Across the central Piedmont and Sandhills of North Carolina, the familiar rural landscapes that make this region so special are quickly being lost to development. It is estimated that North Carolina loses 55 acres of farmland every day, and that loss is driven by low-density residential development, according to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Office. To help prevent the loss of more family farms, Three Rivers Land Trust has been awarded $11 million from state and federal government partners to help permanently conserve over 1,500 acres of agricultural lands.

This funding award represents a monumental investment in farmland conservation at the state and federal level. “Saving family farms is a conservation priority for TRLT. To date, we have conserved over 22,000 acres of farmland in our region since 1995. We are thankful to the state and federal officials who recognize the importance of farmland conservation in North Carolina. This funding will be instrumental in conserving these eight farms across five different counties in the central Piedmont and Sandhills.” States Travis Morehead, TRLT’s Executive Director.

TRLT was awarded $3 million from the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund and over $8 million from the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Lands Easement Program. This funding will be used exclusively to purchase conservation easements directly from landowners, permanently preventing development and ensuring the land remains in agriculture.

“Conservation easements are an important tool in preventing the loss of agricultural lands. By allowing landowners to continue to farm their property while permanently preventing conversion to non-agricultural uses, we are safeguarding North Carolina’s number one industry: agriculture.” States Emily Callicutt, TRLT’s Director of Conservation.

This funding is made possible by the North Carolina General Assembly through the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices. To learn more or to support TRLT in their mission to save family farms, visit www.trlt.org