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11 <br /> <br />to have met or exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the program. The Agricultural 1 <br />Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the certification for eight (8) 2 <br />farms and their inclusion in the Voluntary and the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District 3 <br />program. The certification documentation is on file in the DEAPR/Soil and Water Conservation 4 <br />District office. 5 <br /> 6 <br />Gail Hughes, Soil Conservationist, made the following PowerPoint presentation: 7 <br /> 8 <br />Orange County Voluntary 9 <br />Farmland Preservation Program 10 <br />Voluntary and Enhanced Voluntary 11 <br />Agricultural District Program 12 <br />Orange County Board of Commissions Meeting 13 <br />June 5, 2018 14 <br /> 15 <br />Orange County VAD/EVAD Program Benefits of Agricultural Districts 16 <br /> Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) is a 10 year commitment for farm to be in active 17 <br />farm production, but the landowner can withdraw from the VAD at any time, for any reason, 18 <br />with a 30 day notification to the Agri. Preservation Board. 19 <br /> Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) is an irrevocable 10 year commitment 20 <br />to be in active farm production, therefore the “enhanced” qualifies farm for up to 90% cost 21 <br />share rates and a priority for state and federal grants funds. 22 <br /> 23 <br /> Benefits include: (listing a few) 24 <br /> Makes public more aware of the local agricultural and its vital role in the economics of 25 <br />the county; 26 <br /> Recorded notice of agricultural district property is recorded at County Land Records 27 <br />office; 28 <br /> Land search on all properties within a ½ mile radius has notification of the agricultural 29 <br />status, therefore, the agricultural landowner has increased protection from nuisance 30 <br />lawsuits. 31 <br /> Agricultural Preservation Board can request public hearings for proposed condemnation 32 <br />of VAD land and utility assessments may be suspended or waived on EVAD land if not 33 <br />connected to the utility. 34 <br /> Farm may receive up to 25% of gross sales from the sale of non-farm products and still 35 <br />maintain its zoning exemption as a bona fide farm. (EVAD only) 36 <br /> VAD District signs are placed on farms, for public to know location of VAD/EVAD farms 37 <br /> 38 <br />Mary Sue Woods Johnson (Agreement Revocable Trust) 39 <br />• VAD – 90.44 acres – Caldwell Agricultural District – 1 parcel of land 40 <br />• Corn, grain, soybean, hay crops, and managed woodland 41 <br />• Currently has additional parcels of land in the VAD program 42 <br /> 43 <br />Vaughn and Marcia Compton – Compton Farms 44 <br />• VAD – 44.3 acres- Cedar Grove Agricultural District – 2 parcels of land 45 <br />• Tobacco, grain, hay crops, and managed woodland. 46 <br />• Currently has additional parcels of land in the VAD program 47 <br /> 48 <br />Diane A. Pope, Baynes Anderson, Cindy Anderson 49 <br /> (Anderson family property) 50