Farms
Protection will provide these benefits:
Priority Areas for Protection: Farms with productive agricultural soils in areas where there is a critical mass of other farms and agricultural-support businesses such as feed stores and tractor suppliers. Recently, 2,675 farmers have enrolled more than 200,000 acres of farmland in "voluntary agricultural districts." Farmland within these districts should also receive priority for funding because of the commitment to the future of farming shown by participants. Protection Techniques: Working farms have been successfully maintained through the use of a variety of techniques, including purchase of development rights programs, planning and technical assistance, marketing and market development, crop diversification and enterprise development assistance. Purchase of development rights (PDR) programs keep the land in private ownership and allow continued agricultural use but restrict buildings and other development on the property with the exception of new agricultural buildings. Depending on the needs of the landowner, development rights may be purchased by a government agency or by a nonprofit land trust at fair market value, or the landowner may donate the easement and qualify for charitable tax benefits. Planning, marketing and technical assistance are critical to helping protect North Carolina's working family farms. Five-Year Goal: Protect 50,000 acres of productive farmland. This goal was recommended by American Farmland Trust and Conservation Trust for North Carolina as a challenging but achievable five-year goal, based on their experience working with farm owners. As this program builds, farmers will need to be informed about options and governments and conservation nonprofits will need to build their capacity to work with farmers. If this five-year start-up program is successful, experience in other states indicates that farmer interest in PDR is likely to increase dramatically. Funding Needed: $110 million over five years ($22 million per year). The funding estimate is based on American Farmland Trust's calculation of the average price per acre paid for PDR in other states. |
