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22 <br />1 Orange County farmers generated over 46 million dollars to the local economy in 2005, but <br />2 their indirect contribution was much more. A substantial number of non-agricultural businesses <br />3 supply the needs of farmers. These include processors, vehicle and equipment dealers and <br />4 other enterprises. Farmers own and must maintain and replace trucks, tractors, and numerous <br />5 other pieces of farm equipment and machinery. They purchase petroleum products, animal <br />6 feed, seeds and fertilizer. Local farmers also hired farm laborers and in some cases provide <br />7 housing for those laborers. The growing equine industry supports specialty tack shops, with <br />8 apparel needs for riders as well as related supplies. For these businesses to survive and <br />9 prosper, a core critical mass of farmers must be preserved and vice-versa. Though difficult to <br />10 measure, these many businesses supporting agriculture account fora sizable portion of the <br />11 county's employment base. <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 />Farm Land Use Trends & Family Farm Statistics <br />Agricultural land use patterns began to change in Orange County during the late 1960s and <br />1970s as a result of accelerating population growth. New residents moved into the rural parts <br />of the county and farmland was converted to other uses. The amount of land devoted to <br />agriculture decreased from 70% in 1950 to 28% in 2002, and the number of farms decreased <br />from a post-World War II high of over 2000 in 1950 to 631 in 1974. Since the 1970s, however, <br />the number of farms has remained relatively constant. Of the 71,010 acres land of farmland in <br />2002, approximately 34,766 acres were in cropland, 22,652 acres in woodland and 8521 acres <br />in pastureland. Roughly 342 acres of land were enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve <br />Program and Wetlands Reserve Program. <br /> Orange County Agricultural Lands Trends: 1959-2002 <br />Source: 1959-2002 Census of Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture <br />160 000 - 1,600 <br /> 1,400 <br /> - 1,200 <br /> y <br /> - 1, 000 ~ <br /> 0 <br /> - 800 <br /> e <br /> 600 Z <br /> 400 <br /> 200 <br /> -0 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Draft II/09/2009 Overview ofAgricuitural Activity <br /> <br />140,000 - <br />120,000 - <br />a 100,000 - <br /> <br />80, 000 - <br />60,000 <br />40,000 - <br />20,000 <br />0 <br /> 1 95 9 1 96 4 196 9 1974 197 8 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 <br />D Land In Farms 145,96 131,55 110,74 87,812 87,344 90,575 81,108 67,491 72,673 71,010 <br />~~"'# of Farms 1,418 1,115 895 631 564 599 522 433 577 627 <br />21 <br />