The current Farm Campus feasibility study explores the potential for establishing a Farm Campus with and for Durham County residents to address the root causes of food insecurity by launching the next generation of sustainable urban farmers through increased access to land, skills and training in agriculture techniques, infrastructure, and markets for new and beginning farmers.
Durham County Cooperative Extension received a USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) grant for a study of the design and function of the initiative and established a community advisory board to move forward with Farm Campus exploration. In April 2023, the Board of County Commissioners approved a contract with HR&A Advisors to perform a Feasibility Study, Site Analysis, and Preliminary Design and in June 2023 the Board approved a contract with CoSpero Consulting for the Community Engagement component of the study.
The study examines the proposed Farm Campus concepts, including incubator farm space, healing garden, a facility that provides dry and cold storage, and commercial kitchen capacity for value-added production for farmers on the campus and in Durham County. The study also explores possible governance structures to ensure community leadership and decision-making are central to the Farm Campus. The community engagement portion of the feasibility study includes targeted community surveys and focus groups of stakeholders and potential users of the site.
An early phase of the study included rating criteria for potential sites, including water and sewer access, location, opportunities for collaboration, accommodation of farm campus post-harvest and kitchen facilities, and incubator farm attributes such as usable acreage and previous agricultural use. The land purchased by the County on Orange Factory Road was highly rated in this analysis.
The Community Engagement portion of the study will be complete in Summer 2024 and the total results of the feasibility study will be released in Fall 2024. We look forward to sharing the results of the study and expanding the community conversation through a capital planning process for the property, which will take place with additional public input, and will be informed by the feasibility study to help Durham County and the community determine the uses of the property for farm campus, community facilities and open space opportunities.
