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Tobacco Trust Fund grant to aid more working farms
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
By: Margaret Lillard
CTNC, NC land trusts will build on success of 2005 grant project
More working farms will be conserved through a $150,000 grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission (TTFC) to the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.
The Conservation Trust will use much of the new funding to provide grants to individual local land trusts and Soil and Water Conservation Districts to cover transaction costs to place conservation easements on current or former tobacco farms or farms owned by tobacco buyout participants.
 “Agriculture is still the backbone of North Carolina’s economy, as well as a treasured part of our historic, cultural and scenic landscape,” said Reid Wilson, executive director of the Conservation Trust. “By conserving working farmland, we help to protect North Carolina’s local food supply, its economy and its identity.”
The funding is intended to help protect 10 farms. It will also provide training and legal assistance to Soil and Water Conservation Districts interested in participating in agricultural conservation agreements.
TTFC Executive Director William Upchurch said the new funding will build on the land trusts’ recent success in agricultural conservation.
“The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission is very proud to support the efforts of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and local land trusts,” Upchurch said. “There is certainly a need in our state to preserve as much farmland as possible, and we’re pleased that our grant funds will have a significant and long-term impact on the protected farms.”
The Conservation Trust received a similar grant in 2005, which was used to help eight land trusts protect more than 3,350 acres of working farmland on 26 current or former tobacco farms in 14 counties across the state.
The projects leveraged more than $14 million in federal and state funds, private contributions and donated easement value.
Agricultural landowners who want more information about available options for conserving their property should contact their local land trust.
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