On Thursday, April 25, the issue of rural land development will be the topic of the next "Landowners Lunch and Learn" session at the George Henry White Memorial Health and Education Center, from 11 until 2 p.m.
The speaker will be Mikey Fulk, Executive Director, of Working Lands Trust and Matthew Strickland, Extension Agent for Bladen County (Crops and Commercial Horticulture), and North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. They will discuss
Conservation Easements 101,
Funding opportunities for farmland preservation, and
Combining conservation programs for maximum benefit.
A recent article in the News Reporter underlined the issues around the purchasing of agricultural land at rock-bottom prices for later development. The March 21 article, "Southern Columbus County: Where new development collides with a rural way of life" by Ben Rappaport, outlined some of the headaches that may be created by the change from traditional land usage to large residential developments. (https://nrcolumbus-nc.newsmemory.com/?token=a0054381f3e93f895ae08dc63bd29f25_661017e0_931_0)The
"Too many landowners are unaware of the real value of their land," said Wanda Campbell Clay, who has been organizing the series. "They don't realize there are so many ways to be making money, so when someone comes along and offers them a bit of cash, they think it's their best option."
"North Carolina is eighth in the country in farming," said Wanda. "But if we lose our farmland, we lose a huge source of income and natural resources."
"We want people to understand that they can be the best stewards of that land. There are programs for everything from tree farming to building up your soil. There are hundreds of ways to make money from your land. We want to give people the tools to build strength and hold that land for future generations."
The Landowner Lunch and Learn series has been supported by the Creating New Economies Fund of Resourceful Communities and The Conservation Fund.
Pre-registration is required with a limit of 40 attendees. To pre-register (and be included in the lunch order) please call 910-445-0269.
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