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46 <br />1 <br />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 />The long-term survival of agriculture in Orange County requires athree-tiered strategy: <br />1) The County must continue efforts to protect productive farmland soils so that they <br />remain available for agricultural and forestry use; <br />2) Farming must become a more profitable venture; and <br />3) New and younger residents must cultivate interest and knowledge in farming to take <br />over as the next generation. <br />While it appears easy at first glance to separate these components into three distinct categories <br />they are really tightly interwoven. The following outline ofFers one approach at organizing <br />these concepts into a "laundry" list format than can be linked to a schedule for future <br />implementation. <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 Protect Farmland as a Valuable Natural Resource <br />19 Farmland is an irreplaceable physical, cultural, and economic asset. Land conservation <br />20 programs such as permanent easements and term easements offer one approach toward <br />21 keeping working lands in production and out of development. With a growing population to <br />22 feed in the coming years, productive farmland should be viewed as an important resource <br />23 worthy of protection. <br />24 <br />25 1. Continue the existing Agricultural Conservation Easements Initiative as part of the Lands <br />26 Legacy Program. <br />27 <br />28 2. The County should consider "working farmland" agricultural conservation easements. <br />29 Agricultural conservation easements are typically designed to remove some of the <br />30 development rights associated with a parcel, which can reduce property taxes by decreasing <br />31 the market value of the tract. Easements, however, are not typically designed to require a <br />32 use, such as farming, to continue. Orange County may wish to explore the use of additional <br />33 provisions to County-sponsored easements that would arrange for a percentage of land in <br />34 an agricultural easement to remain in farm or forestry use. <br />35 <br />36 3. Promote the idea of leasing conservancy lands for agricultural use. <br />37 Orange County has enjoyed success in conserving lands through easement programs <br />38 sponsored by the County and non-profit land conservancies. The County has also acquired <br />39 several tracts of former farmland for use as future parks. Some of these lands may be <br />40 suitable for agriculture and forestry uses through a lease program, where landless farmers <br />41 could rent tracts for the short-term (one season) or long-term (several seasons). <br />42 Participants could be selected from a lottery or selected after graduation from an <br />43 agricultural training program. The County's partnership with the North Carolina State <br />44 University in the Breeze Farm Incubator Program (PLANT) demonstrated the potential of <br />45 these types of programs. Those who completed coursework and prepared a business plan <br />46 were provided with garden plot. This model could work on other sites throughout the <br />Draft 11/09/2009 Action Steps to Ensure a Viable Agricultural Community 35 <br />