LAURINBURG — The N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund recently awarded more than $3.87 million to help Scotland County and other communities across the state protect farmland and promote agricultural enterprises.

The trust gave the Sandhills Area Land Trust $44,786 to assist with the purchase of a perpetual conservation easement on 57 acres in Scotland County.

The money was set aside by the General Assembly to maintain working lands as buffer zones around military bases.

“I am excited that we have been able to assist with the funding of easements on more than 2,500 acres of farmland across our state,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “These easements take the development pressure off of these families and help maintain their status as working lands for generations to come.”

The Sandhills Area Land Trust is a community-based, non-profit organization that serves Scotland, Moore, Richmond, Hoke, Cumberland, and Harnett counties. SALT works with private landowners to negotiate voluntary conservation agreements on private property. Since its founding in 1991, the nonprofit has protected more than 11,800 acres of working farms, water supplies, endangered ecosystems, and urban open-space in the six-county service region.

Staff report