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Henderson County accepts $424,571 farmland preservation grant, pledges $396,974 match
Summary
The Henderson County Board of Commissioners accepted a $424,571 Agricultural Growth Zone grant from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and approved a budget amendment to provide the required $396,974 local match, enabling pursuit of agricultural conservation easements over the grant period through Sept. 30, 2028.
The Henderson County Board of Commissioners on March 2 accepted a $424,571 Agricultural Growth Zone (AGZ) grant from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and approved a budget amendment to provide the required county match of $396,974.
Angela Price, Henderson County's Farmland Preservation Coordinator, told commissioners the grant “is intended to encourage the preservation of qualifying farmland and support the growth, development, and sustainability of family farms.” She said acceptance of the award requires a County match of $396,974, which may be satisfied through a combination of cash and in-kind contributions. The period of performance runs Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2028.
Price outlined the agricultural conservation easement (ACE) process the county will use if property owners choose to participate: an initial application and site visit, appraisal to determine easement value (fair market value minus protected agricultural value), due diligence (survey, title work, environmental assessment), closing and recording, and post-closing monitoring and enforcement by the easement holder. She emphasized state grant rules that require milestones and documentation for each easement acquisition.
Commissioner Rebecca McCall moved that the Board accept the AGZ grant award and approve the associated budget amendment; the motion carried with all commissioners voting in favor. County documents on the grant identify the maximum AGZ award as $2 million with a required 1:1 match if the maximum is sought; Henderson County's award is smaller and requires the nearly one-to-one match noted above.
County staff told the Board that applications have produced three serious preliminary submissions and that additional landowner packets are in progress. Price provided a contact for landowners seeking information and said the Agricultural Advisory Board will prioritize applications using the state-provided rubric and local scoring considerations such as proximity to existing preserved parcels and the property's agricultural viability.
The acceptance vote included a budget amendment directing grant revenue and the local match appropriation as required by the NCDA&CS Memorandum of Agreement. Commissioners did not tie the award to any specific easement purchase; future easements will be considered individually and require Board approval as transaction details are developed.
