Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
.~ <br />County of Orange Agricultural Preservation Board <br />Memorandum <br />To: Board of County Commissioners <br />Laura Blackmon, County Manager <br />Prom: Elizabeth Walters, Chair, Agricultural Preservation Board <br />Date: January 18, 2008 <br />Subject: Value Added Processing Center Resolution <br />Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed Piedmont Regional Shared Use, <br />Value Added, Food and Agricultural Processing Center. We have reviewed, with interest, the <br />consultant's report and would like to express the Agricultural Preservation Board's (APB) <br />support for this important facility. <br />As Orange County farmers continue to diversify from traditional commodities to vegetables and <br />specialty crops the need for new farm-related infrastructure will become increasingly important. <br />The proposed value added processing center has the potential to serve two important <br />components of this infrastructure. <br />1) The facility will provide a place for farmers to bring raw products for some level of <br />processing-washing, chopping, freezing, turning into sauces, etc.-which will allow the <br />farmer to sell the product at a higher price, thus adding value to the crop. <br />2) The facility will also serve as a hub for storage and distribution, an important part of the <br />brokering equation to get these improved products to markets. The Orange County <br />location will only facilitate the potential for future partnerships with institutional <br />consumers/buyers and alarge-scale consumer base. <br />The Agricultural Preservation Board believes that the value added processing center is the <br />linchpin.that will help/energize local farmers to transition into a new phase of agriculture, one <br />that will allow the region to retain an active farming community and take steps toward the long- <br />term goal of food security. Please find the attached resolution, which we have modified slightly <br />to better reflect Orange County's needs. We ask the Board to sign the resolution in support of <br />this important facility: Thank you. <br />Copies: Dave Stancil, Environment & Resource Conservation Director <br />Tina Moon, Cultural Resources Specialist <br />