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<br />1 This countywide Protection Plan is a suggestive model based on North Carolina statutory law and county
<br />agricultural protection plans (called farmland protection plans_under NC law) from other states, primarily
<br />New York, which has a statewide program whereby the New York State Department of Agriculture and
<br />Markets awards grants to counties to formulate such plans, Certain narratives, structures and ideas have
<br />been borrowed from these plans, and are noted accordingly, The various descriptive narratives contained in
<br />this model plan are suggestions and can be changed to meet the special circumstances of an individual
<br />county,
<br />2 NCGS S 106-735 et seq,
<br />3 NCGS SI06-735(b), "Qualifying farmland" is defined in S106-737,
<br />4 NCGS S I 06-744 (c)(I),
<br />5NCGS SI06-744(e)(1-5)
<br />6 Such a plan might also be formulated by a planning agency or other advisory board such a soil and water
<br />conservation district that has responsibility for land preservation in the county,
<br />7 Counties in other states that have formulated county farmland protection plans first compiled data from
<br />agricultural censuses, real property tax roles, planning departments and soil and water conservation
<br />districts, This data collection reveals information about changes in the number of farms in the county, their
<br />ownership structure, soil types, number and value of agricultural assessments and on amount of land, and
<br />planning and zoning regulations, all of which sketch the background needed to put the issue of agricultural
<br />protection in perspective,
<br />8 This information can be generally supplied by the 1997 Census of Agriculture, Table 2, "Market Value of
<br />Agricultural Products Sold and Farms by North American Industry Classification System: 1997 and 1992,"
<br />pp, 192-204, An effort should be made to supplement this information with statistical updates from the
<br />North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as a local farmer survey to
<br />capture transitions to alternative agricultural production,
<br />9 This narrative model is adapted from the Steuben County, New York Agricultural Development and
<br />Farmland Protection Plan, The specific economic figures demonstrated in the narrative are supplied by the
<br />Census of Agriculture, The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Services (NASS) conducts the
<br />national agricultural census every five years, Currently, data is available from the 1997 census, with
<br />statewide and county-level data available for North Carolina at http://www,nass,usda,gov/census,
<br />According to the NASS website, state and county data from the 2002 census will be released on the internet
<br />in February 2004
<br />10 The 50 to 179 measurement is a statistical category in Census of Agriculture, and is chosen here as the
<br />range containing the highest number of farms in North Carolina (18,259 farms),
<br />11 This information can be found by county in Table II of the North Carolina summaries of the 1997
<br />Census of Agriculture, "Tenure and Characteristics of Operator and Type of Organization: 1997 and 1992"
<br />12 1997 Census of Agriculture, The Conservation Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program are
<br />explained further in Article V,
<br />13 According to the statistics for all of North Carolina, while the number of farms between 1992 and 1997
<br />decreased the number of acres in farming increased by 186,364 acres, Results from individual counties
<br />vary with some following this pattern, others not,
<br />14 This information should be available from the Soil and Water Conservation District office for the district
<br />in which the county is located,
<br />15 As noted above, county-wide farmland protection plans reviewed from other states are data-supported,
<br />Prior to drafting a plan, in addition to collecting the census data described above, county farmers and
<br />agribusinesses should be surveyed by the body or committee, perhaps the county's Agricultural Advisory
<br />Board if the county has adopted a Voluntary Agricultural District ordinance pursuant to NCGS S I 06-73 8,
<br />that has come together to address agricultural protection at the county level. This survey should put in real
<br />terms the county farmers' and farmland owners' values, concerns, optimism about the future, etc, that will
<br />guide framing of issues and their solutions in the county-wide plan, This survey data will give the
<br />Agricultural Protection Plan credibility with county residents, and will have the effect oflaying the
<br />groundwork for future action, An example of such a survey is attached as Appendix The
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