in annual gross farm income, with farm income and expenses filed with the Canada Revenue Agency.
3. There is a valid Farm Business Registration (FBR) number.
4. The owners are Canadian citizens or permanent residents (for a corporation, more than 50% of voting shares held by eligible individuals).

Farm businesses grossing $7,000 or more a year must register with Agricorp every year. The 2026 fee was $255 plus HST ($288.15), due by March 1. Agricorp's FBR line is 1-866-327-3678 and the farm tax program line is 1-888-247-4999.

Can a hobby farm qualify?

A couple of horses for personal riding will not generate farm income, so most true hobby farms stay in the residential class. Two common routes to the farm rate on acreage are running a real farm business that clears $7,000 a year, or renting the fields to a registered farmer, in which case the tenant's farm business can qualify the land. Either way, contact Agricorp when you buy: Ontario advises anyone who has recently bought farmland or changed ownership to check with Agricorp about eligibility and whether to apply or reapply. Confirm the tax implications with your accountant.

Fencing

Good fences matter more with livestock, and so does knowing who pays. Ontario's Line Fences Act gives neighbours a dispute process when they cannot agree on building or repairing a boundary fence. Either owner can ask the municipality to appoint fence-viewers, three of whom view the fence and issue a written award that divides the work and costs and describes the fence to be built. Awards can be appealed within 15 days of receiving a certified copy (the 2026 appeal fee is $406.05). A council can also pass a by-law exempting itself from the Act, so ask the township how it applies in Oro-Medonte.

The Act does not settle where the boundary is. If a fence looks off the line, a survey is the answer, and your lawyer can advise.

Insurance

Tell your insurer exactly what you plan: the number and type of animals, the barn, any boarding or lessons, wood heat in the barn or house, and fuel storage. A policy written for a country home may not cover livestock, liability from visitors riding your horses, or a commercial boarding operation. Oro-Medonte Fire and Emergency Services holds Tanker Shuttle Accreditation, which the township says insurers recognize as similar to hydrant protection; your insurer may ask for proof. Our guide to insurance, wood stoves and oil tanks covers the questions insurers ask on rural homes.

Have these details ready when you ask for quotes, because a horse property is usually priced on the barn as much as the house:

• the barn's age, construction and size, and its distance from the house
• the age and condition of the barn's electrical, and any heating or water heaters in it
• where and how hay and bedding are stored
• the number of horses, and whether any are boarded, leased or used for lessons

Get a quote on the exact address before you firm up, and ask your broker directly whether you need a farm policy rather than a home policy.

A checklist for horse and hobby farm buyers

How Jordan can help

Jordan Rossman, a REALTOR® with Real Broker Ontario Ltd., Brokerage, can check zoning, permitted animal uses and permit history on a horse or hobby farm property before you make an offer, and help you write conditions that cover water, MDS and outbuildings. If you are selling a farm property, he can help you gather the tax, permit and well records buyers will ask for. Call 705-345-0797.