The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ farmland preservation team and the State-wide Voluntary Agricultural District Working Group have scheduled a virtual training session June 9–10, 2021. Each day will include a general session and several (recorded) break-out sessions. The sessions will cover a range of topics on establishing (or re-establishing) a Voluntary Agricultural District and Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District county program, including:

• County staff (e.g., Soil & Water or Cooperative Extension) role in administering a county VAD program 
• Sustaining an active Agricultural  Advisory Board 
• How to submit the annual VAD survey 
• Developing a Farmland Protection Plan (and how to keep it off the shelf) 
• The role and importance of a Cost of Community Services Study 
• How to set up the VAD GIS layer (as proximity warning to adjoining landowners)
• Ensuring a valid conservation agreement (and when it must be recorded)
• Enrolling and unenrolling VAD parcels  
• How to conduct VAD Public Hearings on condemnation

At present, roughly half of the 90 county VAD/EVAD programs are administered by N.C. Cooperative Extension.

Register online for the sessions