Celebrating 40 Years of Voluntary Agriculture Districts

By: Dewitt Hardee

On July 16, 1986, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified “An Act to Establish Policies to Preserve Farmland”.  This legislation created The Voluntary Agricultural Districts (VAD) program.  Forty years later, the first statewide celebration and workshop was conducted on July 22-23 in Cherokee at the Harrah’s Cherokee Resort. The event was organized by the NC Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services Farmland Preservation Division with sponsorships from many agriculture organizations including NC State Grange who was the lead sponsor.

Thirty-six of the ninety-three county VAD programs were represented by 115 participants in the forty-year celebration and workshop.  These attendees attended special training and instructions on how to manage and improve their local county VAD programs.  Presentations and instructions included expert information from program successes by fellow VAD programs, legal advice, policy development, how to conduct a public hearing, resources to address zoning changes, condemnation actions, right-of-way acquisitions, roadway expansions, etc.  impacting a VAD program landowners, updates on threats to the retention of farmland and forestlands, and how to assist landowners in the conservation, protection and transition of the land to the next generation with many networking opportunities for resource assistance.

For more information on your local VAD program and information on how to participate, click on https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/farmland-preservation/vad.