RALEIGH – The N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund recently awarded $18.2 million to protect working farms and forests, support county farmland preservation efforts and promote agricultural enterprises.
Over $8.8 million was awarded for 20 agricultural conservation easements on 1,392 acres of farm and forestland across the state. Five counties were awarded grants under the new Agricultural Growth Zones program, an initiative to combine state and local funding on agricultural conservation easements in areas of strategic importance to local agricultural communities.
“The need for farmland preservation in North Carolina is at an all-time high as we continue to attract new businesses and new residents to the state,” said N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “As development pressure continues to build, we have an opportunity to help farmers who wish to stay on their land through farmland preservation grants like these.
“This year the trust fund received 124 grant applications and $47 million in funding requests – the most ever for the program. We will continue to push for more funding to ensure we have the natural resources available to sustain ourselves in the future.”
