Date post: | 16-Jul-2015 |
Category: |
Business |
Upload: | loudoun-county-department-of-economic-development |
View: | 364 times |
Download: | 1 times |
Economic Development Planning
for Agriculture
Status of Ongoing and Future Rural Economy Initiatives
Economic Impact of Ag in Loudoun
County?• USDA
– Value of Land & Buildings + Machinery & Equipment + Ag Products Sold=$117,000,000
• Virginia 2013 Commercial Grape Report– 1,046 tons of grapes produced
– Valued at just under $2M
– Wine valued at $35M
• USDA– 1,396 Farms
• County Land Use– 5,000 parcels; 3,000 owners
Net Cost of Community Services
• Goal
– To determine the municipal costs and revenues
associated with farmland and open space in
Loudoun.
– To determine if this sector is a fiscal NET positive
or negative.
• Mission
– “To analyze the revenues from and expenses to
Loudoun County in FY2011 from the broad land
use category of Agriculture/Open Space/Forest
Land.”3
NCOCS-Findings
• EDC’s “Unpacking the Commercial Tax
Base”
– For every $1 in Revenue:
• Commercial Costs $0.38
• Residential Costs $1.62
• REDC “Net Cost of Community Services”
– For every $1 in Revenue:
• Farmland/Open Space/Forest Land $0.79
Rural Economy Strategic Plan
• In 2000 Rural Economic Development Council (REDC) created.
• January 2011 REDC recommends BOS to authorize development of a REBDS.
• April 2011 BOS authorizes REDC to prepare REBDS.
• April 2013-BOS Approved
REBDS will recommend new strategies to support
the rural economy through:
• implementation of new and improved marketing strategies,
• research and education,
• evaluation of existing and new financial tools to support
entrepreneurs entering or expanding within the rural
economy,
• identification of resources needed to reach the level of
support required and
• development of public policy.
REBDS Committee• Fifteen sectors and leaders within sector identified.
– Agribusiness
– Wine/Grapes
– Tourism Business
– Rural Based Business
– Rural Credit/Banking
– Arts
– Traditional Livestock/Agronomy
– Education
– Culinary Industry
– Horticulture
– Young/Beginning Farmer
– Direct Markets/Farmers Markets
– Equine
– Fruits/Vegetables
Rural Business Stakeholder Outreach
• Letter of invitation to 3,000+ western
Loudoun landowners.
• 300 individuals participated in strategic
planning meetings.
• Each sector submitted a written report and
oral presentation.
Phase II-Needed Action• Loudoun County trails association.
• Self-supporting research and consulting organization.
• Web-based information exchange.
• Mentor-protégé program.
• Regular business owners’ survey.
• Enhance brand marketing programs.
• Rural business “trail” program.
• Rural business passport program.
• Loudoun Agriculture Technology Accelerator.
• Rural Policy Review Project
• Loudoun Agriculture, Wine, Culinary and
Arts Center
• Year-Round Farmers, Arts and Crafts
Market
• Retrofit existing food preparation
facilities.
• Equine Master Plan
• On-Farm Research and Consulting
Network
• General destination marketing program
enhancements
Phase IV-Preliminary
Recommendations• Foundation Strategies
– Essential for long-term growth.
– Address structural issues.
– Have multi-industry or cross-industry effects.
– Allow for a high level of private and public sector leverage.
– Promotes broad based economic benefits.
• Program Strategies– Focus on both long-term and short-term needs.
– Address discrete needs.
– Seek to expand or enhance existing programs, content, ideas.
– Promotes targeted economic benefits.
Loudoun Agriculture and Rural Business
Accelerator
• Replicates the Cornell University “Tech
Farm” model.
• Focuses on leading edge business
development in food, wine, bio-
technology, manufacturing, and related
fields.
Create a peer-to-peer consulting and
research network
• Expands reach of existing programs and
the proposed Accelerator
• Expands services to local businesses
using contemporary knowledge and
experience
• Addresses decline in government
support for rural industrial support and
expands public-private partnerships
• Create a base of factual information on the equine industry.
• Integrate equine programming based on Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission model.
• Build collaborative partnerships to sustain and enhance the equine industry over the long-term.
Develop an Integrated Approach to Equine Industry Enhancement
Conduct Regular Rural Business Owner Survey
• High priority for making good
policy decisions
• Seeks to develop a reliable
source of information on local
industry conditions
• Will be used to refine the
strategic plan over time
Redesign and enhance rural components of biz.loudoun.gov & Loudounfarms.org
• Rebuilds and repurposes loudounfarms.org.
• Enhances rural business content on biz.loudoun.gov.
• Expands online training opportunities.
Encourage development of a Loudoun County multi-use trail system
• Creates multi-use trails focused on equine industry.
• Encourages public-private partnerships.
CLARKS CROSSING ACRES: 143.74
Approximately 3.2 miles of trails wind through the park to join the W
& OD Trail.
COLVIN RUN STREAM VALLEY (rails to river trail) ACRES: 70.90
Approximately 3 miles of natural surface/stonedust trail between
Hunter Mill Road and Leesburg Pike.
DIFFICULT RUN STREAM VALLEY (CCT) ACRES: 864.75
Approximately 14 miles of mostly natural surface trail along the
Difficult Run Creek between Miller Heights Road and Georgetown
Pike.
FRED CRABTREE ACRES: 208.52
Approximately 2 miles of natural surface trails.
FRYING PAN PARK ACRES: 102.90
Approximately 23 acres of fields and forest for cross-country riding.
Two outdoor show rings and an indoor activities center for year-
round use.
LAKE FAIRFAX PARK (rails to river trail) ACRES: 478.99
Approximately 1 mile of natural surface trail.
LAUREL HILL Laurel Hill Equestrian Area Shared-use Trails Map
RIVERBEND PARK ACRES: 409.68
Access to river, PHNST, and some internal trails.
THE TURNER FARM ACRES: 52.41
Parking, trails, novice cross-country course, arena, pony pen.
Enhance marketing programs to improve rural-urban linkages
• Expand DC’s Wine Country trail program.
• Develop a rural passport program to integrate multiple industries.
Enhance marketing programs to improve rural-urban linkages
Launched in 1994, Ag Art Wear
challenges designers to create a
piece of agricultural art for the body
derived from rural material.
Create a branded rural business awareness program
• Integrates rural industries with Visit Loudoun programming.
• Driven by the private sector.
Develop a consolidated year-round farmers market
• Creates a center of activity for rural industries.
• Improves consumer access to the local foods.
Business Friendly ZOAM
• Completed
– BNB-expanded daily & special events
• In Process
– Ag Processing
– Farm Brewery
• Future
– Zoning-Rural Recreation, Outdoor Use
– Silver Line
– Comprehensive Plan