Orange County 2026 Priority Legislative Issues

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Attachment 3 4 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 2026 PRIORITY LEGISLATIVE ISSUES Alignment between North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2025-2026 Legislative Advocacy Goals and Orange County's Strategic Plan FY 2025-2029 TALKING POINTS FOR TOP 6 PRIORITY LEGISLATIVE ISSUES AGRICULTURE (NCACC Legislative Advocacy Goal Category) Orange County is losing farmland faster than it can protect it, threatening our local food system, rural economy, and climate goals. • GOAL — Seek legislation to protect and expand farmland preservation programs. (NCACC Agriculture Top Priority Legislative Goal; Strategic Plan Priority 1, Objective 4, ORANGE COUNTY TOP 6 GOAL) TALKING POINTS/LOCAL IMPACT • According to data generated by the USDA Census of Agriculture, Orange County is indeed experiencing an accelerating loss of farm acreage, with a significant decrease showing up over the most recent five-year census period, from 2017 to 2022, when the County experienced a loss of approximately 16,777 acres or 24% during that period. Here is a sampling of the USDA data from past reporting years to provide some context: • 1959: 145,960 • 1969: 110,740 • 1982: 90,575 • 2017: 69,908 • 2022: 53,068 (The USDA Census of Agriculture is carried out every five years nationwide, so the County receives data in five-year increments) The NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has projected that the state is in danger of losing about 20% of its farmland between now and 2040; that's on a statewide average basis, with those counties in or near rapidly growing metro areas projected to greatly exceed that percentage (like Orange and Wake), while the very rural counties in the far west or northeast may lose relatively little farmland. • Preserving farmland strengthens local food system resilience and supports the County's Climate Action Plan. • Agriculture remains central to the County's economy, rural character, and heritage. • Working lands protect water quality, reduce runoff, and support watershed health. • Conservation easements are a cost-effective tool to permanently protect land while keeping it in agricultural production. • Established in 2000 to work with willing farmers, other landowners and other partners to protect and conserve the County's most important natural and cultural resource lands before they are damaged or destroyed, Orange County's Lands Legacy Program has led to the acquisition of land for eight new parks, preserved all or portions of 28 active farms (2,329 acres), and conserved over 1 ,500 acres of natural open