APB agenda 041801 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

MO LIMA agriculture districts, and limits on rate of tax increase in agriculture districts. Because environmental regulations represent a significant cost to farmers, state and local agencies should consider providing additional flexibility and incentives to farmers in an agriculture district. This can be safeguarded, in part, by the fact that all farmland easements bought through PDR must have a locally- approved soil and water conservation plan. Farmland Preservation is best delivered at the local level. The preferred mechanism for delivering the FPP on a county level is the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), working with its local government, cooperative extension service, and non - profit conservation organizations. The NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which is responsible for overall program authority, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which is responsible for soil and water conservation programs, are working together to develop a model for program delivery. Because; in North Carolina, there is a SWCD active in agriculture in every county, there is an effective outreach and administrative mechanism available. There is no need to create a duplicate or redundant Agriculture Preservation Board to perform FPP work. The local SWCD can work with landowners, farm organizations and county governments to set up agriculture districts, promote farmland preservation throughout the county, approve funds spent on PDR in the county, approve soil and water conservation plans for land included in conservation easements, hold and/or monitor conservation easements, and work with local planners on protecting target farmland for that county. SWCDs may serve as a focal point for delivering other incentives associated with FPP through local agriculture districts. Forsyth County is so far the only North Carolina county with its own Purchase of Developments Rights Program (PDR) program. Forsyth County has funded its program through occasional appropriations of county funds. With local appropriations, Forsyth County, through its Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), purchased conservation easements on approximately 1200 acres of farmland under threat of development. Forsyth County has leveraged additional federal (USDA Farmland Protection Program) and state farmland protection funds to acquire conservation easements on an additional 200 acres of farmland. Forsyth County has a waiting list of 5000 acres of farmland to enter the local farmland preservation program, but this year allocated no local funds to continue its purchase of development rights on critical farmlands.