Agenda - 04-08-2025; 3 - Orange County Draft Agricultural Viability and Farmland Stewardship Plan

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5 DRAFT/March 28,2025 Executive Summary Agricultural land use and farming practices are fundamental determinants of how Orange County---and the rest of the world---meet the most pressing challenges of our time: climate change, environmental degradation, and population-wide poor health related to overreliance on food produced within a globalized, industrial system. Indeed, the Orange County Strategic Plan 2025-2029 advances development and support of sustainable agriculture and local food systems as important means of achieving the County's top Strategic Priorities of Environmental Protection and Climate Action. This Agricultural Viability and Farmland Stewardship Plan was developed to support the County in achieving these Strategic Priorities. It describes recent trends in agriculture and farmland loss, challenges to and opportunities for farming enterprises, vision and goals for agriculture, and recommendations for enhancing agricultural viability and stewarding farmland in Orange County. The main challenges to agriculture in Orange County-farmland conversion to development and poor economic viability of agriculture-are longstanding and have intensified in recent years. They interrelate with additional challenges including the impact of climate extremes on farming and the aging of the farming population. These challenges are not insurmountable, particularly in the context of the opportunities: • Orange County soils, climate, and water resources can support agriculture now and into the future. • Orange County has strong and growing communities of small, diversified farms and new and beginning farmers. • Established Orange County farmers are passionate about their work and want to keep their land in farming. • Orange County citizens value agriculture and recognize its benefits to the County, and community members seek food grown sustainably and locally. • Local food hubs have operational expertise and capacities to manage the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of products from small-to-medium-size farms to support them in reaching larger markets. Building on its assets and strengths, Orange County can minimize continued farmland loss and foster a thriving agricultural community that supports a robust local food system. The following three Goals and associated Recommendations and Actions will help the County to realize this vision. Implementation of the Recommendations will help make Orange County a place where • Farm viability is enhanced, and farmland is maintained and stewarded for agricultural uses through judicious land use planning and educational, logistical, and financial support. • Citizens and decision-makers have the information and resources they need to support local agriculture and the farming community. • Farmers are supported in their livelihoods with educational, financial, and infrastructural resources. 3