ISSUE:
The Right-to farm law in Virginia, The
Virginia Agricultural Vitality Program (VAVP) and the Office of
Farmland Preservation are all measures to protect farms and
communities from the increasing pressures of suburban sprawl across
the Commonwealth. Agriculture and Forest Districts and Land Use
Taxation programs protect current land uses and make agricultural and
forestry operations feasible. These programs establish the
framework for a statewide program allowing localities to move forward
with the pressing issue of open space preservation, and protecting
farms from unreasonable controls that would inhibit their ability to
use their property to produce agricultural or silvicultural products.
WHY IMPORTANT:
Recent growth in the Commonwealth has
reached a point where farmland is now being converted at an
unprecedented rate. The Piedmont region, including Virginia, has been
identified as the second most threatened farmland region in the United
States. Recent national data indicates that the rate of conversion of
farmland in Virginia has more than doubled to over 93,000 acres per
year from 1992 to 1997. In addition, the Commonwealth lost an average
of 26,000 acres of forestland to development annually between 1977 and
1992. This rate of development significantly increases the amount of
sediment flowing into Virginia waterways decreasing flow capacity in
drainage ways, taking up storage volumes in reservoirs and ruining
spawning grounds for marine life.
Agriculture is the primary provider of
working landscapes and open space in Virginia. A business
environment, which supports the continuation of the agricultural
community, is among the best ways to insure the preservation of open
space. Therefore, The Virginia Association of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts has a strong commitment to support responsible
agricultural activities in the Commonwealth. We promote BMPs and
stewardship among the farm community and conversely it is necessary to
support that same community against actions that may endanger its
existence.
RATIONALE:
· The
development of suburban land in Virginia has greatly expanded since
1970 as people moved farther away from the cities; and the suburban
areas themselves became employment centers. Development has brought
with it the infrastructure requirements associated with communities
such as more schools; new highways, roads, and transit systems; and
sewer connections. This in turn, is consuming more natural habitats,
forestland, open space and farmland and destroying scenic landscapes
and recreational resources as the cycle repeats itself.
· There
has been growing public pressure throughout Virginia to develop
programs to preserve open space either by purchase, providing expanded
incentives to property owners to donate land or by the acquisition of
conservation and other similar types of easements.
· Preserving
open space and low density land use options such as farming, provides
Virginia with low-cost, low maintenance approaches for meeting water
quality management challenges facing Virginia waterways and the
Chesapeake Bay while also promoting a more diversified economy.
· Soil
erosion rates on construction sites generally range from 10 to 100
tons/acre/ year and more. By way of comparison, this rate is as much
as 100 times greater per acre than erosion rates on agricultural land
and perhaps 2,000 times greater than erosion rates from undisturbed
forestland.
· Farming
has been and continues to be a vital component of Virginia’s economy,
both economically and environmentally. Farmers generate $19.5 billion
in agricultural production for the Commonwealth. Farms also provide
employment for 235,000 people.
· The
Right-to-farm law in Virginia provides valuable protection for
agricultural production operations in the Commonwealth. This law, as
amended in 1995, strengthens the legal position of farmers when nearby
property owners sue them for private nuisance.
· Virginia's
Open Space Preservation Act, the Open Space Land Act and the Virginia
Land Conservation Foundation laws currently in the Virginia Code
provide the legal basis for acquiring and preserving open space in the
Commonwealth.
· In
2000, the Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Agricultural
Vitality Program (VAVP) to begin to address the challenging issues of
agricultural business profitability, farmland loss and farm and
business transfer.
· Modest
funding was appropriated in fiscal year 2000 for the Office of
Farmland Preservation but no funding was appropriated in the current
fiscal year due to budget issues. Even with these challenges, the
Office conducted three Virginia Farm Link seminars in 2001; in March,
over 100 people attended a daylong seminar in Charlottesville, and in
December another 100 farmers attended sessions in Southside and the
Shenandoah Valley.
· In
2001, the Virginia General Assembly created the Office of Farmland
Preservation within the Virginia Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services (VDACS) on the recommendation of the legislative
Farmland Protection Task Force (SJ 134). The Office of Farmland
Preservation shall:
·
Develop
standards for local purchase of development rights programs;
·
Recommend
funding for those programs;
·
Educate the
public of the importance of farmland preservation;
·
Provide
assistance to farmers on farmland preservation; and
·
Administer
the Virginia Farm Link program.
· The
2002 Farm Bill was signed into law, but only a handful of Virginia's
communities are ready to take advantage of nearly $1 billion in new
funding for farmland protection. The federal Farmland Protection
Program offers matching funds to states and localities for the
purchase of agricultural conservation easements.
Policy -
Ø It
is the Policy of the VASWCD to support farmland protection and right
to farm
Ø It
is the Policy of the VASWCD to support Agriculture and Forest
Districts and Land Use Taxation programs and encourage their adoption
statewide.
Ø It
is the Policy of the VASWCD to support Virginia’s Open Space
Preservation Act, Open Space Land Act, & Land Conservation Foundation
Laws
Ø It
is the Policy of the VASWCD to support the Virginia Agricultural
Vitality Program & funding for its implementation
Ø It
is the Policy of the VASWCD to support the Farmland Protection Program
in the 2002 Federal Farm Bill
ADOPTED:
December 7, 2004
EXPIRES:
December 31, 2007
Click below for Legislative Papers ...
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