North Carolina is facing record growth, but state agriculture officials warn that expansion is coming at a cost: the steady loss of farmland and forestland.
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said the state’s goal is not to stop development altogether, but to slow the pace at which agricultural land is disappearing.
“Our aim in North Carolina is to slow the loss of farmland and forestland. We’re not going to stop it,” Troxler said.
North Carolina has recently surpassed Texas as the nation’s top destination for new residents, according to a Jan. 30 press release by Gov. Josh Stein. The influx of people, along with major business recruitment efforts, has accelerated development across the state.
“We’ve got millions of people moving in. We’ve got big businesses moving in,” Troxler said. “Quite frankly, it’s already creating infrastructure problems.”
While economic development has been a priority for lawmakers, Troxler said farmland preservation has not received the same level of financial commitment. He warned that losing too much farmland could eventually threaten the state’s food supply.
“When we lose enough farmland that our productivity has not kept up with the loss of farmland, that means the food supply is going away,” he said. “We need to feed ourselves. Food is security, national security.”
The state’s primary tool for preserving agricultural land is through voluntary agricultural conservation easements, which compensate landowners for keeping property in farming rather than selling it for development. This year, Troxler said, his department received 114 easement requests totaling more than $55 million.
Available funding falls far short of that demand.
Troxler said about $5 million in recurring state funds is allocated annually for farmland preservation, with an additional $1 million in carryover funds this year. That brings the total to roughly $6 million — far below the amount requested.
“That gets us to $6 million to do the job. It ain’t going to happen,” he said.
Complicating matters, some of the available funds must be used to match federal dollars or to support related protection efforts. Troxler said about $3 million this year was committed to matching federal funds to protect farms in eastern North Carolina and to help shield military bases from encroachment.
After those obligations, only about $3 million remains for new easements.
“So you take three away from six, and we’ve only got $3 million,” Troxler said.
He also pointed to ongoing state budget uncertainty as a barrier to long-term planning. Without a fully enacted budget in recent years, Troxler said his department has relied on recurring funding and negotiations with lawmakers for additional allocations.
“The Legislature has $5 million recurring, is all we get,” he said. “They’ll come along and we’ll talk and talk, and we may get additional funds. But with no budget, no more funds.”
Troxler described the situation as precarious, particularly given the state’s rapid growth.
“In the highest growth area that we’ve ever seen in North Carolina, we’ve got the least amount of money,” he said.
Farmland preservation is now his top legislative priority. Troxler said he plans to continue pushing lawmakers to increase funding for conservation easements, arguing that maintaining a strong agricultural base is essential to the state’s long-term economic and food security.
“That is our No. 1 legislative priority, to be able to get those funds to protect this farmland,” he said.