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62 <br /> Commissioner Carter asked for more information on the food insecurity rates and <br /> Medicaid enrollment. <br /> Jonathon Smith said with more people taking advantage of Medicaid, he was <br /> speculating if there would be a change in food insecurity rates. He said more data should be <br /> available on this with next year's census. <br /> Travis Myren said he will look into the eligibility cross over. <br /> Commissioner Fowler said she thinks DSS tries to enroll people into every program they <br /> are eligible for at once. <br /> Jonathon said he will touch base with DSS about this. <br /> Mike Ortosky said 75% of Farm Bill expenditures go to nutrition programs and less to <br /> agriculture. <br /> Commissioner Carter asked about vertical farming. She said she's heard it drastically <br /> increases productivity on a small footprint. She asked if looking at it for use in Orange County is <br /> under the purview of Cooperative Extension. <br /> Mike Ortosky said research at NC State and other universities is being done on <br /> controlled environment agriculture, which includes vertical farming. He said it does require tons <br /> of money and a lot of energy to build or rehab a place that can be used for this purpose. He said <br /> it is becoming a larger part of the food chain. <br /> Jonathon Smith recommended looking up the Plant Sciences Institute at NC State for <br /> interdisciplinary research focused on how to keep North Carolina as an industry leader in <br /> agriculture and the plant sciences and to drive technology innovations in this area. He said they <br /> send out a newsletter as well. <br /> Mike Ortosky said another thing to keep an eye on is Al. He said it is now being used to <br /> identify weeds in fields to target them directly, which will decrease pesticide use. <br /> Commissioner McKee said any building can be turned into a production facility but is <br /> very expensive. He said these technologies are coming, but may be limited to large commercial <br /> farmers due to cost. He said there's no reason the county can't support farmers through grants, <br /> etc. <br /> Commissioner Greene said she just looked up the Farm Bill and it has been extended <br /> through September of 2025. <br /> Jonathon Smith shared that Caswell and Rockingham counties have been able to <br /> purchase large farm equipment and loan it out to farmers for their use which lowers barriers. He <br /> said County Extension is working on similar ideas. <br /> The Board recessed for a break at 2:40 PM. <br /> Commissioner McKee left the retreat at 2:40 PM. <br />