U of G’s former Kemptville campus finds new purpose

Mar 15, 2018

Site will continue to benefit Ontario’s agricultural community as hub for economic development

Staff Reporter

Farms.com

The rural community in Eastern Ontario received some promising news yesterday regarding the future of the University of Guelph’s former Kemptville campus.

The provincial government has partnered with the municipality of North Grenville to convert the majority of the site into a community hub, according to yesterday’s government release.

Through the hub, members of the community will be able to access services related to:

- Education and training

- Health and wellness

- Economic development

Specifically, the economic aspect of the hub will focus on “climate change resiliency and low carbon innovation,” according to the release.

This development will allow the property, which Is located on an approximately 633-acre parcel of land, to continue to benefit the community – including those in the agricultural industry.

“By working together, we are ensuring that the Kemptville site continues to be a positive economic asset,” Jeff Leal, Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, said in the release.

“The … campus played a pivotal role for agriculture in Eastern Ontario for the past 100 years. Its transformation … positions it to play an equally relevant and innovative role over the next century.”

Farms.com has reached out to the municipality of North Grenville for comment.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.