Farmland Preservation: Lessons from Orange County

For years, state and local governments have experimented with a variety of growth management tools to maintain the economic viability of farming and to control spreading urbanization, public works projects, and other consumers of rural land. Orange County, North Carolina, is now in the process of instituting a Farm Preservation Program. This article describes the origin and nature of this program, evaluates its potential effectiveness at preserving farmland in Orange County, and makes suggestions for other North Carolina communities