Agenda - 12-01-2014 - 4a - Laserfiche WebLink

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3. Be certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture as being a farm on which at least two- thirds of the land is composed of soils that: a. Are best suited for providing food, seed, fiber, forage, timber, forestry products, horticultural crops and oil seed crops; b. Have good soil qualities; c. Are favorable for all major crops common to the county where the land is located; d. Have a favorable growing season; and e. Receive the available moisture needed to produce high yields for an average of eight out of ten years; OR at least two - thirds of the land has been actively used in agricultural, horticultural or forestry operations as defined by N.C.G.S. §105 -277.2 (17 27 3) during each of the five previous years, measured from the date on which the determination must be made as to whether the land in question qualifies; 4. Be managed, if highly erodible land exists on the farm, in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service defined erosion - control practices that are addressed to said highly - erodible land; and 5. Be the subject of a non - binding conservation agreement, as defined in N.C.G.S. §121 -35, between the County and the owner that prohibits non -farm use or development of such land for a period of at least ten years, except for the creation of not more than three lots that meet applicable County zoning and subdivision regulations. At the August and October 2014 meetings, the Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board reviewed the findings of the staff assessments for the attached applications for the Orange County VAD program. All farm applications were reviewed and verified to have met or exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the program. The Agricultural Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the certification for the five (5) farms and 222.61 acres of farmland and their inclusion in the Voluntary and Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District program. The certification documentation is on file in the DEAPR /Soil and Water Conservation District office. The farms are described briefly below: Brief Farm Descriptions 1) Owners of the Cedar Grove Windy Hill Farm - Geoffrey and Jane Gledhill farm have submitted an application to enroll one (1) parcel of land totaling 38.88 acres as qualifying farmland for the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District program (EVAD) in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District. The farm operation is comprised of pasture land, beef cattle, dairy goats, and honeybees. The Gledhills also grow shiitake mushrooms, blueberries, and other fruit trees such as figs, sweet cherries, mulberries, elderberries, and Asian pears. The Gledhill Farm has been evaluated against the EVAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. 2) Owners of the McAdams Farm - Howard and Karen McAdams - have submitted an application to enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling 13.42 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program in the Efland /High Rock Agricultural District. The farm operation is comprised of fruit and vegetable