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Ag department grants will help preserve rapidly vanishing farmland and forests in North Carolina

PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published September 18, 2024 at 6:34 AM EDT
The view of Waterford from the Phillips Farm. This area is targeted for development by Historic Fields, LLC.
Raphael Schweber-Koren, npr.org
File: The view of Waterford from the Phillips Farm. This area is targeted for development by Historic Fields, LLC.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture has awarded $8.8 million in grants for a program to help preserve rapidly vanishing farmland and forests in the state.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said as development pressure continues to build, the preservation grant funding is an opportunity to help farmers who wish to stay on their land.

A study by the American Farmland Trust found that North Carolina had the second-highest amount of threatened farmland in America.
Annette Weston
Annette is an award-winning journalist based in Eastern North Carolina. Her career includes professional stops across the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast, recently culminating in a 2026 Region 8 Edward R. Murrow Award for Small Market Radio Best News Series for her work on the Camp Lejeune Justice Act Series. Guided by a passion for human-interest storytelling, she focuses on narratives that touch hearts and connect communities. A mother of four and grandmother of two, Annette enjoys reading and creating epic Halloween costumes in her spare time. If you have a story idea to share, please reach out by email to westona@cravencc.edu.
See stories by Annette Weston