Agenda - 08-24-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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311 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). More recently, the use of the "median" (half above /half below) as opposed to the "average" has been recommended by a citizen. Based on 1987 Census of Agriculture data, this would place the median farm size, in terms of number of farms, at approximately 80 acres. If this standard were adopted, this would mean that half of all farms (eight of 13 applications -- 62 %) would qualify for district designation. Based on the current threshold of 155 acres, only 30 percent of all farms (four of 13 applications - 31 %) would qualify for designation. One concern related to the threshold issue is the number of potential applications which might be received and the staff time required to process them. The charts accompanying this abstract indicate that the applications received to date have generally followed the same distribution of farms in the county. The 13 applications received, however, only represent two percent of all farms. Even if participation was 30 percent, this would mean that the potential number of applications (with an 80- acre threshold) would range from 80 to 100. If spread out over several months, that number of applications would seem manageable.