Tobacco Buyout Farmland Conservation Planning
The purpose of this grant is to produce an information package and a farmland conservation plan to identify and educate tobacco quota owners about possible tax savings associated with “working farm” conservation easements in light of the tobacco buyout which will help in conserving working farms statewide. Working tobacco farms have contributed to our state’s agricultural economy, water quality, and wildlife habitat and this project will assist with preventing the wholesale transition of working tobacco farms to suburban development. TRLC is facilitating this grant on behalf of the Land Trust Council of North Carolina. The grant was made out-of-cycle in the public interest of providing information on use of buyout money to preserve farmland and riparian buffers.