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18 Piedmont Value-Added Shared-Use Food and Agricultural Processing Center Section II:Project and Applicant Description 4 Organizational History and Goals This project is the result of collaboration between Alamance,Chatham,Durham,and Orange Counties,as well as Weaver Street Market and Whole Foods.Together,they funded a feasibility study that was completed in 2007 with guidance from an 40-member advisory group that included farmers,county commissioners,chefs,grocers,and consumers with representatives from chambers of commerce,community colleges,farmers markets,Cooperative Extension, Soil &Water Conservation District Boards,Voluntary Agricultural Districts Boards,economic development agencies&small business specialists,Carolina Farm Stewardship Association,and North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The four core counties that have provided institutional support for this project have a demonstrated commitment to promoting agricultural economic development. • Alamance was the first county in the state to complete a Farmland Preservation Plan and each of the other three counties has a plan in progress.The director of the Alamance Community College culinary technology program has been a strong supporter of the project. • Chatham County is home to a widely recognized sustainable agriculture program at the Pittsboro campus of Central Carolina Community College. Also in Chatham County is the award winning Growing Small Farms program developed by Cooperative Extension Agent Debbie Roos. • Durham County has had outstanding success with the recent development of a large farmers market hosting vendors from up to 70 miles from Durham. • Orange County has been a pioneer in farmland preservation and hired the first agricultural economic development coordinator in a joint effort with NC A&T State University in Greensboro. American Farmland Trust Southeast Director Gerry Cohn is based in Hillsborough and continues to support this project and assist in implementation. In collaboration with NC State University(NCSU),Orange County Economic Development and Cooperative Extension are helping to develop the WC Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center in northern Orange County. This 270-acre farm was bequeathed to NC State University by Colonel Breeze,a long time landowner in the tobacco growing communities of Cedar Grove and Hurdle Mills. A concept plan for the farm,agreed to by NCSU and Orange County,includes the development of an off-site processing center that would work in tandem with a farm enterprise incubator on the Breeze Farm initiated in January 2008 by Orange County. Emerging components of the approved concept plan include focus areas on 1)4-H,FFA, and youth,2)Forages,Grasslands,and Grains,and 3)Fruits and Berries. This small farm extension and research center promises to complement efforts of the processing center in the same counties thereby enhancing benefits to farmers in communities across the 22-county region. As the feasibility plan for the processing center is implemented,the 40-member advisory board and 65-member producer group will develop into a 501(c)3 non-profit entity during the coming 18 months. A formal mission statement,goals,and objectives will be developed during this development process. Strong participation and interest has resulted in producers already volunteering to help steward this transition from a government entity to a non-profit. 8 BOCC Meeting, January 22, 2009, Page 18 /39