Orange County NC Website
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 2017 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 ten (10) farms, and <br /> their inclusion in the Voluntary (470 acres) and/or Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (91 <br /> acres) program. The certification documentation is on file in the DEAPR/Soil and Water <br /> Conservation District office. The farms are described briefly below: <br /> Brief Farm Descriptions: <br /> 1) Owners Allen and Christine Green have submitted an application to enroll one (1) parcel of <br /> land totaling 18.5 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District program <br /> (VAD) in the Cane Creek/Buckhorn Agricultural District. The farm operation includes organic <br /> vegetable crops, pastureland, and managed woodland. This parcel is close to other parcels <br /> owned by the Greens that are currently enrolled into the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural <br /> Program. The farm has been evaluated against each of the VAD certification requirement <br /> standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> 2) Owners Vann Bennett and Bernadette Pelissier have submitted an application to enroll three <br /> (3) parcels of land totaling 90.47 acres as qualifying farmland for the Enhanced Voluntary <br /> Agricultural District program (EVAD) in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District. The farm <br /> operation includes blueberries, blackberries, fruit and vegetable crops, and managed <br /> woodland. The farm has been evaluated against each of the EVAD certification requirement <br /> standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> 3) Owners Charles (Gene) and Ruth Williams have submitted an application to enroll two (2) <br /> parcels of land totaling of 72 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural <br /> District (VAD) program located in the White Cross Agricultural District. The farm includes <br /> pasture and hay crops for beef cattle, and managed woodland. The farm has been <br /> evaluated against each of the VAD certification requirement standards and meets or <br /> exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> 4) Owners and family members Doug and Heidi Brown and Helmut and Karen Poerschke have <br /> submitted an application to enroll two (2) parcel of land totaling 31.82 acres as qualifying <br /> farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program in the Cedar Grove <br /> Agricultural District. The farm operation includes horses, beef cattle, pastures, hay crops <br /> and managed woodland. The farm has been evaluated against each of the VAD certification <br /> requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. <br />