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3 <br /> subcommittee, focusing on assessment of the loss of farmland to development and to identify <br /> strategies and policies to support the viability of farming. He said the second major task was to <br /> prepare an update on the Agriculture Development Farmland Protection Plan, which was last <br /> updated in 2009. He said subcommittee members spent hundreds of hours on the update, which <br /> will be presented on April 8 to the Board of Commissioners. He said the subcommittee thoroughly <br /> assessed the state of agriculture in the county and they surveyed active farmers and farm owners. <br /> He said the draft plan is going through review with the committee members. He said the plan will <br /> bring forward three overarching goals along with specific recommendations. He said an <br /> overarching goal is to plan for agriculture and elevate land stewardship to be a central <br /> consideration in land use planning. He said a second goal is to conserve farmland through direct <br /> measures. He said the third goal is to enhance economic viability of agriculture. He said the <br /> voluntary agricultural district breakfast on November 12 was attended by 55 people with <br /> presentations by a couple of Orange County farmers. He said 4 additional farms and 145 acres <br /> were added to the Voluntary Agricultural District program. He said they cohosted a farmland <br /> succession workshop attended by 40 farmers. <br /> Vice-Chair Hamilton asked more about the Century Farm Program. <br /> Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator, said that farmers really have pride in <br /> receiving the designation and the county works with the State on this program. He said some <br /> farms have asked for a "bicentennial farm" designation because they have been in the same <br /> family for over 200 years. He described some of the difficulties around chain of title issues for <br /> farms to be considered as "Century Farms" by the Department of Agriculture. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked about the need for more processing facilities. <br /> Peter Sandbeck said that they are trying to figure out the demand on the buyer side, and <br /> the big buyers would be Duke University or UNC, but the farms are not large enough to meet that <br /> demand. He said they are looking into a cooperative arrangement to sell large quantities by <br /> combining farms and products. He said this would have a central packing, central refrigeration, <br /> and then marketing the product. <br /> Regina Baratta of the Commission for the Environment said they have been working on <br /> reviewing applications for grants and making recommendations to the Board. She said they base <br /> it on the reduction of greenhouse gases. She said they participated in the Earth Evening and the <br /> outside agency funding program. She said they continue to co-sponsor the Nature of Orange <br /> photo contest, started participating in the Orange County Climate Council, continue to identify <br /> properties for the Lands Legacy Plan and align it with the climate action plan. She said that two <br /> members are working on their master naturalist certifications. She said they will continue to review <br /> and comment on environmental issues. She said the goal for the next year is to work on the state <br /> of the environment report. She said they are just starting the process. She said they will continue <br /> to work on the Orange County Climate Action Plan. She said they have five new members, and <br /> they still have three openings. She said there are 15 members in total and it is hard to maintain <br /> that. She said that she would love to also have a youth delegate. <br /> Chair Bedford said that there was a Duke grant for planting trees. <br /> Regina Barrata said that there will be a tree giveaway and a repair cafe on March 15. <br /> Chair Bedford said they will have the PIO do advertising for that and she thanked the <br /> commission for their work. <br /> Michael Hughes of the OUTBoard said they currently have a youth delegate on their <br /> board, and she has been very active at their meetings. He said it has been enlightening to have <br /> her on the board. He said they recommended to the Board to expand the transportation services <br /> 10 miles outside of the county boundaries. He said they initiated the 2024 Safe Routes to School <br /> update. He said that for some schools, the infrastructure would not support the cars for drop-off <br /> and that is a safety issue for children on bikes. He said they mentioned the need for a sidewalk <br /> on Orange Grove Road over the bridge. He said that the Transportation Director got a design <br /> study done for the area. He said they obtained an engineering agreement for the US-70 <br />