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A number of programs and services are available with the primary goal of maintaining the viability of farming in the County and to assist rural business establishments through the regulatory permitting process.
The Rural Economy Team helps both existing and new rural businesses, providing assistance in both traditional and alternative farming choices.
Loudoun Farm Business Planning Initiative helps landowners with decisions about what crops to grow or agricultural services to provide. Assistance is provided in both traditional and alternative farming choices, value-added farm product development and farm business planning and coordinates with Cooperative Extension to combine business planning with “how to grow it” technical assistance. A complete list of related agencies can be found at Loudoun Agricultural Resources.
Market Opportunities for Loudoun Fruit and Vegetable Growers is a report which provides a business model that allows an agricultural business to select a production method based on return on investment factors coupled with use of market channels suited to the objectives of the farm business. You can download a pdf version of this report, or request the report be mailed to you.
The Agricultural and Forestal District Program is a voluntary program where landowners may enroll their land in order to "conserve, protect, and encourage the development and improvement of agricultural and forestal lands." The Loudoun Office of the Assessor administers the Land Use Assessment Program which provides for the deferral of real estate taxes on real estate that qualifies for agricultural, horitcultural, forestry and/or open space uses.
Farm Conservation Plans are developed by the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, a state agency working closely with the County. Other agencies working closely with landowners include the Virginia Department of Forestry, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
The Rural Economic Development Council is appointed by the Board of Supervisors representing industry sectors to promote the economic growth and vitality of Loudoun County’s agricultural, horticultural, and equine industries.
By resolution of July 31, 1997, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors directed the creation of a Rural Economic Development Task Force consisting of Loudoun citizens to: “Construct a Rural Economic Development Plan that fosters economic growth that is compatible with preservation of natural resources, that strives for a high value of agricultural production that may be different from traditional agriculture, that supports the equine and tourism industries, that maintains high quality farmland, and that recognizes the need for continued low density planned residential growth.” The Rural Economic Development Task Force adopted as its goal the development of a plan to double the value of Loudoun’s rural economy in a decade. The 200,000 Acre Solution: Supporting and Enhancing a Rural Economy for Loudoun’s 21st Century was presented to the Board of Supervisors November 18, 1998. Download a pdf version or request to have a copy mailed to you.
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