Orange County NC Website
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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 />Cooperative Extension Service and Orange County, PLANT teaches small-scale sustainable <br />farming techniques, including business planning, with a focus on vegetable production. <br />Students, who attend the evening workshops, complete a business plan and field crop plan <br />have access to a 1/4-acre plot on the W.C. Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center. <br />Colonel William C. Breeze and his family donated their substantial farm to North Carolina State <br />University's College of Agriculture and Life Science in the spring of 2006 for use as a farm <br />training center and demonstration crop facility. Though still in the development stages, this <br />multi-field complex should become an invaluable resource for Orange County farmers. <br />Potential Programs & Initiatives <br />In 2005 the General Assembly amended the 1986 Farmland Preservation Enabling Act to include <br />an economic development component. Renamed the Agricultural Development and Farmland <br />Preservation Enabling Act and the Agricultural Development and Farmland Trust Fund, this new <br />legislation established a new category of districts called Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural <br />Districts (EVAD). The new districts offer additional benefits for farmers, who sign an irrevocable <br />conservation agreement for at least ten years.19 <br />Agricultural Support Enterprises <br />The Planning Department, Economic Development Commission, Cooperative Extension, Soil and <br />Water District Commission and Environment and Resource Conservation Department staffs have <br />been working together to examine County regulations regarding farm related uses that are <br />outdated or unnecessarily onerous. Proposed is a series of amendments to the Zoning <br />Ordinance that better accommodates the needs of farmers looking for ways to diversify and <br />generate more income. The amendments target uses that provide farmers with supplemental <br />revenue from agricultural products, businesses that are logical extensions of farm operations, <br />and services related to agriculture. Permitting would be based on the intensity of the use. A <br />new agricultural support enterprises manual (users guide) is also being proposed to make the <br />application process more user-friendly. <br />Piedmont Value-Added Shared-Use Food & Agricultural Processing Center <br />From June to November 2007, Orange County contracted with Smithson Mills of Mars Hill <br />College to conduct a feasibility study on establishment of a regional shared use food and <br />agricultural processing center serving Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange counties. The <br />results from this study indicated that the region had sufficient demand for the development of a <br />regional facility with a wide range of food processing equipment and the potential for future <br />expansion. The report listed a number of components that would be key to the success of the <br />center, particularly business development support and education. The study also included an <br />analysis of the building and site requirements for the type of processing center recommended. <br />A county-owned property, near Hillsborough, with an existing large warehouse-type building <br />was identified as a potential site for the processing center. The County is pursuing grant <br />funding to begin the development process for this collaborative venture. The ability to combine <br />small amounts of raw product from individual farmers into large volumes may be the linchpin to <br />finally to tap into the local institutional market. <br />19 Orange County is reviewing the additional benefits linked to the EVAD program and will likely pursue <br />another amendment to its ordinance to provide for this new type of district. <br />Draft 6/1/2009 Opportunities for Enhancing Agriculture in Orange County 28 <br />