Onslow County Voluntary Agricultural Districts (VAD) Program
(Updated: Jan. 28, 2025, 11:09 a.m.)
What are Voluntary Agricultural Districts (VAD)?
- Encourage the preservation and protection of farmland.
- Allow landowners to publicly recognize their farms and provide a notice of proximity to enrolled farms.
- May decrease the likelihood of legal disputes, such as nuisance actions between farm owners and their neighbors, allow for waivers of water and sewer assessments, and public hearings for proposed condemnation.
- Additional Benefit in Onslow County, belonging to VAD exempts you from needing a building permit on your property.
Does your farm qualify as a VAD?
- Farmland must:
- Be engaged in agriculture as defined by NC G.S. 106-581.1 or meet the bona fide farm definition as defined by NC G.S. 153A-340.
- Essentially, the farmland must either produce a crop, grow ornamental plants, raise livestock, produce timber, engage in aquaculture, produce and market on-farm value-added products, maintain farm structures, or store grain.
- Manage farm to address NRCS defined Highly Erodible Land, if necessary.
- Agree to prohibit nonfarm use or development for at least 10 years.
- Be located in unincorporated area of the County or in a municipality with a VAD Memorandum of Understanding.
- To be qualified as farmland, a farm shall contain a minimum of 10 contiguous acres of farmland.
- https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/farmland-preservation/vad/county-info/OnslowVAD/open
Application Details:
- Download the application here or obtain an application from Onslow Soil & Water Conservation District or the N.C. Cooperative Extension Onslow County Center Office.
- Bring a hard copy to the Onslow Soil & Water Conservation office, or mail to:
- Onslow Soil & Water Conservation: 234 NW Corridor Blvd, Jacksonville NC 28540
Additional questions?
Contact the Onslow Soil & Water Conservation District:
Join our mailing list!
Enter your email address to receive updates.
Written By
Contributors
