Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
unty may create agricultural districts http: / /www. news - record .com /news /local/farms17rlc.htm <br />0 3 Landreth's only concern is making sure <br />that farmers are not bound to keep their <br />land in agriculture if their plans change. <br />As written, the proposed law is clear: <br />farmers can withdraw from the program <br />at any time. <br />There's no clear downside for the <br />county, either, said Julian Philpott, <br />general counsel for the N.C. Farm <br />Bureau F6deration. The law does not <br />preclude the county from condemning <br />land in an agricultural district for a public <br />purpose, he said. The county would <br />also have more access to farmland <br />preservation trust funds if it forms such <br />a program, Philpott said. <br />Agricultural districts can also offer a <br />side benefit, he said -- creating more <br />awareness about farmers and their role <br />in the community. "It's a recognition <br />program," Philpott said. "Some of the <br />last open space that you've got is <br />farmland, and it's an important part of <br />preserving our heritage." <br />It's also about preserving peace of <br />mind, Elaine Fryar said. <br />Her husband is a fourth- generation <br />farmer who can remember when the <br />stretch from McLeansville Road to U.S. <br />29 -- more than two miles -- had only a <br />handful of houses. Now that portion of <br />Hicone Road is lined with homes and a <br />shopping plaza. <br />The Fryars own roughly 250 acres and <br />farm land on both sides of McLeansville. <br />They grow turf grass, along with corn <br />and wheat. <br />Elaine Fryar says the signs of urban <br />sprawl are everywhere -- the houses <br />along her property line, the kids who <br />sneak in to fish their pond, the drivers <br />who dangerously pass tractors on the <br />road. <br />"A farmer is an endangered species," <br />she said. "That's all we're doing, trying <br />of 5 8/23/2000 8:31 AM <br />