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7 <br /> (c) Education. The County may take such action as it deems appropriate through the Board or other <br /> entities or individuals to encourage the formation of the Districts or the Enhanced Districts and to <br /> further their purposes and objectives, including the implementation of public information programs to <br /> reasonably inform landowners of the agricultural district program. <br /> (d) Addition and withdrawal. <br /> (1) Qualifying farmland in a Region shall be added to the Agricultural District as provided in this <br /> Ordinance. <br /> (2) In the event that one or more Certified Qualifying Farms in the Agricultural District withdraws and <br /> the acreage in the District or Enhanced District becomes less than the minimum acreage required <br /> or results in the remaining land being noncontiguous,any Agricultural District will continue to exist <br /> so long as there is one Certified Qualifying Farm in the Agricultural District. <br /> (Ord. of 03-24-1992, Art. VI, eff. 04-01-1992; Amend. of 04-17-2000, eff. 04-17-2000; Amend. <br /> of 06-23-2005, eff. 06-23-2005; Amend. of 04-20-2010, eff. 04-20-2010) <br /> Sec. 48-7. -Certification and qualification of farmland. <br /> Requirements.To secure County certification as qualifying farmland(Certified Qualifying Farm),a farm <br /> must be real property that meets the following requirements: <br /> (1) Be located in the unincorporated area of Orange County; <br /> (2) Be eRgaged1R agncHIWe as that word is defined in NG GeR Stat § 106 581.1;Be used for bona <br /> fide farm purposes, as that term is defined in G.S. 106-743.4(a) and G.S. 160D-903; <br /> (3) Be in accordance with the minimum size requirements, which are as follows: <br /> (a) Consist of at least (i) one contiguous acre of land in production for horticultural or agricultural <br /> purposes; or (ii) at least twenty total acres of land under management for forestry; <br /> (b) In the event that a landowner has multiple tracts of qualifying farmland that are eligible, and <br /> those tracts are located within one mile or less of each other, then they may comprise a Voluntary <br /> Agricultural District. <br /> food,_(3) Be certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of <br /> Agriculture as being a farm on which at least two-thirds of the land is composed of soils that: are <br /> best suited for providing seed, fiber, forage, timber, forestry , <br /> horticultural crops <br /> and nil seed crops; <br /> (4) Be managed in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and N.C. Division <br /> of Soil and Water Conservation SeFViGe defined erosion-control practices and have a current <br /> conservation farm plan and/or forestry management plan associated with the current usages and <br /> owner; and <br /> (5) Be the subject of a conservation agreement, as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-35, between the <br /> County and the owner of such land that prohibits non-farm use or development of such land for a <br /> period of at least ten years, except for the creation of not more than three lots that meet applicable <br /> County zoning and subdivision regulations. <br /> (Ord. of 03-24-1992, Art. VII, eff. 04-01-1992; Amend. of 04-17-2000, eff. 04-17-2000; Amend. <br /> of 06-23-2005, eff. 06-23-2005; Amend. of 04-20-2010, eff. 04-20-2010; Amend. of 6-2-2015, <br /> eff. 6-2-2015) <br /> Sec. 48-8. -Application, approval, and appeal procedure. <br /> Page 5 <br />