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3. Be certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United <br />States Department of Agriculture as being a farm on which at least two- thirds of <br />the land is composed of soils that: <br />a. Are best suited for providing food, seed, fiber, forage, timber, forestry <br />products, horticultural crops and oil seed crops; <br />b. Have good soil qualities; <br />c. Are favorable for all major crops common to the county where the land is <br />located; <br />d. Have a favorable growing season; and <br />e. Receive the available moisture needed to produce high yields for an <br />average of eight out of ten years; <br />OR at least two - thirds of the land has been actively used in agricultural, <br />horticultural or forestry operations as defined by N.C.G.S. §105 -277.2 (17 27 3) <br />during each of the five previous years, measured from the date on which the <br />determination must be made as to whether the land in question qualifies; <br />4. Be managed, if highly erodible land exists on the farm, in accordance with the <br />Natural Resources Conservation Service defined erosion - control practices that <br />are addressed to said highly - erodible land; and <br />5. Be the subject of a non - binding conservation agreement, as defined in N.C.G.S. <br />§121 -35, between the County and the owner that prohibits non -farm use or <br />development of such land for a period of at least ten years, except for the creation <br />of not more than three lots that meet applicable County zoning and subdivision <br />regulations. <br />At the August and October 2014 meetings, the Orange County Agricultural Preservation <br />Board reviewed the findings of the staff assessments for the attached applications for the <br />Orange County VAD program. All farm applications were reviewed and verified to have <br />met or exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the program. The Agricultural <br />Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the certification for the <br />five (5) farms and 222.61 acres of farmland and their inclusion in the Voluntary and <br />Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District program. The certification documentation is on <br />file in the DEAPR /Soil and Water Conservation District office. The farms are described <br />briefly below: <br />Brief Farm Descriptions <br />1) Owners of the Cedar Grove Windy Hill Farm - Geoffrey and Jane Gledhill farm have <br />submitted an application to enroll one (1) parcel of land totaling 38.88 acres as <br />qualifying farmland for the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District program (EVAD) <br />in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District. The farm operation is comprised of pasture <br />land, beef cattle, dairy goats, and honeybees. The Gledhills also grow shiitake <br />mushrooms, blueberries, and other fruit trees such as figs, sweet cherries, <br />mulberries, elderberries, and Asian pears. The Gledhill Farm has been evaluated <br />against the EVAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of <br />the measures above. <br />2) Owners of the McAdams Farm - Howard and Karen McAdams - have submitted an <br />application to enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling 13.42 acres as qualifying <br />farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program in the Efland /High <br />Rock Agricultural District. The farm operation is comprised of fruit and vegetable <br />