Over the past ten years, Wake County has lost more than 36,000 acres of farmland, an area larger than the combined size of Knightdale and Fuquay-Varina. According to the American Farmland Trust's Farms Under Threat 2040 report, Wake County is one of the three most threatened counties in North Carolina for farmland loss. As development continues to reshape the region, the Wake County Board of Commissioners has approved the County's first Farmland Preservation Plan, a long-term strategy designed to protect farmland, support agriculture and guide preservation efforts.
"Once these soils are developed, their agricultural value is permanently lost," said Wake County Commissioner Vickie Adamson. "That's why this plan is such a high priority for us. It creates a framework for action while allowing the Board to carefully consider and prioritize recommendations based on the community's needs and available opportunities.”
The plan focuses on four areas: land-use policies that support farming, programs that help keep land in agriculture, funding to protect farmland and the benefits farmland provides to the environment, economy and community.
The plan reviews existing data, looks at farmland loss and gathers feedback from residents, landowners and other stakeholders. It includes interviews with farm and forest landowners to better understand local needs and concerns. The plan identifies prime farmland and other important natural areas, sets priorities for land preservation and recommends ways to support farming.
The Farmland Preservation Plan provides a 10-year vision for the Farmland Preservation Program. In 2023, the Board of Commissioners created a dedicated funding source using deferred taxes collected when farmland exits the Present Use Value Program. Those funds are reinvested directly into conservation easements to protect remaining farmland from development.
In just two years, this local funding source has generated more than $8 million. The Wake Soil and Water Conservation District used those dollars to secure an additional $6 million in state and federal grants, bringing the total investment in farmland preservation to nearly $14 million. When landowner donations are included, the county's $8 million investment has resulted in more than $20 million in conservation value.
"This plan puts us in a stronger position to protect farmland by reducing the local match required for state conservation easement funding from 30% to 15%," said Teresa Furr, Wake Soil and Water Conservation District Director. "It helps us identify farmland at risk of development, focus resources where they can have the greatest impact and support the long-term future of farming in our community."
Since 2023, the County's Farmland Preservation Program has used these funds to permanently protect 407 acres across seven farms through agricultural conservation easements, which allow land to remain in private ownership while preventing future development.
The Farmland Preservation Plan supports Wake County's Strategic Plan goal of protecting 1,000 acres of green space, parks, greenways, farmland and forests by 2029. It also aligns with other county initiatives, including PLANWake, the One Water Plan, the Food Security Plan and the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
The plan is intended to serve as a living document that can adapt to changing land-use trends, agricultural needs and community priorities while helping preserve Wake County's agricultural future.
