DELAND -- Agricultural land will continue to exist in Volusia County as long as it remains profitable to farmers or ranchers. But too often, governments and market forces make it difficult for producers, speakers at a workshop said Wednesday.

Agricultural land provides a number of environmental benefits, said Clay Henderson, an environmentalist and land-use attorney. Some of the benefits include habitat for wildlife, water storage and recharge areas, carbon sequestration and cleaner air.

Henderson said climate change may play a bigger role in agriculture's future.

"Climate change will create a new role for agriculture in an emerging low-carbon economy," he said. "It will provide more options for saving agriculture."

Greg Harden, assistant director of Florida Farm Bureau Field Services, said the No. 1 goal should be to preserve the heritage of agriculture, which is threatened by regulations about land-use and zoning, and endangered or threatened species.

"We need to streamline the regulations to eliminate duplication," Harden said. "Agriculture is regulated by multiple agencies, some of which conflict with each other."

And that's a big problem, said dairy farmer Gerald Fieser of the Volusia County Farm Bureau.

"Most rules had unintended consequences (and) were implemented to address nonagricultural issues," Fieser said. "There is a lack of understanding of agriculture by government officials."

Fieser said the challenge for local governments is to balance housing densities with a desire for green space and agricultural land.

Terry James, the county's comprehensive planning manager, said his department is "starting to look at agriculture" as it adopts "smart growth" regulations.

"We're in a learning mode," James said. "We're trying to learn what agriculture needs."

Another option is to start growing different and more profitable crops, said Dana Venrick, commercial horticulture agent for Volusia County Extension Service.

While cut foliage -- ferns and other decorative greenery -- remains an $80 million industry in Volusia County, there soon may be a growing need for niche crops, such a those burned to create electricity, Venrick said. But a number of edible crops also may be viable locally, such as avocados, blueberries, onions, yucca and Cuban corn.

"The possibilities are great if we take advantage of them," he said.