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<br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: June 5, 2018 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-a <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Voluntary and Enhanced Agricultural District Designation – Multiple Farms <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br />and Recreration (DEAPR) – <br />Soil and Water Conservation <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Applications and Maps <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />David Stancil, 919-245-2510 <br /> Gail M. Hughes, 919-245-2753 <br /> Peter Sandbeck, 919-245-2517 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To consider applications from eight (8) landowners/farms to certify qualifying <br />farmland within the Caldwell, Cedar Grove, and White Cross Voluntary Agricultural Districts; and <br />enroll the lands in the Orange County Farmland Preservation; Voluntary and Enhanced <br />Voluntary Agricultural District programs. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: Orange County’s Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program was started in <br />1992. To date, there are 93 farms in both the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) and the <br />Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) program totaling 12,450** acres. If the BOCC <br />approves the additional eight (8) farms with 893 acres proposed below, there will be 101 farms <br />in both the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) and the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District <br />(EVAD) program totaling 13,343** acres, equal to 5.2% of the 256,595 total acres in Orange <br />County. <br /> <br />The County’s Voluntary Farmland Protection Ordinance (VFPO) outlines a procedure for the <br />Agricultural Preservation Board to review and approve applications for qualifying farmland, and <br />to make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners concerning the establishment and <br />modification of agricultural districts. Section VII of the VFPO contains the requirements for <br />inclusion in a voluntary agricultural district. To be certified as qualifying farmland, a farm must: <br /> <br />a) Be located in the unincorporated area of Orange County; <br />b) Be engaged in Agriculture as that word is defined in NC GS 106-581.1 <br />c) Be certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of <br />Agriculture as being a farm on which at least two-thirds of the land is composed of soils that are best suited for <br />providing food, seed, fiber, forage, timber, forestry products, horticultural crops and oil seed crops; <br />d) Be managed in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and NC Soil and Water <br />Conservation Service defined erosion-control practices that are addressed to said highly-erodible land; and <br />have a current conservation farm plan and/or forestry management plan associated with the current usages <br />and owner; and <br />1