Agenda 02-10-2026; 1 - Boards and Commissions – Annual Work Plan Summaries

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DRAFT 14 7. Identify any activities this board/commission expects to carry out in 2026 that are related to the Orange County Strategic Plan. General information about the Strategic Plan is available her^. If applicable, please list any fiscal impact (i.e., funding, staff time, other resources) associated with these proposed activities. • Present to the BOCC the final version of the APB's new Agricultural Viability and Farmland Stewardship Plan for Orange County, which will replace the APB's now- outdated Agricultural Development and Farmland Protection Plan adopted by the BOCC in 2009. • Provide final input for the current Land Use Plan 2050 update process in collaboration with the Planning Department staff to ensure that farm viability and farmland protection/preservation remain among the highest priorities in the final vision plan. • Review applications for farms wishing to enroll in the Voluntary Agricultural District programs and recommend new farms for BOCC approval. • Enroll additional farm owners in the Century Farm Program through assistance with applications and deed research. 8. What concerns or emerging issues does this board/commission anticipate for the upcoming year that it plans to address or wishes to bring to the BOCC's attention? • The high rate of loss of prime farmland: this alarming trend is well documented and presents a significant threat to the future viability of local agriculture in the County. Our prime farmland is characterized by its relatively level topography and high-quality soil types—attributes that make it easiest to develop as those soils are the most suitable for conventional septic systems. Rising land prices make it difficult for existing farmers to justify staying in business, while the cost of establishing a new farm is prohibitive for younger farmers. Farmland throughout the county is being taken out of production and converted to residential use. And this conversion creates higher costs to our County government. Each acre of farmland converted into residential use creates new, additional costs to county government. An economic impact analysis by NCSU for Orange documented that for each dollar of county revenue, the county spends in the range of $1.30 for residential land use, versus only $.072 per acre for agricultural use. • A significant percentage of our farmland is controlled by our "senior" farmers: as they retire, there will be a major reduction in active farm acreage over the next decade. This will result in more land being converted to development. There is a great need for targeted, proactive outreach and assistance to help these farmers develop transition plans. The APB will work to increase efforts to educate farmers/landowners about transition planning and working farmland conservation easements including those available through the Lands Legacy Program, as a way to preserve farmland once it passes out of traditional family ownership. • New Farmland Protection Tools: Some states and counties have implemented new programs called Land Access Policies and Incentives (LAPIs) that take a proactive approach to providing an affordable path for new/young farmers to obtain land while also implementing farmland conservation easements to protect these new farms. The APB will explore how these are working and look at ways to implement similar programs in the county.