Source: NC Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler, NCDA&CS, 8/25/14

I am pleased to report that the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund recently awarded nearly $2.3 million in Cycle VII grants. Funding resources included statewide general appropriations, funds from the state’s settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority and, for the first time, funds from the military.

Our new partnership with the military, and their supporting funds, will help to protect and enhance the top two economic sectors in North Carolina: agriculture and the military.

In total, the trust fund awarded 23 grants to counties, nonprofit organizations and universities. The trust fund collaborated with the military to support agriculture and agribusiness in areas of the state where military bases and training are located. TVA settlement funds were distributed to a 17-county region in Western North Carolina. And general appropriations supported projects across the state.

Funded projects included conservation easements on farms and forests, creation of farmland protection plans, and the development of agricultural enterprise projects.

For a full list of the grants, please visit our website. If you have any questions about farmland preservation grants, please contact Dewitt Hardee at 919-707-3069 or dewitt.hardee@ncagr.gov