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7 <br />are the responses regarding environmental regulations and factors hindering the individual <br />agricultural operation. In addition, the survey highlighted responses to policy options for Orange <br />County including such programs as an agricultural advocate and transfer of development rights. <br />Why are farmers farming, and what are their plans for the future? <br />Farmers are farming for a multitude of reasons. Many responses were closely ranked, with 69% <br />of respondents citing the love of the rural atmosphere as the primary reason. Many farmers <br />expressed their enjoyment of the independence offered by the farming lifestyle. Over half of <br />Orange County's farmers are engaged in agriculture in order to support themselves and their <br />families. When asked what their future plans entailed, 60% stated they were going to continue <br />agriculture within their families. Fourteen percent (14%) stated they planned to keep part of <br />their property in agriculture. <br />Perceptions of changes in land uses surrounding individual farm <br />When asked about changes in land uses bordering the farmer's operation, two-thirds (67%) <br />responded that changes have occurred in the last 10 years. Sixty percent (60%) of the changes <br />noted were new residential developments. This was the majority response, as the next largest <br />category of uses noted was a change in fanm activity at 19%. Forty-nine percent (49%) of <br />respondents felt that the activities of the new developments near their operations had adversely <br />affected their farms. However, 42% of respondents noted no detrimental effects from <br />development. <br />Factors hindering the individual operations and perceptions of neighbors <br />Respondents were asked to rate several problems that hinder their operations, ranging from <br />property theft and vandalism to crop loss from wildlife. The loss of crops due to wildlife was <br />rated by 53% of respondents. The next largest problem hindering farmers' operations was <br />dealing with non-farming neighbors. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of respondents stated this as a <br />problem. When asked if these problems were worse now than a decade ago, an overwhelming <br />76% said yes. <br />Twenty-three percent (23%) of respondents acknowledged receiving complaints from neighbors. <br />Sixteen percent (16%) of respondents reported receiving complaints about odors from their <br />agricultural operation. <br />Perceptions of environmental regulations and those that influence the choice to discontinue <br />farming <br />Seventy-two percent (72%) of survey respondents stated that environmental regulations at all <br />levels affected their operations. While Federal, State, and County regulations all received votes, <br />the County watershed regulations received the most. Fifty-two percent (52%) of respondents <br />noted that these regulations affect their operations. Close behind at 45% were the NC waste <br />management rules. Following in a close third were the Federal Clean Water Act regulations. In <br />the narrative comments that were permitted at the end of the survey, several respondents <br />lambasted County watershed regulations. The County's stringent stream buffer requirements, <br />and the fact that County regulations exceed State requirements, were two points of contention. <br />1998 Orange County Agricultural Survey <br />