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2 <br /> said highly-erodible land; and have a current conservation farm plan and/or forestry <br /> management plan associated with the current usages and owner; and <br /> e) Be the subject of a non-binding conservation agreement, as defined in N.C.G.S. §121-35, <br /> between the County and the owner that prohibits non-farm use or development of such land <br /> for a period of at least ten years, except for the creation of not more than three lots that <br /> meet applicable County zoning and subdivision regulations. <br /> The Agricultural Preservation Board reviewed the findings of the staff assessments for the <br /> attached applications for the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District program at the March <br /> and May 2016 meetings. All farm applications were reviewed and verified to have met or <br /> exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the program. The Agricultural Preservation <br /> Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the certification for the six (6) farms, <br /> including 537 acres (rounded) of farmland, and their inclusion in the Voluntary and/or Enhanced <br /> Voluntary Agricultural District program. The certification documentation is on file in the <br /> DEAPR/Soil and Water Conservation District office. The farms are described briefly below: <br /> Brief Farm Descriptions <br /> 1) Owner Randal Parker has submitted an application to enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling <br /> 26.89 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District program (VAD) in <br /> the Caldwell Agricultural District. The farm operation includes tobacco, small grain, hay and <br /> managed woodland. These parcels are adjacent to other parcels owned by the Parkers and <br /> are already enrolled into the Voluntary Agricultural Program. The Parker property has been <br /> evaluated against each of the VAD certification requirement standards and meets or <br /> exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> 2) Owners of the Sykes Family Limited Partnership, Jeff Sykes and family, have submitted an <br /> application to enroll four (4) parcels of land totaling 284.96 acres as qualifying farmland; <br /> 125.61 acres for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program and 159.35 acres for the <br /> Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District program (EVAD) in the Cane Creek/Buckhorn <br /> District. The farm operation includes dairy cattle, pasture, corn, grain, hay crops, and <br /> managed woodland. The Sykes property has been evaluated against each of the VAD and <br /> EVAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> 3) Owner of the Genesis Farm, Dr. Trudy Matheny, has submitted an application to enroll two <br /> (2) parcels of land totaling of 17.98 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural <br /> District (VAD) program located in the White Cross Agricultural District. The farm includes <br /> seasonal vegetables, cut flowers, fruit, and herbs. The farm has been evaluated against <br /> each of the VAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the <br /> measures above. <br /> 4) Owners of the Brooks Farm, David and Leslie Brooks, have submitted an application to <br /> enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling 84 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary <br /> Agricultural District (VAD) program in the Caldwell Agricultural District. The farm operation <br /> includes horses, pastures, hay crops and managed woodland. The Brooks Farm property <br /> has been evaluated against each of the VAD certification requirement standards and meets <br /> or exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> 5) Owners Lacy Joe and Katherine Ward have submitted an application to enroll three (3) <br /> parcels of land totaling 34.7 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural <br />