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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 1, 2011 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 5 - -~ <br />SUBJECT: USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant Submission <br />DEPARTMENT: Economic Development & PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Cooperative Extension <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Beginning Farmer & Rancher Noah Ranells, Economic <br />Development Program Summary Development, 245-2330 <br />Dottie Schmitt, Economic <br />Development, 245-2327 <br />Steve Brantley, Economic <br />Development, 245-2325 <br />Carl Matyac, Cooperative <br />Extension, 245-2050 <br />PURPOSE: To authorize staff to submit a grant proposal to the United States Department of <br />Agriculture (USDA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to provide funding <br />for programs associated with the Breeze Farm Incubator Program, the Piedmont Food & Ag <br />Processing Center, and Piedmont Grown, as well as prospective entities outside Orange <br />County. <br />BACKGROUND: During the past five years, agricultural entrepreneurship and business <br />development have been major activities of the Orange County Economic Development and <br />Cooperative Extension Departments. Orange County staff successfully began the PLANT at <br />Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator in 2007 to provide training and pilot production infrastructure <br />for new farm-related enterprises. More recently, the Piedmont Food & Ag Processing Center <br />was launched in October 2011. <br />Direct to consumer farm sales by Orange County farms increased four-fold from $171,000 in <br />2002 to $683,000 in 2007 (USDA Ag Census), with the number of operations growing by almost <br />50% from 54 to 78 farms.. In addition, the continued strong growth of local farmers markets' <br />community supported agriculture programs, and other direct to consumer marketing channels <br />suggest that these trends will continue into the next decade and beyond as food security and <br />safety remain an issue for consumers. Orange County has a strong history of supporting the <br />agricultural community and helping to maximize the profitability of this sector. <br />For several years, County staff have been devoting significant time to the PLANT at Breeze <br />Farm Enterprise Incubator and associated programs, resulting in an increased demand for <br />these services as well as an associated increase in marketing support. To sustain and enhance <br />this growth beyond what has been achieved with existing resources, an outside funding source <br />is necessary. This grant proposal leverages the past County successes and offers services that <br />