Eight farmers turned out last Thursday night for a meeting at the Cooperative Extension Service to learn about the county’s efforts to find farms for its farmland protection program.
The program was chaired by C. Monte Stephens, county agriculture and natural resources extension agent, but the featured presenters were Russ Page and Laura Hall.
Both had been involved in the Partnership for Farmland Protection, which ran the program from 1998 until the Oconee County Board of Commissioners created its own ranking committee on Aug. 6.
Page is a retired farmer and agricultural businessman. Hall is conservation director at the Athens Land Trust, which has partnered with the county over the years on the farmland program.
Page gave a detailed history of the program and its success in the past and a very critical perspective on its future.
For more details on the story, go to Oconee County Observations.