BRASSTOWN, N.C. - Farmers' markets are in full swing across North Carolina, with tables full of locally-sourced produce, meats and crafts. In addition to water, sunshine and sweat equity to create the bounty of crops, land also is needed to meet the demand.

That's what North Carolina's land trusts bring to the table.

They secure agricultural easements on farmland to protect it from development, explains Sharon Taylor, executive director for the Mainspring Conservation Trust.

"What that allows in a lot of cases is for some families to hold on to their property long-term," says Taylor. "It also allows for it to stay available for agriculture, which is important for the greater public because then, the property is available for growing our food."

Mainspring holds the conservation easement for Ridgefield Farm, home of Brasstown Beef.

By definition, an agricultural land easement prevents land from being used or sold for non-agricultural purposes.

Taylor says farmers who might be interested can connect with the local land trust in their area through the group Blue Ridge Forever.

Hickory Nut Gap Farm outside of Asheville is protected by an easement with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.

William Hamilton, farmland program director with the conservancy, says easements are important because farmland is often just as appealing to developers as it is to farmers.

"Our river bottoms and creek bottoms and our soils that we can actually grow food on are extremely limited," says Hamilton. "They're also the types of properties that are very often easiest to develop, because they're flat; they're usually right next to an existing road."

Taylor says in addition to protecting the land, agricultural easements protect a food supply that's becoming even more valuable as consumers demand to "buy local."

"Conservation and farming go hand in hand, and so it's really important, as more and more land gets developed, that some land is available to produce the food for the future generations," she says. "We need to keep land available for that too, and particularly good, rich farmland."

These easements receive funding in part from the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, and the USDA's Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.


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While it's named the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation in the Senate actually goes a long way toward making agriculture more climate-resilient.

The measure provides roughly $370 billion for energy security and climate-change programs over the next 10 years.

Amalie Lipstreu, policy director for the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, said one key piece is a $3.25 billion investment in the Conservation Stewardship Program, which provides technical and financial support to farmers to implement and maintain applications to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and improve soil health.

"Farmers want to implement practices that improve their farm operations, protect the land and water," Lipstreu explained. "Why wouldn't we want to help them do that? Especially when they're facing more frequent extreme weather events that can be devastating."

The legislation also boosts funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and expands support for alternative energy on farms. Republicans have taken issue with some tax proposals in the legislation which would pay for the investments. But Democrats plan to pass the bill through the reconciliation process, bypassing a filibuster.

Lipstreu emphasized the impacts of climate change are a growing threat to agriculture in Ohio.

"It's just these extremes of going back and forth between too much rain, too much heat and sun that puts so much stress on the farm, on the crops and then the viability of farmers," Lipstreu outlined.

She contended with the new investments, growers and producers can be a vital part of the national response to the climate crisis.

"Taking concrete action on climate change clearly benefits non-farmers alike," Lipstreu asserted. "The investments in working-lands conservation programming will make farms more resilient, which means that we can all enjoy a more stable and secure food supply."

A U.S. House subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday highlighting the threat climate change poses to the world's food supply, and how farmers can be assisted in adopting solutions.

Testimony included input from a Minnesota farmer.

Bonnie Haugen, who has a dairy operation in Fillmore County, touted her farm's regenerative practices, including rotational grazing. She noted it can keep soil from eroding.

Haugen urged Congress to expand funding for programs which would incentivize farmers to implement climate-friendly practices and limit the presence of Confined Animal Feeding Operations.

"Please remember that big CAFO dairies are not the same as ours," Haugen explained. "They're like big-box stores, similar to a Walmart building in the middle of one of our small towns."

She and other witnesses argued corporate farms greatly contribute to harmful emissions from agriculture, which ultimately result in more extreme weather events, disrupting the growing and delivery of food. Republican committee members argued higher gas prices are a bigger threat to agriculture right now, along with regulations under the Biden administration.

Sarah Goldman, policy organizer for the Land Stewardship Project, said Haugen's testimony accurately captured the challenges farmers face in helping to reduce the impact of climate change as try to they maintain a healthy food supply.

"Supporting family farms is really a way to counterbalance some of those pressures that we've seen," Goldman contended.

Goldman added market concentration forces too many family farms out of business, and thinks there are not enough conservation resources to keep their land resilient and profitable.

"There's some great programs that are out there to support farmers doing regenerative, sustainable agriculture," Goldman acknowledged. "But there isn't enough funding."

Last year, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy reported 67% of farmers who applied to programs in the last decade were rejected, partly due to a lack of funding.

Goldman stressed she hopes the next Farm Bill will contain some solutions. It is due for reauthorization next year.

Some farmers in the region are taking time, even during the busy growing season, to give people a firsthand look at what sustainable agriculture is all about.

The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association's Farm Tour and Workshop series showcases regenerative grazing, organic grain transitioning, winter high-tunnel produce growing, and many other techniques.

August Taylor, communications and outreach associate for the Association, said they are also highlighting the work of farmers of color.

"I hear a lot from people that they want to connect more with farmers of color," Taylor noted. "This allows people of various backgrounds to see firsthand farms stewarded by farmers of color. It's really powerful to people to actually go meet the person, on their farm."

Events include tours of an urban farm in Mansfield, a mixed-vegetable family farm near Dayton and September's Black Farming Conference in Yellow Springs. Tours and workshops run through the end of the year in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Learn more and register for events at oeffa.org.

While the series offers growers and producers the chance to learn tricks of the trade from others in the business, Taylor pointed out interested "foodies" and families are also encouraged to attend.

"Being able to tour a farm is really an experience that transcends age, because there's always something to notice on a farm," Taylor pointed out. "An adult might notice different crop systems, but a child might notice different varieties of flowers in their pasture."

Taylor added today, they are featuring a tour of a rural elementary school garden in Amesville, to show people how to start a kid-friendly garden in their own community.