Farmland Preservation
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Farmland Preservation Haywood County Becoming an Enhanced Voluntary Agriculture District
description
Farmland Preservation. Haywood County Becoming an Enhanced Voluntary Agriculture District. USA Farm Stats- Loss. A Few Statistics (2002 survey). NC agriculture generates $68 billion annually Haywood County alone $11.6 million in cash receipts for livestock, dairy, poultry - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Farmland Preservation
Farmland Preservation
Haywood County
Becoming an Enhanced Voluntary Agriculture District
USA Farm Stats- Loss
A Few Statistics (2002 survey)
• NC agriculture generates $68 billion annually• Haywood County alone
– $11.6 million in cash receipts for livestock, dairy, poultry
– $5.2 million in cash receipts for crops
• 795 farms in County– Totaling 64,611 acres in farms
• 345,560 total acres in Haywood– Over 132,988 acres in National Park/Forest land
– Leaving 147,961 in private forests or urbanized land
American Farmland Trust: Resources - Congressional District Agriculture Profile
Haywood Topography
NC Agriculture Districts
Identify Key Players
• Haywood participating since August 11, 1994• Agriculture Advisory Board• Soil and Water Conservation District Board• Haywood County Commissioners• Haywood SWCD• Haywood NRCS Field Office• NC Farm Bureau, Haywood Chapter
Support Agencies• Farm Service Agency• NC State University; Cooperative Extension• Non-profit community groups• USDA RC&D Council• NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences (ADFPTF)
Working Together!
FSA
NGO’sBRCO
Public
NCDepart.Con/Sci
CountyCommiss.
NCCo-opExt.
NCFarm
Bureau
NRCS
SWCD
EVADVAD
Analyze Resources
• Staff time– Identify leader to organize program
– Worker bees
– In Haywood’s case- one District staff, one NRCS staff and one NGO staff
• Utilize Job Skills– GIS Technician
– County GIS mapping office
• Networking– Talking to landowners, farmers in community
• Cost Share Programs
Cost Share Programs
Whole Farm Planning using Conservation Measures- Best Management Practices
• Soil and Water Conservation Districts– State Agriculture Cost Share program– Grants
• USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service– All Farm Bill Programs
• USDA, RC&D Council
Advisory Board
• Begin discussion with Advisory Board- Will they work towards the EVAD
- Commit to Farmland Protection Plan
- Enforce contracts
• Members geographic areas- Campaign in their areas of county
- North, South, East, West parts of county
• Chairman attending all meetings, carrying out decisions for Board
- Important to have attendees at meetings
- Active Board
Marketing
• Fact Sheets– Background information– VAD vs. EVAD– Short and sweet!
• Handouts– Brochures
• Application packages– Applications, ordinance, fact sheets, contact info.
• Media– Website, County T.V., newsletters
Matrix Brochure-Thanks to George Ivey
Application
Check boxes for:
-EVAD
-VAD
-Number of acres
-Tax pin
-Advisory Board contact
-Copy sent to Register of Deeds, GIS
One on One
• Meeting face to face with County Commissioners– Individual meetings– Explain benefits to County– American Farmland Trust conducted a recent study that showed for
every dollar in taxes received from working lands, only 34 cents in services is paid by the government. Service paid by the government for residential development showed an average of $1.15 per dollar of taxes received. It is a net gain of revenue for the tax base and thus an economic benefit for any county to preserve working lands. Especially for Haywood County since our community encompasses over 64,000 acres of farmland and produces over 17 million dollars from livestock, dairy and crops into production.
• Send background information to each Commissioner• Make it simple
– One page document explaining goals
Presentation
• County Commissioners for Approval
• Community Groups for advertising
• Keep interest rolling– Don’t let momentum slow down– Newspaper articles– Website publications– Flyers– Brochures
Next Steps for Haywood
• Farmland Protection Plan– Identified whole farm conservation easements
• NC Agriculture Development and
Farmland Preservation Trust Fund
• Matching funding resources– Farm Bill Cost Share Programs
• Conservation Programs
• Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program
– State Agriculture Cost Share Programs
Resources
• American Farmland Trust- SE Regional Office– www.farmland.org
• NC Farm Transition Network, Inc.– www.ncftn.org
• NC ADFP Trust Fund/ NC Depart. Ag & CS– www.ncagr.com
• NC State University, Depart. of Ag & Resource Economics– www.ag-econ.ncsu.edu
• One NC Naturally- NC Depart of ENR– www.onencnaturally.org
Contact Information
• Kara M. Cassels, USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service– [email protected]
– 828-452-2741 x3
• Leslie Smathers, Soil & Water Conservation– [email protected]
– 828-452-2741 x3
• George Ivey, Bethel Rural Community Organization– [email protected]
– 828-648-2710
