Agenda - 02-02-1999 - 10e - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 In addition to adoption of the Economic Development Strategic Plan, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a Farmland Preservation Goal for fiscal year 1997-98 which stated: "Conduct survey of the farm community. Incorporate results into the cooperative ADAB/EDC effort to address strategies to preserve economic viability of Orange County agriculture." The 1998 Agricultural Survey, Keeping Farmers Farming:A Survey of the Challenges Facing Orange County Farmers, is the product of these initiatives. Development of the Survey Instrument The survey instrument was developed during Spring 1996 by Alexandra Elias, a graduate student from the Department of City and Regional Planning of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During a `pilot' survey to a selected group of agriculturists with previous involvement in County advisory boards and committees, several obstacles to completing a successful survey were identified. The issues of concern were confidentiality of responses and the intended purpose of the survey. These obstacles were indicative of uneasiness. among the farm community about County land use regulations and policies. There was also a considerable degree of mistrust from farmers about providing potentially sensitive information to a County agency. Several pilot survey respondents cited an unfortunate instance that occurred in the late 1980s as a source of this apprehension. A survey on irrigation practices, conducted by another County agency on behalf of the State, had garnered a high rate of response. However, approximately a year later, there was a proposal by the Town of Hillsborough to regulate the amount of water farmers had been pumping from their ponds. When the survey was cited as evidence of the need for new regulations, farmers were outraged. This situation severely damaged the credibility of the County among a group of citizens who are traditionally wary of government. The sensitivity of this issue a decade later demonstrated the need for the ADAB to be forthright in its communications with the farming community about the 1998 survey. The survey was refined by the Agricultural Districts Advisory Board and the Planning Department staff during the next several months to address the concerns raised during the pilot survey. The original Elias survey was condensed for both ease of response and to focus the questions on respondents' attitudes toward the changes to agriculture rendered by the rapid growth of the County. The final version of the survey is provided as Appendix A. Survey Sponsorship and Distribution The ADAB decided to find anagriculture-related entity to sponsor the survey to enhance its credibility and foster a greater rate of response. In December 1997, a proposal was made to the Orange Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors to endorse and sponsor the agricultural survey. In January 1998, the District Board of Supervisors agreed to endorse the survey. The survey cover letter, signed by the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, is provided as Appendix D. A mailing list provided by the Orange County Cooperative Extension Service was utilized for distribution of the survey. The sample included all known producers of agricultural products in Orange County. Size of operation was not a factor in developing the list; thus, the sample included one-person beekeeping or vegetable farm operations, as well as the largest dairy, beef, 1998 Orange County Agricultural Survey