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0 committee that is looking at updating the land use plan for the county. That feedback session developed into a broader discussion about a lot of different things. Warren said the first item should be to come up with a farmland presentation element - -based on the Historic Preservation Element that was in the packet. He noted that there are some historic farmlands that are a part of the historic element and we need to build on that, since we feel that the cultural aspects are an important part of farmland preservation. Kleese suggested preservation strategies that focus on profitability & survival. Mandell distributed a list of items noting that she felt that historically the county had three prominent areas: 1- Government, 2- Agricultural, and 3- Education. She described her proposal as putting agriculture and agricultural businesses on par with education as the most important industry that Orange County. She noted that the four county boards that are involved in agriculture should meet seasonally with citizens throughout the county to, start talking with them about what we're trying to do and what they want, to discuss issues, to build support for programs and disburse information. She suggested the APB meet once a year with the Sierra Club in Chapel Hill to gain voting support for future bonds related to environmental issues. She said by the end of this year we ought to have met with our citizens and other groups to come up with a plan for an agricultural resource center and have a budget prepared by December 2003. The next big thing she asked for the board to do is to find creative ways to securely change tobacco farms. Mandell said that in talking to people, while making the film, they said that when you make this switch it is a big gamble. So there must be some kind of insurance we (the APB /County) can finance so that when someone starts on a new venture they won't loose everything because it doesn't work the first year. We should be able to come up with an insurance policy that covers farmers when they are making this new start. Mandell reported that she talked with Phil Gottwals and gathered information on what other farmers are doing. In some areas they are forming stock companies where the farmers agree to supply a certain item - -then they control the sale of that item. Or we could have organic stock companies of farmers and buyers. Then, under the secure changeover she suggested a business incubator proposal. Gottwals told her about other communities that are demonstrating to the public the quality of locally grown produce. She said there is a term called "fitonutrient" which means that if you gather a green tomato you don't get the nutrient food value you get if you wait for the tomato to ripen on the vine. This fitonutrient concept changes the whole notion of importing products from other areas, and makes locally grown foods very valuable. Mandell said she would like for grant funds to be applied for, for Orange County to develop a similar program, this year, and to begin plans on a local organic processing plant as others have discussed. Since Orange County is in the middle of the state it is an ideal location, and our area strongly supports organic farming. As we have such huge markets as the North Carolina Zoo and Southern States that sell animal foods that come from other states, we could open up another approach if we could figure out those needs and see if our farmers would take on those chores. For farm preservation, I would like to create strong arguments for the County Commissioners for the necessity of increased annual funds for the purchase of development rights and farm preservation because of the rapid DRAFT