Q&A: Farmland Preservation
Johnny Wilson Farm courtesy of Dave Rhuberg
The Appalachian Preservation Project spoke to Evan Davis in his capacity as the Director of the Farmland Preservation Division of the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.
The following is an exchange of questions and answers regarding the importance of farmland preservation and the economic and environmental impact of the loss of farmland.
Q: What is your title, what do you do? What does the ADFP Trust Fund do? How does it encourage farmland preservation?
A: Farmland Preservation Division Director. I lead a team that conserves and preserves family farms and forests in North Carolina through public policy initiatives and grants for conservation easements and agribusiness development.
The N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation (ADFP) Trust Fund is the primary program inside the Farmland Preservation Division. The ADFP Trust Fund supports North Carolina's agricultural economy by providing grants to county governments and non-profit organizations for conservation easements, agricultural development projects, and agricultural plans.
Most grants awarded by the N.C. ADFP Trust Fund are for agricultural conservation easements. An agricultural conservation easement is a legal tool that restricts the residential, commercial, and industrial development of land to maintain its agricultural production capability. These grants remove the development rights from the property and provide funds for other costs associated with the recording of the conservation easement. If awarded a grant in which there are funds for the easement purchase value, landowners will be compensated for a portion of the development rights.
Johnny Wilson Farm courtesy of Dave Rhuberg
Q: Approximately how many acres are active farmland in North Carolina? How much has the acreage increased or decreased over the last 5 years?
A: According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, there were 8.3 million acres of farmland in North Carolina last year.
In June 2020, the American Farmland Trust, a national nonprofit advocating for the preservation of farmland across the country, released the most comprehensive study on farmland loss in the United States. The study found North Carolina is the second-most threatened state for farmland loss in the United States. Based on their analysis, 732,000 Acres of Agricultural Land were converted from 2001 to 2016.
Q: What are the most common reasons farmers sell their land to developments?
A: One of the primary challenges to farmland preservation in North Carolina is development pressure. Based on the statistics from the US Census Bureau, from 2021 to 2022, North Carolina ranked third in the United States in numeric growth, third in net domestic migration, and ninth in percentage growth.
This increase in population growth has led to rising rural and suburban real estate prices. According to Carolina Farm Credit, sales prices for all tract sizes rose in 2021, and market activity escalated for all segments in 2021.
Consider that the average age of a farmer is nearly 60 years old, and these lucrative prices for open land.
Johnny Wilson Farm courtesy of Dave Rhuberg
Q: What is the environmental impact of farmland being turned into developments?
A: One of the most significant environmental impacts of the loss of farmland is flooding and runoff. New developments increase the amount of impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces are areas covered by water-resistant materials, which include paved roads and structures. Impervious surfaces prevent rain and snow from soaking into the ground, turning it into runoff. Impervious surfaces reduce the water quality of runoff due to its contact with man-made features while increasing the quantity and concentration of runoff. Because water runs more quickly off an impervious surface, flooding becomes more common and more intense downstream.
Since the land's and rivers’ ability to absorb rainwater and runoff has decreased by development, the runoff and flooding have overwhelmed downriver communities. The flooding has caused detrimental soil erosion and runoff within the river basin and has negatively impacted rural communities in those areas.
Agricultural lands, which include managed timberlands and forests, are forms of natural infrastructure that can reduce runoff through increased infiltration and water storage on the landscape. Through the state’s Farmland Preservation program, agricultural conservation easements ensure permeable land is protected forever. These agricultural conservation easements have impervious surface maximums that limit the amount of water-resistant infrastructure on a property.
Farmers actively manage the preserved working lands, providing essential benefits like carbon sequestration, rainwater percolation, waterway buffer protection, and permeable surfaces. When conservation practices are enacted, they will help in controlling soil erosion, managing animal waste, enhancing wildlife habitat, improving irrigation water management, creating stream bank protection, and complying with environmental regulatory requirements. Preservation of these working lands will protect the existing pervious surfaces and reduce the impact of runoff downriver.
Cows eating corn courtesy of Dave Rhuberg
Q: What is the economic impact of farmland being turned into developments?
A: In July 2022, the American Farmland Trust released its latest report entitled "Farms Under Threat 2040: Choosing an Abundant Future." This report builds on their farmland loss report in 2020 and provides a projection of farmland loss in the United States by 2040.
There are three future scenarios modeled in the report:
Business as usual (follows recent development trends)
Runaway sprawl (higher development in suburban and rural areas)
Better-built cities (compact and dense development)
In this report, North Carolina ranks second in the nation in the potential agricultural land loss in the three models.
The models show the acres projected to be converted in North Carolina by 2040:
Business as usual: 1,197,300 acres
Runaway sprawl: 1,678,100 acres
Better-built cities: 661,500 acres
Based on the projection of losing almost 1.2 million acres of farmland based on current development trends, the economic impact of losing that farmland would equal 9,100 farms lost, a $1.25 billion reduction in farm output, and 19,600 jobs lost.
If rural and suburban sprawl escalates, then North Carolina could lose more farmland (1,678,100 acres) than the entire land mass of the State of Delaware (1,592,871 acres).
A curious cow courtesy of Dave Rhuberg
Q: How can we encourage farmers to continue farming their land when developers come in and offer large amounts of money?
A: The grants for agricultural conservation easements provided through the N.C. ADFP Trust Fund is the best tool to preserve farmland for both landowners and the community.
If awarded a grant in which there are funds for the easement purchase value, landowners will be compensated for a portion of the development rights.
The property remains in private ownership, and landowners retain all other rights on the property, subject to the terms and restrictions of the agricultural conservation easement. If the property is sold or inherited, the terms and conditions of the conservation easement move with the land to the new owner.
The property may change its operation as long as the property remains in agricultural, horticultural, or forestry uses as long as it remains in compliance with the other terms of the conservation easement. North Carolina’s agricultural conservation easement program wants to keep family farms on the land and as productive and viable agricultural operations into the future.
Q: What efforts are being made to get farmland into Land Trusts?
A: The Farmland Preservation Division is responsible for administering all functions of the ADFP Trust Fund, including grant application evaluation, open grant contract administration, and post-award monitoring. Each fall, there is a competitive grant application in which land trusts and county governments can apply for funds for agricultural conservation easements.
In the last application cycle, the demand for applications exceeded the projected available funds for grants. As development pressure across the state continues to grow, there will be more demand for this program.
Applebutter courtesy of Dave Rhuberg
Q: Why is farmland preservation important?
A: There are many reasons why farmland preservation is important.
Agriculture and agribusiness is North Carolina’s top industry, accounting for one-sixth of the state’s income and employees.
Agriculture and agribusiness amount to more than 16 percent, or $95.9 billion, of the $562 billion gross state product.
Working lands provide fresh, local foods to North Carolina residents and quality products to the agriculture, forestry, and fiber industries.
Agriculture is a compatible industry with the military and military training, which is second in economic importance in the state.
Working lands provide scenic rural landscapes for tourism, the third-largest economic sector in North Carolina.
The cost of community services studies in the state shows that agricultural lands use fewer tax dollars than they generate. Working lands are a net provider of local tax dollars, rather than a net user.
As mentioned previously, farms and forests are critical in providing a healthy environment. Working lands are actively managed by farmers, providing key benefits like erosion control, carbon sequestration, and waterway buffers.
