• State Funding for Conservation Projects in Haywood County (aka "Green Book" data)
• In an article in the Smoky Mountain News, several farmers say that they want to put their farms in conservation easements if there were some seed money to help them do so. Land for Tomorrow's passage would be instrumental in making this happen across the state. View the article.

Example Projects in Haywood County

Agricultural Development And Farmland Preservation Trust Fund

North Carolina has lost more farms than any other state, tying for first place with Florida and Tenneessee. We now surpass New Jersey as the 10th most populous state. In the face of this rapid change, farmers across North Carolina are desperately seeking ways to save their farms.  The tremendous interest in farmland preservation was demonstrated in 2006 when the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Trust Fund put out a call for applications for small grants from its $50,000 state appropriation, the first funding the Trust Fund had received since 2003.  The Trust Fund received 23 grant applications requesting a total of $576,000 from across the state, which would have leveraged more than $9 million in projects. Given the limited dollars available, only five grants could be made, but those grants leveraged another $3.4 million in project value through donated easements and other matching funds.

Funding in Haywood County includes a grant to draft and start an Enhanced Voluntary Agriculture District (EVAD).

This trust fund’s work with limited dollars demonstrates the value of the State’s investment in our farms and forests. It is inspiring to imagine what the fund will do when it is adequately financed.