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North Carolina Voluntary Agricultural Districts <br />July 2004 <br />A Progress Report <br />What Are Voluntary Agricultural Districts? <br />Voluntary agricultural district (VAD) programs <br />allow farmers to form areas where <br />commercial agriculture is encouraged and <br />protected. Authorized by the North Carolina <br />General Assembly in the 1985 Farmland <br />Preservation Enabling Act (61:106 -738) and <br />implemented at the county level, VADs form <br />partnerships between farmers, county <br />commissioners and land use planners. <br />Landowners receive a set of benefits in <br />exchange for restricting development on their <br />land for a specific time period. They establish <br />a quantifiable presence for farmers in <br />counties with active farming communities, <br />raise public awareness of agricultural activity <br />and help leaders plan future development <br />that will support and encourage the <br />continued viability of local agriculture. <br />As of dune 2004, 39 of North Carolina's 100 <br />counties had passed farmland preservation <br />ordinances establishing VAD programs. <br />When an ordinance has passed, county <br />commissioners appoint a board of people <br />who are familiar with local agriculture to <br />administer the program. The board <br />determines eligibility and guidelines for <br />enrollment, selecting the incentives and the <br />restrictions that are most appropriate for <br />local farming conditions. <br />Last year American Farmland Trust organized <br />two VAD training sessions that drew more than <br />200 people from 48 counties. Attendees <br />learned about other programs across the <br />country, met board members from other <br />counties and became familiar with state <br />farmland protection resources. <br />This progress report will encourage <br />increased communication between county <br />boards and continued improvement of local <br />programs. We encourage you to contact <br />your fellow board members or the resources <br />listed in this publication with questions or <br />ideas on making these programs more <br />effective in assisting local agriculture. <br />A View from the Piedmont: Chatham County <br />By Sam Groce, Extension Agent, Agriculture, NCCES <br />Chatham County, the second fastest <br />growing county in North Carolina, is a rural, <br />agrarian community sandwiched between <br />Triangle and Triad. Its largest city has a <br />population of 7,500. There is limited <br />industry and employment —most of the <br />residents work outside the county. <br />Chatham County consistently ranks in the top <br />20 counties for agricultural production in North <br />Carolina. Its largest agricultural commodities <br />are poultry and cattle (fourth and fifth in the <br />state, respectively). The poultry and cattle <br />production go hand in hand — chickens produce <br />litter that is used as fertilizer on pastures where <br />cattle graze. With chicken manure comes odor: <br />from the houses themselves, the litter after it is <br />spread on pasture and from the tractors and <br />trucks moving slowly along the highways and <br />rural roads of the county. People new to the <br />county who previously had lived their lives in <br />cities had little idea of the realities associated <br />with agriculture. This became a problem. <br />Farmers here wish to be good neighbors, <br />but they also want the newcomers to the <br />county to realize that farming is their <br />history and their livelihood. <br />MM 1A 1 _ <br />An—ic'rYic:ltcl n Farn-ih-.— c:l Tr tt st <br />Southeast Regional Office <br />24 Court Square NW, Suite 203 • Graham, NC 27253 <br />336 -221 -0707 - www. farmland, org <br />