Orange County NC Website
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1 <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />47 <br />The long-term survival of local agriculture is dependant on a new generation of trained farmers. <br />Orange County must develop a better way to attract new farmers, (younger and new to <br />farming), and new farming operations to the area. Farm related education must go beyond the <br />classroom and provide hands-on training. While county high schools still have Future Farmers <br />of American (FFA) programs, municipal schools do not. Students who were not raised on a <br />farm may grow up without any farm-related experiences, even with active farms within a <br />fifteen-minute drive from their house. Farming is simply not perceived as a viable career path. <br />For those students who are interested in farming and have the knowledge to begin, finding <br />affordable land can be an insurmountable obstacle. Buying land is, for the most part, cost <br />prohibitive for young people starting out. Finding land to rent is likewise challenging: it is either <br />too expensive or simply unavailable. <br />Draft 6/1/2009 <br />Challenges to Agriculture <br />21 <br />