Landowners John and Ingrid McAden, front, with Dewitt Hardee, left, and Jonathan Lanier, middle, of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Robert Schaefer, right, of the Working Lands Trust.
RALEIGH – Landowners signed the first two conservation easement agreements under a joint partnership between the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund and the United States Air Force.
Two farms, Hubers Farm and McAden Farm, were recently awarded more than $1.5 million to help protect farmland and promote agricultural enterprises.
The landowners, along with the staffs at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the ADFP Trust Fund, and the Working Lands Trust, worked together to accomplish this common goal.
“I am excited that we have been able to help fund easements on more than 800 acres of farmland in our state,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “These easements take the development pressure off these families and help maintain their status as working lands for generations to come.”
The conservation easement not only protects working farm and forestland, but it also is important to maintaining military readiness.
“We’re honored to work with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in completing these conservation easements,” said Colonel Christopher S. Sage, 4th Fighter Wing commander. “These easements are another example of the outstanding relationship the base has with the surrounding communities. At the same time, we’re able to maintain our training airspace by keeping these lands intact for our local farmers.”
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