Local Agricultural Growth Zones Program

The North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund administers the Local Agricultural Growth Zones program as part of its broader mission to preserve agricultural lands and support the sustainability of farming communities. The program responds to significant farmland loss across North Carolina, where hundreds of thousands of acres have been converted to non-agricultural uses. Through this initiative, the funder aims to create geographically defined areas of conserved agricultural land that act as buffers against development while maintaining the economic viability and rural character of farming regions. The Local Agricultural Growth Zones program provides competitive grant funding to support the acquisition of agricultural conservation easements. These easements permanently protect working agricultural, horticultural, and forestlands from development pressures. The funding is intended to strengthen coordinated local farmland preservation strategies by supporting counties and nonprofit conservation organizations in assembling funding pools and implementing long-term conservation planning. Projects funded under this program must align with the Trust Fund’s objectives of leveraging state funds, encouraging local and private investment, and directing conservation decisions at the local level. Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofit conservation organizations and county governments, as defined by state statute. Farmers, landowners, and other stakeholders cannot apply independently and must instead partner with an eligible entity to participate. Applications must propose new agricultural growth zones within a single county, either covering the entire county or focusing on priority areas. Once awarded, grant recipients may submit individual easement projects for approval on a rolling basis throughout the three-year memorandum of agreement period, provided each project meets eligibility requirements and contractual terms. The application process for this program follows a structured, multi-part format. For Local Agricultural Growth Zones, applicants must complete two required application components. Part 1 verifies eligibility and must be submitted within a defined August window. Part 2 requires detailed implementation planning and is submitted between September and late December. Applicants must also participate in a mandatory informational session or meeting before Part 2 opens. After submission, eligible applicants are invited to an interview where they must present their proposal and respond to reviewer questions. The final evaluation combines budget scoring and interview performance. Funding requests are capped at two million dollars per application. Applicants must provide detailed budget information through both the application and a required worksheet. Certain costs, such as transactional expenses, are limited to a percentage of the total request, and all line items must align with regional cost averages. The program requires a matching funds component, including both cash and in-kind contributions. A critical requirement is that cash contributions for easement purchases must equal or exceed the requested grant amount. Matching funds must be documented with formal commitment letters to be considered secured and eligible for scoring. Evaluation of applications is based on a combined scoring system that includes both budget strength and interview performance. Budget scoring emphasizes the proportion of secured matching funds relative to the grant request, while interviews assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed implementation strategy. Final award decisions are made by the Commissioner of Agriculture in consultation with an advisory committee. Successful applicants enter into a multi-year agreement, with funding availability extending through a defined contract period and subject to compliance with all program requirements and reporting obligations.

Prioritize securing matching funds early and ensure consistency between budget worksheet and application entries; prepare thoroughly for interview scoring; ensure all documentation is complete at submission