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19 <br /> • Support continuation of the successful Farm-to-Table Event for <br /> approximately 300 students in local 4th grades, held annually at Blackwood <br /> Farm Park. <br /> • Enroll additional farm owners in the Century Farm Program through assistance <br /> with applications and deed research. <br /> • Purchase and install additional road signs to better identify farms in the Voluntary <br /> Agricultural District Program (existing and new farms). <br /> What are the concerns or emerging issues your board has identified for the upcoming <br /> year that it plans to address, or wishes to bring to the <br /> Commissioners' attention? <br /> • The APB believes that the ongoing loss of prime agricultural land is a significant <br /> threat to the future of agriculture in the County. Former farms continue to be <br /> developed at an alarming rate in response to skyrocketing land prices, making it <br /> increasingly difficult for existing farmers to justify staying in business. Likewise, the <br /> cost of establishing a new farm is prohibitive. As a result, farmland throughout the <br /> county is being taken out of production and converted to residential use, which <br /> requires expanded use of County services at additional taxpayer cost. The APB <br /> Farmland Preservation Subcommittee is exploring strategies to develop a variety of <br /> incentives for preserving farmland and allowing farming to remain financially viable. <br /> The APB will present recommendations to the BOCC in late 2024. <br /> • The last large-scale dairy farm in the county, Maple View, was sold in 2022—a drastic <br /> decline from 117 dairy operations in 1954. The loss of these dairy farms has <br /> contributed greatly to the growing loss of the County's farmland. Milk prices <br /> established by massive corporate dairies are too low to support our local dairies <br /> through conventional production strategies. Cow shares are an emerging small-scale <br /> alternative means of sustainable local dairy farming. The APB will support efforts to <br /> educate farmers and citizens about the cow shares as an opportunity to support local <br /> dairy production. <br /> • Agritourism continues to be an important way for farm owners to maintain their farms <br /> and diversify. More than half of County farmers/landowners responding to the APB's <br /> 2023 survey indicated that they would consider agritourism as a means of expanding <br /> or enhancing their agricultural business. The APB supports efforts to increase new <br /> agritourism opportunities to enhance farm income and attract visitors. <br /> • The average age of our farmers continues to increase, creating concerns about <br /> retirement and farm succession planning. Our "senior" farmers control a large <br /> percentage of our open farmland, creating the potential for a large decline in active <br /> farm acreage over the next decade. Rising land prices make it difficult or impossible <br /> for young farmers to take up farming. According to the APB's 2023 farm survey, the <br /> majority of farmers/landowners plan to leave their farms to a family member---but a <br /> minority of them reported having a transition plan or estate plan in place. The APB <br /> will support efforts to educate County farmers/landowners about transition planning <br /> and estate planning and to enhance farmers' awareness of the opportunities <br /> associated with conservation easements including those available through the Lands <br /> Legacy Program. <br />