Shaping Orange County's Future Final Full Report

Browse Search

Farmland Loss As the graph below illustrates, the amount of total farmland' in the county has declined by 138,763 acres (or 76 %) from 1967 to 1996. Harvested cropland in the county has declined by 49,730 acres or 68.3% over the same time period. 1967 1977 1989 1992 1996 Aye wd Farniand and Harvested Cropland Orange CouitY 1967 -1996 183 263 67,885 156,878 32,900 wa 27,100 67,491 23,800 44,E ❑ Harveged cropland El Tatal Farrr�land 23,000 5,000 55,000 105,000 155,000 205,000 Suce: Orange Co^ Ooopuahve Extem on 333 ce Farmland loss in the county has been triggered by a variety of factors. Higher land values, loss of federal price supports, increased environmental regulation, increased taxation, the advent of the corporate farm, and changing market forces have reduced the overall profitability of farming. Of particular concern in 10 recent years has been the increasing trend of conversion of farmland to residential use. Data is not available to determine what percent of farmland has been converted for residential purposes. Loss of Prime Forests A study done by the Triangle Land Conservancy for Orange County showed that in 1988 prime forests3 covered nearly 90,000 acres or about 35% of Orange County. Nine years later the study found that 10% of these prime forests had been lost or reduced in size. 1 Farmland refers to land upon which any of the following agricultural activity takes place: cultivation of soil for crop production, planting and production of trees and timber, and the raising of livestock for individual and public use, consumption and marketing. 2 Harvested cropland refers to land upon which crops were harvested or hay was grown, this includes land in orchards, citrus groves, vineyards, nurseries and greenhouses. 3 Prime forest is defined as hardwood or mixed hardwood forests at least 40 acres in size that are undisturbed, or only slightly disturbed by human activity.