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M needs. Kleese concluded that to preserve farming you've got to have farmers and land. It may be helpful to group these suggestions into two categories, farmer profitability recruitment and farmland preservation. Recor suggested getting the schools involved. Let's suggest that school curriculums teach students the importance of agriculture in our county and that one of their options is to be a farmer. Warren explained that the Future Farmers of America program in Orange High School is an educational program where school children are exposed to farming. Mandell said we should convince the Commissioners that it's time to budget the money to do the agricultural resources center. Warren suggested coming up with a packet of materials to give to Dave Gibbs and the Cedar Ridge FFA program coordinator describing land stewardship and farmland preservation to be included in their lesson plans. The idea of having an Agricultural Day in the schools was discussed as it is done in Person County-. Guest Dickinson reported he has a program set up at his farm to show school children farming activities through hands -on activities. Morrow suggested that the Blackwood Farm become the focal point for an agricultural center and farmers market rolled into one, where Northern Orange and Southern Orange can come together and understand each other. He also suggested finagling this project out of the school merger. A joint building that both school systems support and a working farm site that brings all this together including an environmental awareness component. Recor suggested including the School Board as part of the APB's outreach project. Warren said that all the schools have an element of environmental education and we need to give them the idea that farmers are environmental advocates too. It's all part of the environment, nature controlled and nature uncontrolled to the benefit of all people. Johnson noted that the Farmers Market had just received federal money and might be interested in getting something going. Warren suggested instead of spending that money on architects and designers why not organize a shelter building - pole barn type shelter like farmers use. Ranells brought up the voluntary agricultural districts program and the need to reevaluate the criteria for agricultural districts that balances the availability of land. He also suggested that we look at what other counties are doing for VADs and compare their thresholds are for agricultural districts. Kleese opened the issue of a bona fide farm and what qualifies a farm. Warren suggested continuing to use the state's definition although it's not a good one but it is one that everyone accepts and you can work from it. Guest Dickinson talked about the problems facing the modern small farm. He said the definition is so limiting. There was no definition for a farm for a hundred years. The definition got made up when people wanted to protect themselves from the dangers associated with the new types of farms such as agri- business farms. Prior to agri- business a farm couldn't exist without it's relationship to a community. That was a definition of a farm, a community and a farmer all working together. The state's definition of a farm has no relationship to a farm and it's community that supports it. As an example, if the public comes onto a farm, it's not a farm. Members continued discussing the interpretation of the DRAFT