Agenda - 08-03-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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0..i The enabling legislation [G.S. 106 - 738(1)] requires that an ordinance must provide for the creation of districts consisting initially of at least a number of contiguous acres of qualifying farmland or a number of qualifying farms deemed appropriate by the Board of Commissioners. While the 155 -acre threshold was adopted, suggestions were made during the public hearing process to set the threshold at.a minimum to recognize farm operations such as those which raise specialized produce (squash, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, canteloupe, tomatoes, strawberries, and pumpkins), livestock (sheep, goats, and horses), and flowers. The 1987 Census of Agriculture bears out this suggestion, including the comment that there are more smaller farms but greater amounts of acreage in large farms. Farm Average Farm Size Acres Size County 1987 1982 1974 1969 Alamance. 122 118 108 103 Durham 103 135 140 113 Person 212 171 129 131 ORANGE 155 151 139, 124 Chatham 117 115 129 119 Caswell 184 163 141 132 Wake 128 125 116 111 Forsyth 75 67 69 62 Mecklenburg 103 107 118 121 Rowan 131 134 125 110 Buncombe. 87 73 77 62 The enabling legislation [G.S. 106 - 738(1)] requires that an ordinance must provide for the creation of districts consisting initially of at least a number of contiguous acres of qualifying farmland or a number of qualifying farms deemed appropriate by the Board of Commissioners. While the 155 -acre threshold was adopted, suggestions were made during the public hearing process to set the threshold at.a minimum to recognize farm operations such as those which raise specialized produce (squash, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, canteloupe, tomatoes, strawberries, and pumpkins), livestock (sheep, goats, and horses), and flowers. The 1987 Census of Agriculture bears out this suggestion, including the comment that there are more smaller farms but greater amounts of acreage in large farms. Farm Average Size Number Acres Farm in of in Size Acres Farms Farms Acres 1 -9 31 109 3.5 10 -49 126 3422 27.2 50 -69 75 4316 57.5 70 -99 63 5288 83.9 100 -139 58 6677 115.1 140 -179 37 5951 160.8 180 -219 32 6225 194.5 220 -259 10 2415 241.5 260 -499 58 21165 364.9 500 -999 26 16551 636.6 1000+ 6 8989 1498.2 Another suggestion was made to allow designation if the family earned at least 50 percent of its income from the farm operation, regardless of the size of the farm. Such a provision, however, would not be consistent with the standards set forth in G.S. 106- 738(1).