State fund protects farms, forest land
Source: FayObserver.com, by Alice Thrasher
October 07, 2007
Farmers who want to make sure their land stays as farmland or forest in the future — instead of being developed into subdivisions — could get help from the state to establish permanent easements in the coming year.
This summer, the General Assembly appropriated $8 million to the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The fund was set up to support projects that encourage the preservation of agricultural, horticultural and forest lands. It also is designed to foster the growth, development and sustainability of family farms.
The money can be used by county governments or nonprofit groups to purchase conservation easements on farms and in forests, among other things.
Landowners can learn more about the trust at a workshop Nov. 6 at the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension. The workshop, from 9 a.m. to noon, will be conducted by state agriculture officials.
The money will help communities slow the losses of farms and forests in North Carolina, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement Tuesday.
The state lost 1 million acres of forest land between 1990 and 2002, according to the trust fund’s Web site. Three-fourths of that land became urban development.
Since 2002, North Carolina has lost more than 6,000 farms and 300,000 acres of farmland.
“This puts North Carolina in the unenviable position of leading the nation in farm loss,” according to the trust fund.
Cumberland County had 233,566 acres of forest land in private and public ownership in 1992, said Colby Lambert, a county extension agent. In 2002, the number dropped to 200,000 acres, he said.
In 1982, the county had 119,053 acres of farmland for crops and pastures; by 2002, that number dropped to 90,311.
Applications and guidelines for the trust fund are available online at www.ncadfp.org or by calling (919) 733-7125.
“We are very excited that for the first time in many years that the state has been able to allocate funds for this particular trust fund,” said Richard Perritt, director of the Sandhills Area Land Trust in Southern Pines.
“The state has several other trust funds for conservation, clean water, parks and recreation and natural heritage, but this is a fund specifically devoted to preserving our farm lands across the state,” Perritt said.
He said organizations can use the state funds to match federal grants from other programs.
“The goal is to keep the farm productive, not to turn it into a nature preserve,” Perritt said. “There are other funds to do that.”
A landowner who gets a conservation easement on farmland will continue to own the land and can keep on farming it. When the land is sold, the easement goes with it to prevent future development.
“The funds could help a family not be in an economic situation where they are almost forced to sell the farm,” Perritt said.
George Autry, director of the Cumberland County Center of the state Cooperative Extension, said urbanization has been changing the landscape in the county for years.
“I think it is important to preserve our farmland in rural states for future generations so we are ensured a dependable food supply and won’t have to depend on imports,” he said.
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