North Carolina’s
Changing Landscape
Wilkesboro, North Carolina
27 September 2007
Jerry Dorsett
NC DENR, Office of Conservation & Community Affairs, 585 Waughtown Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27107 – ph. 336-771-4945
Working Lands Coordinator
Asking the question: Working
lands owners, what will keep the
next generation on the land???
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Goal of Balance = economic (+) ecological (+) cultural
North Carolina
31 million acres of land
90% privately owned
1/3 of land is in agriculture
Farms & Forests require minimum acreage to thrive &
survive
So what is NC agriculture and forestry today?

400 year tradition

Average farmer is 56 years old
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80 different commodities

Sampson and Duplin top 2 US agricultural counties
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20% of work force
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Agriculture & Forest economic impact = $68 billion
% of Income Spent on Food
46%
In
1935
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
10%
In
2006
1935
2006
Change???
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

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Are we rural, or urban?
Are we experiencing change?
If so, how and why are we changing?
What are the challenges …
… What are the solutions?
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Spring, 2007
Ag country marketing!
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No. 2: Warren County, Pennsylvania
Warren County is the kind of place that seems custom-made for every
season on the calendar. It's tucked underneath the New York-Pennsylvania
state line. A river runs through it.
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No. 4: Gillespie, Texas
In many ways, Gillespie County is the kind of place you think of when you
picture Texas: lots of wide-open spaces, cattle ranches, old men in cowboy
hats. Even the major highways have cattle crossings.
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No. 10: Polk County, North Carolina
Hip, trendy Asheville is just 30 minutes to the north ... And yet it has somehow
gone unnoticed. Consider this: Polk County does not have a Wal-Mart.
THEY like calling North Carolina home!
“First lots sold for massive project - Shallotte to get 2,400 homes” - Wilmington Star Newspaper - 24 Feb. 2007
Raleigh-based builder started selling lots this week for a Shallotte development that could one day double the
Brunswick County town's population.
San Rio Ocean & Beach Club is slated eventually to have 1,200 houses and as many condominiums and town homes.
The Shallotte Board of Aldermen is scheduled to vote to annex the 700-acre site just north of town limits at its March
meeting.
Shallotte's population was less than 1,800 in 2005. - - - - - - a number that will soon be left in the dust. San Rio is
the largest of numerous developments in different stages in Shallotte, including Sea Wynd, which is slated to have
1,600 homes; River's Edge, which will have 600 units; Briarwood, with 400; and Woodsong, with nearly 150. The
growth is spurred in part by Shallotte's water and sewer capacity, said Town Planner Chris Rogers, recently hired to
help with annexation and rezoning issues. Its proximity to Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and the South Brunswick
beach islands is also a draw, he said.
And Shallotte is, of course, riding the ongoing surge of development in Brunswick County, he said.
Since 1999, more than 70,000 units have been approved for development in Brunswick County, according to the
county's planning office.
Despite national and local concerns about slowing real estate markets, - - - - - Wakefield is one of the Triangle's
largest residential developers, with more than 14,000 home sites in North Carolina. San Rio is its first coastal
development. Hurst said lots will start in the $100,000s.
Hurst did not have a time line for how long it would take to build all 2,400 homes. Wakefield also broke ground
last week on a 60-acre project in Calabash that has 480 townhouses and villas planned, he said.
Net Effect of Development on Tax Receipts
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For each $1.00 of taxes collected:
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Residential Development: $1.20-1.50 in NC
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Commercial Development: $0.38-0.76 in NC
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Farm and Forest land in NC: $0.30-.050
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Nationally $0.18-0.89, National average $0.38
