Land trust protects family farms for the future
Thanks to the efforts of the Three Rivers Land Trust in Salisbury, North Carolina, the area’s family farms are protecting their land for future generations.
The rural landscapes of the Piedmont and Sandhills of North Carolina are becoming a haven for new development. But thanks to the efforts of the accredited Three Rivers Land Trust in Salisbury, North Carolina, the area’s family farms are protecting their land for future generations.
In August, the land trust facilitated the permanent protection of the 297-acre Chinquapin Farm, owned by the Gonzalez family in Davie County, North Carolina. The project aligned with the Gonzalez family’s vision to preserve the land for their children and grandchildren. The farm is in a rapidly developing area near Mocksville, where land prices have surged.
With the farm’s protection, Three Rivers Land Trust celebrated a major milestone: more than 50,000 acres conserved.
“We’re fortunate to have great landowners like the Gonzalez family who understand the importance of conserving farmland and our region’s rural character while open lands like this are still available,” said Emily Callicutt, senior land protection specialist at Three Rivers Land Trust.
Funding from the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, USDA’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, corporate sponsors and land trust members supported the farm’s protection.
This was just one recent farmland protection project undertaken by the land trust. In March, Three Rivers Land Trust conserved the fourth-generation Porter family farm, and in July, the land trust helped Thomas and Shannon McKinnon place a permanent conservation easement on their 762-acre farm in Scotland County.
This story originally appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of Saving Land magazine.