As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we enjoy fresh produce here in North Carolina. Farmers' markets and tail gate markets make locally-grown foods from our neighbors' farms readily available.
However, as our population surges and development moves out toward rural lands, farm prosperity and farm transition are more and more on the minds of all concerned.
According to the National Resources Inventory, North Carolina is converting over 30,000 acres of prime farmland to development each year.
To address the resulting concerns, the Farm Prosperity Project, led by NC State University in partnership with Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, American Farmland Trust, Land of Sky Regional Council, Warren Wilson College, (where REALTORS® in North Carolina do much of their hands-on training for the ECO designation) and the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, provides public outreach via educational workshops.
The Project looks at solutions to the loss of farmland by combining new and promising crops with land protection measures such as those offered by local land trusts. "The overarching goal of the project is to save farms and farmland ...by directly aiding farmers in increasing their economic prosperity," reports the Project.
The Farm Prosperity focuses attention on North Carolina farmland and farm heritage. The Farm Prosperity Project will identify crops and farmland preservation methods that help sustain the longevity of farmlands.
A few topics of particular interest to real property investors include:
- Developing a Farm Transition Plan
- Understanding Estate Planning Tools and Tactics
- Managing Risk through Conservation Programs
If you want to help shape positive futures, attend any number of workshops that address remedies and solutions. You will be joined by Agricultural Educators, Community Leaders, Concerned Citizens, Farmers, Foresters and Ranchers, Farmland Protection Program Managers, Government Officials and Policymakers, Land Owners and Managers, Land Trust Staff and Volunteers, Natural Resource Professionals, Researchers,
and Eco-Friendly REALTORS®, (I'm smiling).
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This fits in with the presentation we had at the Eco Meeting on Wednesday concerning Conservation Easements and Greenways put on by Dwayne Stutzman of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
We also try and buy local food when we can and support a neighborhood health food store whose owners also farm about two miles down the road. Cant get much more local than that! Alright, except out of our garden.
I'm certainly not as up to speed as any of you on this issue, but wouldn't the / a present use tax take care of this? You're taxed for the use of your land vs. the 'highest and best' use. '
I personally feel that if I buy land and build a home that MY taxes should relfect that development, not the local folks next to me. Sure - they could sell their land for more now, but for example - with our lot, we bought 35 acres - protected the most developable land which is 1/2 mile of prime riverfront, and set of four 2-acre lots with a 2000 sf structural limit. I don't know what this does to the adjacent taxes, however - we did buy the property out from under a developer as the landowner didn't want it getting stripped out, or buildings right on the river.
My wife's from this town (Marshall) and we've fit right back in, but I don't know yet about the taxes - but I do know that there would have been 10 or 15 homes on this property instead of 1 (and four ultimately, but one is a tear-down / rebuild).
Kevin Caldwell / Mountains-to-Sea Conservation, Inc.
Bill~
Thanks for the link to the presentation all you ECO -wise REALTORS saw. Good information, much appreciated. I have been wondering about including heirloom tomato seeds in my WELCOME HOME basket for clients ...along with a copy of the LocalFoods Directory.
Leigh~
Your is the first-hand account of change. As I read your story, I was moved to the bottom of my heart. "Progress" (as it is named) is strange. It happens despite being strange, though. Possibly, one day, there will be a safe-harbor for heritage farms such as your family's...Here in the mountains, we are looking at the issues of losing our heritage farms with great trepidation.
Advice and remedies are encouraged and requested!
Dena~
Hi! You commented, " Isn't it interesting how the 'world' is finding that green can comfortably fit into most if not all lifestyles?" You must have noticed those solar panels in the pasture, eh?
Kevin~
You wrote, " I personally feel that if I buy land and build a home that MY taxes should reflect that development, not the local folks next to me."
As a real estate professional, such concepts always intrigue me, especially since most of my work involves heritage properties ripe for stewardship.I'm not quite sure-how such a plan would be implemented, but it does seem to make sense.
If we were to consider this from the perspective of heritage properties where might we end up? (see Leigh's post above)