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Agricultural Preservation

Orange County · Agricultural Preservation Board
Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Regular meeting Farmland and open spaceGrants and outside fundingEnvironment and sustainabilityWater and sewer

Agenda document Watch

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Agricultural Preservation Board reviews and votes on farm applications to the voluntary and enhanced voluntary agricultural districts on Wednesday evening. Those enrollments are the county's main tool for keeping working farmland in production, and the board also takes an update on the districts as a whole.

Staff then present the county's Well Net, the network of wells used to monitor groundwater, along with an account of the county's role in the Upper Neuse River Basin Association. The board also has to move its November meeting, which would otherwise fall on the VAD Breakfast on November 12, and hears where a new Cost of Community Services study stands. That study is funded by an Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund grant.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

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Agenda items (6)

Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1Discussion item · 1Procedural · 1Presentation · 1
  1. 4 Meeting Summary/Minutes: July 15th, 2026
    Minutes approval
    Approval of the board's July 15 minutes.
  2. 5.a Presentation of applications for farms for enrollment in the VAD/EVAD, for review and approval; VAD update
    Discussion item Farmland and open space
    Applications from farms seeking enrollment in the voluntary agricultural district or the enhanced voluntary agricultural district, for the board's review and approval, with an update on the districts.
  3. 5.b Setting date for November meeting
    Procedural
    The board picks a November date so its meeting does not fall on the VAD Breakfast on November 12.
  4. 6.a Presentation about Orange County's Well Net and the Upper Neuse River Basin Association
    Presentation Environment and sustainabilityWater and sewer
    A presentation on Well Net, the county's network of wells for monitoring groundwater, and on the county's participation in the Upper Neuse River Basin Association.
  5. 7.b Status of project to undertake a new Cost of Community Services Study funded by ADFP Trust Fund grant
    Staff or committee report Farmland and open spaceGrants and outside funding
    Where the county stands on a new Cost of Community Services study, paid for by a grant from the state's Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.
  6. 7.c Ag Economic Development Grant review committee
    Staff or committee report Farmland and open spaceGrants and outside funding
    An update from the committee that reviews agricultural economic development grants.

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