Orange County NC Website
■ Devote research funds to develop alternative crops to replace tobacco, and to finding <br />alternative uses for the tobacco plant. <br />• Support environmentally sensitive aquaculture. <br />Objective 3AA: Streamline state regulations to simplify agricultural diversification by small <br />operators. <br />Objective 3A.5: Increase participation in, and use of, Voluntary Farmland Preservation Districts. <br />• Institute speed limit reducti on,wi thin designated Voluntary Farmland Preservation Districts <br />so farmers may safely move equipment on secondary public roads. <br />■ Waive the rollback tax on farmer -to- farmer transfer for non - linear descendants. <br />■ Allow easement leasing, as for 10 -year periods. (The state's priority funding should continue <br />to go to property owners granting permanent easements.) <br />■ . Permit a local government option to forgo some taxes in exchange for short-term easement <br />leasing, such as property tax on buildings and equipment or deferring property tax. <br />■ Increase protection from condemnation, such as requiring a hearing before the local <br />agriculture board. <br />Objective 3A.6: Improve the existing Present Use -Value Taxation program. <br />■ Establish uniform interpretation for calculating value. <br />■ Allow a low - impact conservation option for forestry (county option). <br />■ Allow reduced size, but not income, to qualify under agricultural operation. <br />■ Waive rollback tax for all [farmer -to- farmer] transfers, and provide that a purchasing farmer <br />is immediately eligible for the use -value tax benefit. <br />■ Allow land protected by conservation easement to qualify for present -use value. <br />Objective 3A.7: Provide funds to local governments and land trusts engaged in farmland <br />preservation. <br />■ Continue to allow counties with adopted agricultural preservation plans to qualify for <br />matching state funds for farmland protection. <br />Objective 3A.8: State Responsibility. <br />■ Reserve part of any funding pool for projects directly sponsored by the state. (For instance, <br />protection of farmland that meets numerous preservation criteria such as containing prime <br />IN <br />