NCDA&CS and USDA-NRCS celebrate milestone 100th partnership conservation easement protecting North Carolina farmland

The Farmland Preservation Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture have reached a significant milestone with the closing of their 100^th jointly funded agricultural conservation easement. The easement was recorded Wednesday, July 15, in Johnston County.

This milestone is the result of the long-standing partnership between the two agencies to permanently protect North Carolina’s working farms and preserve the state’s rural landscape for future generations. The two agencies first partnered to conserve a 76-acre farm in Durham County in 2009. Since then, 16,554 acres in 32 North Carolina counties have been conserved in partnership with NCDA&CS and USDA-NRCS. Those figures include this 100^th easement, which was recorded on a Johnston County farm.

“This milestone reflects what can be accomplished when state and federal partners have a shared goal to protect farmland,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “For generations, these conserved farms will continue producing food and fiber, supporting our state’s rural communities and preserving our agricultural heritage. We thank USDA-NRCS for its longstanding partnership and shared investment in ensuring our farmland remains farmland.”

Representatives from NCDA&CS, USDA-NRCS, Johnston Soil and Water Conservation District, county officials and the landowners gathered at the Johnston County Agricultural Services Building in Smithfield Wednesday morning to commemorate the easement recording.

“A big mission of ours at NRCS is to keep working lands in working hands,” said Ken White, assistant chief for the USDA-NRCS South Region. “This milestone easement is the result of many partners and agencies sharing a vision and working together to protect working farms. We would not be here today without the families and the continued partnership between NCDA&CS, Johnston County and the NRCS.”

The conserved property will remain in private ownership while permanently restricting non-agriculture development, allowing the land to continue supporting agricultural production and contributing to the state’s leading industry. 

“During this application review and assessment process for farm conservation easements, I have talked with accountants, attorneys, surveyors, reviewers and numerous other parties – no one, no one has given me any indication that farmland preservation is a wasted effort or not an admirable, worthy governmental initiative,” said Ken Langston, trustee of the trust which owns the property. Langston thanked the Youngblood family of Youngblood Farms, who has farmed the Swift Creek Road farm since 1982. 

“Farmland preservation starts with the farmer, and we thank the Langston family and the hundreds of other farm families across the state that have participated in these programs over the years. Without the farmer, there is no farmland preservation,” said Evan Davis, director of the NCDA&CS Farmland Preservation Division. “Thank you to our friends in Johnston County, and the many other counties, soil and water conservation districts, and land trusts that are essential in the delivery and long-term stewardship of this program. And thank you to USDA, we are looking forward to the next 100 partnership projects.”

This achievement comes just after the North Carolina General Assembly passed its 2026-27 budget, which included a $46.9 million investment to the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund – the most funding ever in a single year. 

The Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund supports the farming, forestry and horticulture communities within the agriculture industry, purchasing agricultural conservation easements, funding public and private enterprise programs to promote profitable and sustainable family farms, and providing funding for conservation easements targeted at the active production of food, fiber and other agricultural products. Since its inception in 2006, the program has invested $118 million to permanently conserve more than 42,000 acres of farm and forestland. 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service works to help facilitate practical, voluntary and locally led conservation solutions to conserve natural resources, strengthen agricultural production and keep working lands productive for generations to come. 

The Johnston Soil and Water Conservation District provides technical, educational and financial resources to Johnston County citizens for the protection and preservation of its natural resources.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Additional photos and video available upon request to jamey.cross@ncagr.gov.