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I <br /> 2 <br /> 2 Be participating in the farm present-use-value taxation program established by <br /> N C G S. §105-277 2 through §105-277 7, or is otherwise determined by the <br /> county to meet all the qualifications of this program set forth in N C G S 105- <br /> 277 3, <br /> 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 mayor 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 (1, 2, 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 January, March, and May 2014 meetings, the Orange County Agricultural <br /> Preservation Board reviewed the findings of the staff assessments for the attached <br /> applications for the Orange County VAD program All farm applications were reviewed <br /> and verified to have met or exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the <br /> program. The Agricultural Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend approval <br /> of the certification for the nine (9) farms and 781 acres of farmland and their inclusion in <br /> the Voluntary and Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District program The certification <br /> documentation is on file in the DEAPR/Soil and Water Conservation District office The <br /> farms are described briefly below <br /> Brief Farm Descriptions- <br /> 1) The owner of the Dwight Poole farm has submitted an application to enroll one (1) <br /> parcel of land totaling 19 87 acres as qualifying farmland for the Enhanced <br /> Voluntary Agricultural District program (EVAD) and one (1) parcel of land totaling <br /> 18 33 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) <br /> program in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District The farm operation is comprised of <br /> pasture, pastured pork, vegetable, corn, and grain crops, and managed <br /> forestry/woodland acres The Poole farm has been evaluated against each of the <br /> VAD and EVAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the <br /> measures above <br />