The 2024 Ontario Building Code seeks to protect producers, not restrict them.

A producer sets out to build a new livestock facility or poultry barn or is interested in adding to their operation. Depending on the size of the structure, the costs can be considerable, yet modern designs and upgrades can be a distinct advantage to the future of the farm.

Now comes news of changes to the building code in Ontario. Producers may shake their heads at the prospect of feeling the pinch of restrictions and shifts in management practices, but they need to understand the changes to the province’s building code are a response to the increasing size and complexity of farming operations.

Last July, the Government of Ontario launched the 2024 Ontario Building Code, billing it as a means of reducing regulatory burdens for construction firms while increasing safety and quality of larger structures. Of course, many of those changes will also affect primary producers with higher costs and more specifications with new builds.

The important points for producers

Ontario farmers have been working under existing building code guidelines since 2012. On a national level, there have been efforts to harmonize construction codes, primarily to address climate change and the need for affordable housing. But the 2024 Ontario Building Code contains several changes to existing regulations that relate to farm buildings, especially those that are larger than 600 square metres or more than three storeys in building height.

Detailed under “Part 2 Farm Buildings”, the new codes are designed to decrease the risk of fire, address egress (exit) concerns, ventilation issues relating to hazardous substances and climatic loads (snow and wind as well as seismic events). There are also specific items relating to heating, ventilation and air conditioning for greenhouses, silo and grain storage bins and below-floor storage of liquid manure. Some of these directives have an indirect link to nutrient management and nutrient management strategies. Overall, the changes could be costly to producers with large-scale construction projects currently in the works.

Timing

Officially, the 2024 Ontario Building Code takes effect January 1, 2025, although there will be a three-month grace period until March 31, 2025, for designs that are currently underway or will be before the end of 2024. Permit applications submitted using the 2012 Building Code will be allowed if the applicant demonstrates their working drawings were substantially complete by December 31, 2024. Permit applications submitted between January 1, 2025, and March 31 can use the new 2024 Building Code.

One factor that may help in the short term is to have an approved nutrient management strategy and designed barn drawings. Such a proactive move could do more to ensure a project moves forward during the grace period without the need to adhere to building code upgrades prior to the end of the March 31, 2025, grace period.

What lies beneath

Where the completed nutrient management strategies may be of particular help is with the new classifications for farm buildings, which will come under “Group G” with divisions 1 through 4 where G1 has the highest hazard risk. For instance, buildings with under-floor manure storage will fall into that Group G, Division 1, “High-hazard agricultural occupancies” designation, because of the potential for flammability or explosion. The codes governing fire protection will require the installation of fire separations between farm building-occupancy combinations and include the need for sprinkler systems. There are also new rules pertaining to firewalls, fire blocks and closures, along with tighter controls on electrical and equipment, such as emergency lighting and signs installed at exits.

Other stipulations include:

• Changes to truss spacing
• Back-up power supply for emergency lighting
• More end wall supports, including studs, double-studs and triple studs (depending on the size of the build)
• Increases to the minimum snow load and wind load

Again, these are not being implemented as punitive measures but to reduce risk to farmers and workers, as well as those involved in building farm structures. In the spirit of being proactive and cost-efficient, many operations have implemented some of these measures in varying degrees. Now they carry a new designation.

To lend its voice to the situation, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture submitted a letter last December to the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes. The letter addressed specific changes proposed to the national guidelines for sill heights and corresponding footholds for emergency access. Although “OFA generally supports the proposed change to the 2025 National Construction Codes (NCC) relating to Farm Buildings”, the organization requested producer organizations such as the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and Beef Farmers of Ontario be consulted further on resulting implications.

For more information

The Canadian Farm Builders Association (CFBA) has a copy of the complete 2024 Building Codes document at its website, at https://www.cfba.ca or by clicking on the link to the Technical Bulletins.

A copy of the 2024 Building Codes is also available from the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing by going to its website and filing a request.

Helpful advice and direction

If you are interested in discussing these changes and learning more about how they may affect your operation, contact the professionals at Elite Agri Solutions by calling 519 – 953 – 4479, or respond to this email.

About Elite Agri Solutions:

Since 2017, Elite Agri Solutions has become an invaluable one-stop shop for extensive resources, business planning and training for farming operations. Based in Glencoe, Ontario, the staff at Elite Agri Solutions can provide services to develop Nutrient Management Strategies and Plans (NMSP), Non Agricultural Source Materials (NASM) Plans and Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) I and II documentation. The company’s specialists understand the challenges of tackling grant applications and can support farmers who are planning capital investments to address specific plans for the future. Elite Agri Solutions is also a leading provider of farm safety services, including on-line or in-person training, consulting and policy writing. For more information, company news and events, go to https://www.eliteagrisolutions.ca/