Wake County: About $10 million in state grants will protect more than 600 acres of farmland

Wake County says a new round of state farmland grants will lock in more than 600 acres of working land.

The county announced the awards Friday. Its Soil and Water Conservation District received more than $10 million from the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, the county said, including $7.9 million for 12 projects and a $2 million Local Agricultural Growth Zone Award.

The state's Cycle 19 awards list, posted by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, matches that account. It names 12 Wake Soil and Water Conservation District conservation-easement projects totaling $7,953,523.50 on 619.45 acres, and a $2 million Wake growth-zone renewal. The largest dollar award on that Wake list is Watson Family Farms, $1,140,188 for 76.22 acres.

Safiyah Jackson, vice chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, called the money an investment that keeps land available for farmers. Teresa Furr, the district director, said it will let the county move more preservation projects forward and work with more landowners.

What the state round includes

The agriculture department announced the statewide awards Oct. 2. It said the trust fund awarded $51.2 million for farms and projects in 44 counties, funded by $46.9 million in nonrecurring money and $2 million in recurring money in the General Assembly's 2026-27 budget. The department called it the largest single-year investment in the program.

The same county list includes Chatham, Cumberland, Franklin, Harnett, Johnston and Orange, all in Triangle Local's coverage area. The department said agricultural conservation easements are voluntary, and that farmers have to apply with a county government or a qualified conservation group.

The department also warned that this year's funding level may not repeat.

What Wake County says it has already protected

Separate from the new awards, the county said that since the start of 2024 it has permanently protected 407 acres across seven farms. It said a $4.1 million local investment, combined with state and federal money, has helped preserve land with a conservation value of about $20 million, and that 26 more projects in progress would protect more than 1,200 additional acres.

The county also said agriculture and agribusiness generate $9.8 billion in value-added activity in Wake County, support 109,502 jobs and $4.8 billion in wages, and make up about 8.2% of the county's $120 billion economy.

The county did not say when the 12 new easements will close, or how it will spend the $2 million growth-zone award beyond supporting farmland preservation and agricultural growth.