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Virginia Agricultural Vitality Program
It’s not farmland without farmers™
Virginia is losing 46,000 acres of rural land each year
as the rate of loss of prime soils has increased 76% in
the last decade; according to U.S.D.A. Nearly two-thirds
of the land in Virginia is the private working landscape
of farms and forests. The state estimates that over two-thirds
of this land will change hands in the next decade.
Most localities have failed to plan for a viable agricultural
sector in the future of their communities. The typical
agricultural zoning allows a variety of non-agricultural
uses including densities of non-farm residential development
that are incompatible with farming. In this context, agricultural
land has become a speculative commodity with a cost that
far exceeds agricultural value – making land unaffordable
to farmers.
The agriculture industry is suffering from the same challenges
of globalization that face all American industries. But
agriculture faces an additional challenge; the family
business is also the family home. And in many cases, the
land is also the retirement account for the farmer. In
1990, 60% of the farm families in North America relied
on off-farm income to supplement the farm business; by
1998 that percentage had increased to 80%. This results
in fewer farm families encouraging children to farm and
increased financial stress on existing operations. In
Virginia, only one farmer is under 35 years old for each
5 retiring farmers.
With growing localities searching for solutions to infrastructure
funding shortfalls and constant property tax increases,
retention of the rural working landscape becomes more
critical. On average nationally, for each dollar in local
taxes farm and forest lands pay, only $0.36 in services
is required; in contrast, residential lands use $ 1.16
in services.
By enacting the Virginia Agricultural Vitality Program
(VAVP) and creating the Office of Farmland Preservation,
the Commonwealth shaped a series of approaches aimed at
securing the future viability of Virginia’s agricultural
industry, but the program remains unfunded. VAVP establishes
recommendations for funding and guidelines for purchase
of development rights (PDR) programs. Nine Virginia
localities have adopted PDR programs. These include: Virginia
Beach (1995), Albemarle (2000), Loudoun (2000), James
City County (2001), Clarke County (2002), Fauquier County
(2002), Chesapeake (2003), Rockbridge (2003) and Rappahannock
(2004). Only two programs have dedicated funding, four
rely on annual appropriations and three are unfunded.
A significant number of other communities are developing
PDR programs and examining strategies to protect rural
industries.
A PDR program is the recognition of the multiple public
benefits of agricultural land use and the industry. It
gives communities a way to share the costs of protecting
farmland with farmers. It gives farm families an opportunity
to access dormant equity to use for business investment,
debt reduction, or to fund retirement. Nationally, states
provide an average of 60% of the funding to buy development
rights.
VAVP also establishes the Virginia Farm Link
Program “to provide assistance to retiring farmers
and individuals seeking to become active farmers in the
transition of farm businesses and properties.” The Virginia
Farm Bureau Federation previewed the linking database
and webpage at their December 2003 meeting. The assistance
this program will provide includes:
- preparation of business transition plans,
- facilitation of transfer of property and operations,
- information on farming innovations, and
- research assistance in marketing, financial and other
agricultural matters.
• Support state funding to localities for the purchase
of agricultural conservation easements to permanently
retire the non-agricultural development rights on farms
and forest properties.
• Support funding of the Virginia Agricultural Vitality
Program to continue further development of the FarmLink
Program and to provide farm families with assistance in
transitioning their farms and businesses to the next generation.
Mary Heinricht:
Ag Prospects,
P.O. Box 1385 Culpeper, VA 22701
(540) 825-5418,
(540) 825-8124 fax
maryheinricht@earthlink.net
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