Vance is one of only seven counties in the state that doesn’t have a voluntary agricultural district, or VAD, a program that provides landowners a way to support rural communities and protect working farmland from nuisance complaints and encroaching development.
At their Aug. 17 work session, the Vance County Board of Commissioners heard from Evan Davis, division director of the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Division, who, along with county Soil and Water Conservation District Resource Conservation Manager Larry West and Cooperative Extension Director Dr. Wykia Macon, asked commissioners to consider creating a VAD for the county.
As the name implies, this designation is a voluntary program that landowners enroll in.
It’s something West and Macon have been investigating and working on for a year or more.
A VAD is a first step in farmland preservation, Davis said, who said North Carolina ranks as the second-most threatened state in the country in terms of farmland over the past 20 years and projected farmland loss over the next 20 years.
A VAD is “a very important tool in the toolbox to help mitigate farmland loss,” Davis said.
Creating a VAD requires a county ordinance and the program is usually administered by the soil and water district or by the local cooperative extension. A citizen advisory board is the group responsible for approving or denying applications based on the criteria for enrollment.
If Vance County proceeds with creating a VAD, enrolled farms would be included on county GIS maps so buyers of neighboring properties would know that a working farm is nearby and they can expect the “sights, sounds and smells” that go along with farming and agriculture.
A landowner may withdraw from the VAD without penalty or fees by making the request in writing. It usually becomes effective in 30 days.
About one-third of counties have what is known as an enhanced VAD, which does have a 10-year irrevocable agreement, Davis said.
To learn more, visit
https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/farmland-preservation/vad/county-info
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