Agenda - 11-05-2009 - 6a (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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43 1 Cooperative Extension Service and Orange County, PLANT teaches small -scale sustainable 2 farming techniques, including business planning, with a focus on vegetable production. 3 Students, who attend the evening workshops, complete a business plan and field crop plan 4 have access to a 1/4 —acre plot on the W.C. Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center. 5 Colonel William C. Breeze and his family donated their substantial farm to North Carolina State 6 University's College of Agriculture and Life Science in the spring of 2006 for use as a farm 7 training center and demonstration crop facility. Though still in the development stages, this 8 multi -field complex should become an invaluable resource for Orange County farmers. 9 10 11 Potential Programs & Initiatives 12 In 2005 the General Assembly amended the 1986 Farmland Preservation Enabling Act to include 13 an economic development component. Renamed the Agricultural Development and Farmland 14 Preservation Enabling Act and the Agricultural Development and Farmland Trust Fund, this new 15 legislation established a new category of districts called Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural 16 Districts (EVAD). The new districts offer additional benefits for farmers, who sign an irrevocable 17 conservation agreement for at least ten years.19 18 19 Agricultural Support Enterprises 20 The Planning Department, Economic Development Commission, Cooperative Extension, Soil and 21 Water District Commission and Environment and Resource Conservation Department staffs have 22 been working together to examine County regulations regarding farm related uses that are 23 outdated or unnecessarily onerous. Proposed is a series of amendments to the Zoning 24 Ordinance that better accommodates the needs of farmers looking for ways to diversify and 25 generate more income. The amendments target uses that provide farmers with supplemental 26 revenue from agricultural products, businesses that are logical extensions of farm operations, 27 and services related to agriculture. Permitting would be based on the intensity of the use. A 28 new agricultural support enterprises manual (users guide) is also being proposed to make the 29 application process more user - friendly. 30 31 Piedmont Value -Added Shared -Use Food & Agricultural Processing Center 32 From June to November 2007, Orange County contracted with Smithson Mills of Mars Hill 33 College to conduct a feasibility study on establishment of a regional shared use food and 34 agricultural processing center serving Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange counties. The 35 results from this study indicated that the region had sufficient demand for the development of a 36 regional facility with a wide range of food processing equipment and the potential for future 37 expansion. The report listed a number of components that would be key to the success of the 38 center, particularly business development support and education. The study also included an 39 analysis of the building and site requirements for the type of processing center recommended. 40 A county-owned property, near Hillsborough, with an existing large warehouse -type building 41 was identified as a potential site for the processing center. The County is pursuing grant 42 funding to begin the development process for this collaborative venture. The ability to combine 43 small amounts of raw product from individual farmers into large volumes maybe the linchpin to 44 finally to tap into the local institutional market. 19 Orange County is reviewing the additional benefits linked to the EVAD program and will likely pursue another amendment to its ordinance to provide for this new type of district. Draft 1012812009 Opportunities for Enhancing Agriculture in Orange County 28