Present Use Value Taxation (PUV) Survey

Please see this important message from Roland McReynolds, Executive Director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA).

Dear NC farmers: The NC Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council is looking at an issue of great importance to local, sustainable food production: property tax treatment for small working farms.

As you may know, state law allows counties to tax farms at property tax rates based on their use as farms (known as Present Use Value, or PUV), instead of at higher residential tax rates.  However, to qualify for PUV based on farm use, a farm must have more than 5 acres in production in the case of horticultural crops, or more than 10 acres for any other crops. Thus many small farms are not able to take advantage of this preferential tax treatment.

The Council has set up a task force to investigate this situation and to propose changes that would allow small farms serving local food markets to reduce their property tax burdens, and task force members represent Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, NC Farm Bureau and NC Cooperative Extension, among others.  We are conducting a survey to collect more information from small farms about their experience with PUV. This is where we need help from farmers.  Please take 15 minutes to take the survey, which you can find here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PUV.  The information we collect will be crucial to proving to local and state government that small farms deserve more equitable property tax treatment.

So please help us make a difference and fill out the survey today!

Roland

Spotted Wing Drosophila Survey

See below note from NCSU Small Fruit and Specialty Crops Entomologist, Dr. Hannah Burrack:

As many of you are aware, we had significant issues with spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in raspberries, blackberries, and other (persimmons, kiwi, etc) crops in North Carolina this year. My lab has received funding for 2012 from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. These funds will allow us to conduct management (chemical, non-chemical, and post harvest) research & extension as well continue our monitoring efforts for next year.


There's more work needed on SWD than we can do in a year. In order to secure funding for the future, I am working with a group of scientists in the eastern US to submit a USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative proposal to study SWD. To make sure that our proposal is addressing the right questions, we are seeking input from stakeholders affected or potentially affected by SWD, including you!


If you have experience with an concerns about SWD, please consider filling out the stakeholder survey here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dG8xM2Y4RXFSLW9kTEhSRmplUlc4Smc6MQ#gid=0


Please also feel free to share this survey with others. I'd like to receive responses back by December 1.

On a related note, I will be presenting an update on SWD status and our 2011 research findings on December 8 at 10am. You can link to the webinar here: http://elluminate.wolfware.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1261510164761

You can read more about SWD in North Carolina here: http://ncsmallfruitsipm.blogspot.com/search/label/SWD