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population. Most people, you hear stories about it all the time, have very little idea of where the food 1 actually comes from. And what this leads to is a lessening of value for rural lands across the Board . If 2 people don’t know where their food comes from and don’t understand farming then you actually see a 3 phenomenon whereas people don’t really value open space, rural areas and the rural character that defines 4 Orange County. And finally, there’s a globalized food system that’s built on economies of scale and federal 5 policy that decreases the competiveness of local farms. And so when you look at Orange County, which 6 has a strong agricultural heritage, all these challenges really conspire to make it difficult for Orange County 7 to look down the road at a future where agriculture is a big part of the economy and the landscape. 8 9 Andy Petesch: And what role does agritourism play in addressing those challenges? 10 11 Erin White: So with local farms facing lots of challenges then really the easiest way to measure that is in 12 profitability and if a farm can’t be profitable then it’s just not going to continue as a business. Agritourism 13 offers opportunities for farmers to supplement their on farm income. So not having to have an off farm job, 14 which more than half of Orange County farmers do. And make money doing other activities on their farm 15 and at the same time agritourism introduces visitors to the whole idea of farming. Agritourism gives new 16 people an opportunity to experience farming, to understand the importance of rural land and open space, 17 and also get introduced to why we would preserve rural land in the first place. So agritourism is actually a 18 really important key in creating a viable, local farm sector and future. 19 20 Andy Petesch: And did you review the Orange County Agriculture and Farm Protection plan? 21 22 Erin White: Agricultural Development and Farm Protection Plan? 23 24 Andy Petesch: Yes. 25 26 Erin White: I did. 27 28 Andy Petesch: Ok and what are some of the principles in that plan? 29 30 Erin White: Well they talk about a lot of the threats to farming that I just discussed. A number of the ideas 31 presented in that plan, which was developed in 2009, are also represented in the comprehensive plans to 32 agriculture section. 33 34 Andy Petesch: So this is a copy of the Orange County Agricultural Development and Farm Protection Plan. 35 36 Erin White: And this plan lays out a number of areas where Orange County Agriculture can be developed. 37 Specific sets of actions that will support agricultural development into the future of Orange County. In 38 particular for this project Orange County has decided that it needs to attract and train new farmers and new 39 farming operations, adopting a more proactive approach for attracting these new farmers. Orange County 40 has decided that it needs to foster greater recognition and public support for agriculture. And again, 41 agritourism is an excellent way to Foster this greater appreciation. 42 43 Andy Petesch: and are you referencing excerpts in our tab 6 of the notebook? 44 45 Erin White: Yes, I'm sorry. And it talks about a lot of things but one of the final things that I want to mention 46 is that it also points out the need to develop stronger connections between schools and local farms. Getting 47 kids, getting youth onto farms is actually a way to establish good eating habits, it's a way to build physical 48 69