Through a collaborative partnership in North Carolina, led by the local Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) board, Alamance County has passed a Farmland Preservation Ordinance that will allow the county to purchase and hold development rights on farmland. Coupled with the creation of a local agricultural development and farmland protection plan, the VAD board is helping the county protect its valuable farming and environmental resources by providing a healthy and stable future for agriculture.

Farming is an important economic activity in Alamance County, contributing nearly $30 million dollars annually to the local economy. However, changes in the agricultural sector, including the decline in small tobacco and dairy operations and the aging farming population, have threatened the local agricultural community and led to concern about the future viability of farming. In addition, Alamance, home to AFT’s Southeast office, faces heavy development pressure, due to its relatively affordable and rural location between the rapidly growing regions of the Triangle and the Triad. 

The VAD board, composed of seven active farmers appointed by the county commissioners, has taken the lead in providing information to the county on the importance of protecting its agricultural sector. First, the board commissioned a Cost of Community Services (COCS) study by Mitch Renkow of NC State University, showing that for every dollar of property taxes paid, farm and forest land required only 59 cents worth of services.

Next, the board received a grant from the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund to complete the state’s first approved local farmland protection plan. Once completed in the spring of 2007, this plan will provide guidance to the county on steps to protecting a strong agricultural landscape while also increasing the county’s eligibility for farmland protection funding, once it is allocated on the state level.

The county commissioners have begun to look to the VAD board for their advice on issues concerning farming. The VAD board led the outreach efforts as the county solicited input from rural areas for its community meetings on a future land use plan.  It requested that the board review and comment on a draft of a polluting industries ordinance, to be sure that it didn’t negatively impact existing farming operations. By unanimously passing the Farmland Preservation Ordinance, the commissioners have shown the value they place on the VAD board and farmland in protecting the quality of life in the county.

The quarterly board meetings have become important forums for the various agencies involved with the county’s working lands. In addition to the diverse group of producers that comprise the board (poultry, cattle, grains, vegetables, wines, timber, greenhouses), meetings include representatives from Cooperative Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, NC Forest Service, American Farmland Trust, One North Carolina Naturally, and the Chamber of Commerce. This collaborative opportunity familiarizes partners with the multiple issues impacting local landowners and the services available to meet those needs.

For more information, contact Bob Wagner of American Farmland Trust, Phil Ross of the Soil and Water Conservation District, or Paul Walker of Cooperative Extension.