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From YouTube: News Update - Cycle to Farm
Description
For more information about Cycle to Farm, please visit cycletofarm.org
For more information about Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District or Farmland Preservation, please visit buncombecounty.org/soil
A
I
go
to
farm
is
a
metric
century
enjoyed
by
about
300
bicyclists.
They
travel
62
miles
along
the
way
stopping
at
local
farms
to
sample
whatever
the
farm
has
to
offer
there.
They
also
have
the
opportunity
to
buy
the
farmers,
product
and
volunteers
transport
all
their
purchases
back
to
the
fabulous
after
party.
A
Now,
it's
quite
competitive,
many
farms
want
to
participate
more
than
we
can
actually
accommodate
and
that's
part
of
why
we
have
expanded
this
year.
If
you
participate
in
cycle
to
farm,
you
show
up
at
the
start
line
and
you're
greeted
with
coffee
and
usually
some
sort
of
a
treat.
Then,
after
the
start
about
every
15
miles,
you're
you
get
to
stop
at
a
farm
refill.
Your
water
bottle
sample
the
forms
product
and
decide
if
you'd
like
to
purchase
some
of
the
product.
A
Don't
worry
about
carrying
it
back
to
the
finish,
because
volunteers
will
do
that
for
you,
when
you
arrive
at
the
fabulous
after
party
you're
greeted
with
a
farm-to-table
meal
prepared
with
ingredients
from
the
farms
that
you
just
visited
and
new
belgium
beer
new
belgium
is
our
presenting
sponsor
for
psycho
to
farm.
The
routes
that
we
choose
for
cycling
farm
are
used
mostly
country,
rural
roads
and
they're,
very
beautiful.
They
are
quite
challenging,
but
they
do
introduce
riders
to
a
new
area
of
the
community
that
may
they
may
not
have
experienced
before
saco.
B
De
form
is
a
wonderful
opportunity
to
be
able
to
bring
other
people
into
this
farming
community
and
be
able
to
make
an
economic
impact,
so
Oh
cycle
to
farm
I
think
has
really
meets
three
of
those
goals.
That
I
think
can
be
very
useful
for
helping
the
small
family
farm.
One
of
the
goals
they
do
is
that
immediate
economic
impact
so
they're
bringing
these
cyclists
into
the
communities
directly
onto
the
farms,
and
so
it
has
the
immediate
economic
impact
of
those
people
buying
from
those
farmers.
On
that
day.
B
C
I've
been
working
with
the
Buncombe
County
farmland
preservation
program
for
about
six
years
now,
and
the
the
program
works
to
preserve
farmland
all
over
the
county
and
sandy
mush
is
the
area
where
the
most
land
has
been
preserved.
About
10,000
acres
here
in
this
area
and
Lester
have
been
placed
in
conservation
easements
when
I
heard
about
cycle
to
farm
I
was
excited
to
talk
to
jen
about
the
possibility
of
bringing
that
model
out
to
this
area,
because
not
as
many
people
come
to
sandy
mush
just
to
visit
farms.
C
D
First
of
all,
we're
confronted
with
this
enormous
problem
of
population
growth
and
how
we
are
going
to
provide
for
tomorrow
and
in
that
regard,
I
hold
great
hope
for
small
farms
and
indeed
local
agriculture,
I,
think
that
has
a
very
bright
future
as
the
population
pressures
increase,
and
it
is
imperative
that
that
we
do
all
we
can
to
preserve
land,
that's
capable
of
producing
food
for
tomorrow,
recreation
opportunities
for
tomorrow.
It
is
incumbent
upon
those
of
us
who
are
custodians
of
these
valuable
agricultural
properties.
D
To
do
all
we
can
to
preserve
them
not
only
for
the
production
of
healthy,
locally
grown
foods,
but
also
for
the
enjoyment
of
members
of
the
community.
Okay,
there's
a
value
to
the
Vista
behind
me.
It's
it
may
be
not
translated
easily
in
terms
of
dollars
and
cents,
but
we
know
that
it's
it's
worth
preserving
North.
C
Carolina
is
actually
fourth
in
the
nation
for
farmland
loss.
That's
we're
losing
four
in
line
at
a
very
rapid
pace,
and
the
county
sees
farmland
preservation
as
a
very
important
thing
to
to
boost
our
economy
as
well
as
our
tourism
economy.
If
we
lose
all
this
beautiful
farmland,
we're
not
going
to
have
as
many
folks
wanting
to
come
and
visit
us
and
spend
their
dollars
here.
Cycle
to
farm
addresses
the
economic
viability
of
farms,
especially
those
farms
that
produce
product
that
can
be
sold
like
it
markets
so
cycle.
C
The
farm
actually
brings
the
market
to
the
farm.
Our
role
with
swollen
water
is
to
help
the
farmers
understand
the
process
of
placing
their
land
in
an
easement,
and
it's
all
a
voluntary
thing
and
when
they
feel
strongly
that
they
want
to
preserve
their
land
and
not
see
it
go
to
some
other
use,
they
can
talk
to
our
department
and
we
take
them
through
that
process
of
protecting
their
land
permanently
and
will
always
ensure
that
that
farmland
is
intact
and
hopefully
in
farming.