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This is a good deal for everyone, except farmers
Source:http://www.farmlandinfo.org/documents/27757/FS_COCS_11-02.pdf
See “Cost of Community Service” studies;
Chatham, Alamance, Orange and Wake counties in NC.
NC’s Changing Landscape
True or False?
North Carolina’s population will
increase 50% by 2030.
True.
Population will increase from
8 to 12 million in the next 25 years.
NC’s Changing Landscape
True or False?
1 acre of farm and forest land
is developed for every person
coming to NC.
False –
2 acres per person
NC’s Changing Landscape
The state has lost over HALF
of its farms in the last 15 years.
1950 to 2000 NC lost half of it’s farmland.
Working Lands Tool Box
In all 100 counties today:
 Present Use Value Taxation
 Cost Share Programs (profitability)
 Right To Farm Legislation
 Technical Assistance
.
In your county?
 Voluntary Agriculture District (54) & Enhanced VAD (4)
 County Farm Protection Program
 Cost of Community Services Study (4)
 Agritourism (100%)
 Holding & monitoring easements (30% to 50%)
 Goal sufficient Farm & Forestry saturation.
Agriculture – as defined by NC law!
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(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
"§ 106-581.1. Agriculture defined.
For purposes of this Article, the terms "agriculture" and "agricultural" "agriculture",
"agricultural", and "farming" shall refer to the all of the following:
The cultivation of soil for production and harvesting of crops, including but not
limited to fruits, vegetables, sod, flowers and ornamental plants, the plants.
The planting and production of trees and timber.
Dairying and the raising, management, care, and training of livestock, including
horses, bees, poultry, deer, elk, and other animals for individual and public
use, consumption, and marketing. Further, for purposes of this Article,
aquaculture is considered a form of agriculture pursuant to
Aquaculture as defined in G.S. 106-758.
The operation, management, conservation, improvement, and maintenance of a
farm and the structures and buildings on the farm, including building and
structure repair, replacement, expansion, and construction incident to the farming
operation.
When performed on the farm, "agriculture", "agricultural", and "farming" also
include the marketing and selling of agricultural products, agritourism, the
storage and use of materials for agricultural purposes, packing, treating,
processing, sorting, storage, and other activities performed to add value to
crops, livestock, and agricultural items produced on the farm, and similar
activities incident to the operation of a farm."
Voluntary Agriculture Districts
VAD’s …
… a 1’st step toward preserving working lands in NC.
Alexander Soil & Water Conservation District
Dedicated to conserving our natural resources
Alexander Soil & Water Conservation District
374 1st Avenue SW, Taylorsville, NC 28681
Fax: 828-632-7533
Phone: 828-632-0638
Or
Natural Resources Conservation Service
(828) 623-2708
Alexander Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors meet at 10 a.m. on the fourth Thursday of every
month in the District Office of the County Administrative Building.
Alexander County is a rural county nestled in the foothills of the Brushy & the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North
Carolina. The county seat is Taylorsville, established in 1847. Approximately 2/3 of the county is farmland. Major
commodities include poultry, dairy, tobacco, apples, forestry products, grain crops and beef cattle with income at
approximately $6.5 million yearly.
•Staff
•Quality Policy
•Ag. Cost Share Program
•Education Programs
•Links
•Services
•Order FREE Soil Survey
We are here to help you with your conservation needs and questions.
Click on the sign below to view the Alexander County Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program Ordinance
More Information:

Land Preservation Notebook (Includes current
county ordinances)
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/wg/lpn/
* Theodore A. Feitshans, JD provided some of
these slides.

American Farmland Trust
http://www.farmland.org/merch/publist.htm
Updated 2007
NC DENR
Office of Conservation & Comm. Affairs
Jerry Dorsett, Working Lands Coordinator, Office of Conservation & Community Affairs, 585 Waughtown
Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27107
Email: jerry.dorsett@ncmail.net
Phone (336) 771-4945
Jerry Dorsett
Working Lands Coordinator
Office of Conservation & Community Affairs
NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources
585 Waughtown Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
Phone: (336) 771-4945
email: jerry.dorsett@ncmail.net
27 Sept. 2007 – Wilkes County