Columbus County soil and water office outlines Voluntary Agricultural District program; 49 farms enrolled

Morgan Hayes, director of the Columbus County Soil and Water Conservation District, laid out the county’s Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program at the Board of Commissioners meeting on May 19, describing eligibility rules, benefits for farmers and neighbors, and enrollment totals.

The VAD program, authorized by the North Carolina General Assembly, is intended to recognize and help preserve bona fide farms, reduce nuisance disputes and give landowners priority on certain state funding. “For a farm to qualify, it has to be considered a bona fide farm per the standard set up by GS 106-743 and GS 160D-903,” Hayes told the board, adding that farms must also be certified with the county’s NRCS for erosion-control practices when applicable and enter a 10-year conservation agreement.

Hayes said the conservation agreement filed for the VAD program is revocable during the 10-year term; she contrasted that with an “enhanced VAD” option under consideration, which would require a nonrevocable 10-year commitment unless the landowner later requests removal after the decade. “When you move into the enhanced version…that 10-year agreement is nonrevocable,” Hayes said.

Hayes provided enrollment and acreage details: 49 farms are currently filed at the register of deeds as VAD members; seven additional farms are approved by the county VAD board but not yet filed. She reported a total of 10,234.38 acres recorded in registered deeds for enrolled farms and roughly 823 acres pending filing. The county VAD board, Hayes said, is a seven-member panel appointed by the commissioners that meets quarterly to review applications.

Hayes described the program’s practical benefits. VAD members can post signs marking farm parcels and can be shown on an online map maintained with the county GIS office; the program’s map displays each enrolled parcel and a half-mile buffer zone around it to alert buyers and neighbors. Hayes: “If they’re buying land that’s adjacent…they can pull up that map and see that there’s a half-mile buffer zone around the farm.” She also said being in VAD can earn additional ranking points for state agricultural cost-share programs and farmland-preservation funding through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.

Hayes reviewed eligibility acreage thresholds based on the bonafide-farm statute: 20 acres of forest, 10 acres of agricultural land or 5 acres of horticultural land (combinations of those categories can satisfy eligibility). She described other enrollment mechanics: a signed conservation agreement, a $26 filing fee to record required paperwork at the register of deeds, and the availability of membership signs (Hayes said single-sided signs are priced at $115 and double-sided at $155 under the current county schedule).

When commissioners asked about ownership changes, Hayes said new owners may reapply and the county will process a transfer; because VAD is voluntary the program office will remove a parcel if the new owner declines enrollment. Hayes noted the difference when a farm is placed into a perpetual conservation easement under the state farmland-preservation program, which carries different legal obligations and compensation based on appraisals.

Hayes said county staff have discussed an update to the county’s VAD ordinance to formally adopt the enhanced VAD option, and she identified technical support from the county GIS office for mapping and buffer displays. Edward Davis, listed as the region’s field representative with the North Carolina ADFP, attended and was available to answer questions on the farmland-preservation side.

The presentation concluded without a formal vote; Hayes said staff will continue to accept applications and bring any ordinance changes back to the board for consideration and adoption.

For more information, Hayes directed residents to the Soil and Water office and the county Soil and Water web page, which hosts the VAD map and application materials.