Agenda - 05-25-2006 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Appendix 3, Page 1 of 4 Preamble: Agriculture is literally the foundation of our' society and our culture. It has an impact on every one of the basic human needs: clean food, clean water, clean air, and shelter. It is the core of any long-term viability strategy for a community, Agriculture is in rapid decline in North Cazolina and Orange County. The average age ofthe farmer in NC is 57, and we are losing over 1000 small fazms per year (2002 USDA Agricultural Census). In Orange County we currently have 60.3 farmers and have lost over 11000 acres of cropland since 1996 (2005 Orange Co, Farm Service Agency), Most fanners' children aze not interested in continuing to operate the farm, If this trend continues we will be below 100 farms in Orange County in the next 30 years. Agriculture is experiencing fundamental change on many levels, The biotech industry is leading us towazds genetically engineered crops and livestock. The traditional safety nets provided to farmers by government programs are being phased out, The global marketplace has become a difficult place for American farmers to operate as their costs of production are higher than in other countries and the pressure to develop their land mounts, However, the news is not all bad. In this region we do have a strong demand for local and organic produce and livestock, The U.S. organic mazket is projected to reach a value of $30.7 billion by 2007, and it has experienced an annual growth rate of over 21 percent per yeaz since 1997. National companies are interested in developing organic enterprises in this region. One of the charges given to The Ag Center Work Group by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners was to Ltvestigate m:d explore potezztial need aztd uses for an Orange County Agricultural Center, utilizing new information and current/future agricultural needs. The Long Term Subcommittee was approved by the full work group to focus on the long term future agricultural needs of the county. Technically, we cannot address the long-term use of an Agricultural Resources Center until we answer some fundamental questions as a community. The questions are: • What do we want our food and fazming system to look like in Orange County in 30 years? • Where do we want our food to come from? • How do we want it produced? • What can we do today to set a positive course towards a food and farming system that's good for' farmers, consumers, and the environment? The Long Term Subcommittee discussed the components of a food and farming system and strongly urges the Orange County Board of County Commissioners to support a process to examine factors that will affect the long term viability of agriculture in Orange County. We believe that this process should be based on a system of staff and citizen committees that conduct a complete analysis of the six basic components of a food and fazming system. We also believe that this process will help us answer the questions above as a community. The Long Term Subcommittee offers the following as a foundation for the analysis.