Program formed to highlight, protect farmers

Mar 6, 2010 — The Sanford Herald

Caitlin Mullen

Mar. 6, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- INTERESTED?

For more information, call the Lee County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension at (919) 775-5624.

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SANFORD -- Don Nicholson wants Lee County residents to see that, like it or not, farming is real.

"Farming is not a Norman Rockwell, Saturday Evening Post magazine cover," he said.

Nicholson is chairman of the Lee County Agricultural Advisory Board, which is accepting applications for the Lee County Voluntary Agricultural District starting April 1. The program is designed to protect farmers, preserve farmland and increase the visibility of farms in the area.

"It makes agriculture more visible and hopefully puts a new light on it. Agriculture is like an easy target sometimes," he said. "If the farmers don't have land to farm, they're out of business. This is where your food comes from."

Voluntary Agricultural Districts have become more common across the state as communities become concerned about disappearing open space. There's currently about 75 VADs across the state, said Susan Condlin, director of the Lee County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

Condlin said the board brought farmers, realtors, geographic information system officials, the taxing office and economic development representatives together in creating planning for the VAD program.

Now, the agricultural advisory board is trying to spread the word and interest those who need protecting.

"We've gone to area farmers, livestock producers, foresters and given presentations," Condlin said.

The board will begin accepting applications from interested farmers April 1. It costs $50 and farmers, who must have 10 acres of agricultural land, 20 acres of forestry or five acres of horticultural land, have to be eligible for the present-use-value tax program, Condlin said.

Farmers who participate will receive a sign for their farm, and if a township chooses to participate, a large sign will be erected at its border line, Condlin said. Broadway has a memorandum of understanding to develop VAD programs.

In applying, the farmer signs a conservation agreement filed with the county register of deeds. That way, those who search for tracts of land will know which area is protected farmland, Condlin said.

Sometimes people move near farmland and find that the smell of chickens or the noises from a farm bother them. The VAD lets others know ahead of time that these things are to be expected in certain areas.

"The business of agriculture is happening. Don't complain; you know about it," Condlin said.

New neighbors to farms don't always understand, Nicholson said.

"You get out on a real farm, animal poop stinks," he said, laughing. "There's a lot of nuisance lawsuits against farmers. It kind of hits home with someone like myself."

With identifiable VADs, newcomers to the area are told up front that they're buying a piece of land close to a farm, "so expect some smells, some dust, some noise. You're going into the transaction with your eyes open," Nicholson said. "They don't have some irate homeowner coming back to them and saying, 'You didn't tell me that.' It's there in black and white."

And the need to farm is strong in Lee County, Condlin said.

"It's a way of life for a lot of people. You can pass that farm to your family and they will survive on this business," she said. "We still have the safest food supply in the world. We never want to become dependent on another country for food and fiber."

Nicholson was born and raised on a farm in Lee County. He believes VADs offer farmers a sense of security.

"We're losing farmland really, really fast ... to mostly urban encroachment," he said. "I think it's really important to save what we've got left. It's kind of a protection thing for the farmers."

Suburbanites can appreciate the open, green space, too, Condlin said.

"People also want quality of life. When you preserve the farmland, you preserve the open space," she said. "People come for many reasons to rural communities because they like open space."

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