APB meeting summary 05182022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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z Subcommittee. This topic generated considerable positive interest and discussion among the BOCC members, asked the APB to continue this work and to bring back an update. b) Membership/roster update: There are three vacant at-large positions along with a vacancy for a VAD farm owner in the Cedar Grove district. Discussion followed about possible options, especially how to treat the vacant district position and to shift positions to allow Saiers to remain on the APB. We still need to recruit some new members, especially for the vacant at-large positions. Appointments won't be made until after the BOCC summer break. 7. Informational Items/Future Agenda Items: a. Staff report on VAD program: Perrin provided a brief update on some of the farms now in various stages of the process, including the Totten Farm and the Rose Farm. She then discussed the topic of reactivating the popular VAD breakfast again. Members favored a time in November, ahead of Thanksgiving if possible. Perrin will review budget and projected costs ahead of the next meeting. Possible venues include: Cedar Grove Community Center, Schley Grange Hall, and the Cedar Grove Ruritan Club. b. Best Policies for Farmland Protection project update: Saiers gave an overview of the project. The subcommittee is working Brian Carson, a GIS expert in Planning, on Phase 1, using the county's GIS data to look at farmland conversion over time and to explore ways to identify land to prioritize for protection. The subcommittee will provide an update by the 3rd quarter. Phase 2 will bring in stakeholder input and interviews. Saiers will share a draft list of possible stakeholder organizations. Stancil noted that there were previous GIS datasets created (the Comprehensive Resource Database) showing floodplains and prime farmland etc. Discussion followed about working with the new Planning director; Stancil will reach out to arrange for a meeting when the time comes. The OC Farm Bureau has agreed to contribute $2,000 toward this effort, thanks to McAdams and Sykes. At some point it will be appropriate to share a draft summary of the initiative and its findings to the BOCC. c. Ag Economic Development Update: Ortosky provided a brief written summary, read by McKnight: The Ag Grant just finished another successful funding cycle (FY 21/22) and added more grant recipients to the list. Planning is underway for additional funding and development for the W.C. Breeze Research & Education Farm. We are collaborating with Triangle J Council of Governments (TCOG) in a grant from the Economic Development Agency (federal)just given jointly to TJCOG and 2 adjacent COGS (Tar-Kerr & Upper Coastal Plain) for regional food and agriculture systems planning. He is working with Ashley Heger (Food Council) as we plan a project with Freshspire (https://www.getfreshspired.com/ ) a tech platform for sourcing food products from farms and small value-added processors. An outgrowth of many if these efforts is a recognition of the need for more local/accurate data in the form of an Orange County-specific Ag Census. 8. Time for Information Sharing: None 9. Adjournment: Hooten moved to adjourn, seconded by Saiers. Meeting adjourned at 7:52 pm.