Farmland Preservation Advocacy Day planned for May 13

WHO/WHAT: The Farmland Preservation Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will hold Farmland Preservation Advocacy Day in Raleigh to highlight the importance of farmland preservation in the state and the demand for increased funding. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, division staff and stakeholders will appeal to state representatives, advocating for increased funding and support for farmland preservation in North Carolina. 

Goals of the day include:

• Increasing annual farmland preservation funding from $5 million to $25 million
• Securing $11 million for federal partnership projects
• Securing $1 million for funded conservation easements through the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural Districts program
• Extending and expanding the conservation tax credit
• Promoting the importance of farmland preservation in North Carolina

Troxler will address attendees and members of the media at 9:30 a.m. The group will then travel to the North Carolina General Assembly to meet with state representatives.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 13; 9 a.m.

WHERE: Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences Building - 4400 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: North Carolina is home to over 8 million acres of working farmland and forests, but these productive lands are disappearing. Residential and commercial development is consuming our most productive agricultural land at alarming rates. The expansion of artificial intelligence and impending demand for data centers also raises concerns for future land use.

The Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund supports the farming, forestry and horticulture communities within the agriculture industry, purchasing agricultural conservation easements, funding public and private enterprise programs to promote profitable and sustainable family farms, and providing funding for conservation easements targeted at the active production of food, fiber and other agricultural products.  

Since its inception in 2006, the program has invested $118 million to permanently conserve more than 42,000 acres of farm and forestland. 

The demand for such funding, however, far outweighs the program’s recurring budget. In the most recent grant cycle, requests for farmland preservation funding totaled $59 million, yet only $3.1 million in new funding was available for awards. That gap represents working farms and forests across North Carolina that remain unprotected despite willing landowners and local support.