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2 <br /> and Wagger volunteered. Incorporating the logo used on our existing signs might help folks <br /> better connect with what the program does county-wide. Staff will follow up. <br /> b) Brief review of the county's Land Use Plan 2050 process and APB input: Staff asked for a <br /> show of hands of who attended one of the public information meetings for this process. <br /> Only a few had. Hughes noted that as of now, they obtained only 160 responses, which is <br /> not a statistically significant number given our size and population. The APB will be asked <br /> for more input as this moves forward. Members viewed the PowerPoint program developed <br /> by the county's consultants, which showed a wide range of demographic and statistical <br /> information like: projections for growth and development; maps showing farm sizes; slopes; <br /> occupancy permits; number of farms, etc. Hughes noted that the VAD farm map is not up to <br /> date. Members can view this on the county's land use planning website. <br /> c) VAD Report/update: Perrin is currently out on parental leave until early June. She is <br /> working with a couple of prospective farms and will present those at a later meeting. <br /> d) Farmland Preservation Subcommittee: Saiers provided an update and PowerPoint showing <br /> the results of the 2022 USDA farm census survey, which had a high participation rate of <br /> about 61%. Since 2017, the number of farms in the county remains stable, while the <br /> acreage of land in farming and the average farm size are both decreasing. New and <br /> beginning producers are increasing (defined as farmers in operation for 10 or fewer years). <br /> The decrease in land now in farming is consistent with our own results from our GIS data. <br /> Farm income went down dramatically during that period. The majority of farms show less <br /> than $2,500 in sales. Agritourism has increased by both numbers and acreage. Our own <br /> farmer/landowner survey was emailed to over 350 addresses, with a total of 92 <br /> respondents, giving us about a 25% response rate which is typical for email. Most <br /> respondents farmed 50 acres or less. About half own or rent out forestland. 66%were 48 <br /> years old or older. For over 70%, farming was not their primary source of income. 68% <br /> percent employed 2 or fewer people. For 32%, agritourism was the primary source of farm <br /> income. 67% have farms or forestland enrolled in the PUV program. About 65% were aware <br /> of the VAD program, with about 45% enrolled. Nearly half intend to transfer their farms to <br /> family members for farm use, but 70% don't have a formal succession plan. Among the <br /> biggest challenges were labor costs and high cost of land. Discussion followed. These <br /> statistics made some members wonder why folks were actually farming in Orange County. <br /> How can we find ways for farmers to get fair market value for an easement, or fair market <br /> value for the sale of the entire farm if it's permanently protected? Would that be attractive? <br /> And how do we ensure that land will stay in farming after it goes to the next generation? Big <br /> AG interests are looking at the SE as a good area to invest in due to predictable rainfall in a <br /> changing climate. We know we can't afford to protect all the farmland in the county, so <br /> protecting the prime farmland may be one way to focus limited resources. Compensatory <br /> mitigation is another approach, as is currently done with wetlands. In that case, a developer <br /> would have to pay to mitigate the impact of the development on prime farmland. The goal <br />