The purpose of the Local Agricultural Growth Zones (AGZ) program allows counties and conservation nonprofit organizations to enhance local investments in the acquisition of agricultural conservation easements by applying for matching funds from the state.
Donor Name: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
State: North Carolina
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/29/2025
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
According to the American Farmland Trust, North Carolina is the second-most threatened state for farmland loss in the United States. According to a 2020 American Farmland Trust study, 732,000 acres of agricultural land in North Carolina were converted from 2001 to 2016. This conversion was the second-most of all the states in the country. In an American Farmland Trust study from 2022, North Carolina was projected to lose the second-most acres of farmland in the United States by the year 2040.
Eligibility Criteria
- All applicants must be nonprofit conservation organizations or county governments.
- Farmers, landowners, and others interested in applying must partner with a nonprofit conservation organization or county government to participate in an ADFP Trust Fund grant proposal.
- Each organization or agency may submit an unlimited number of proposals per funding cycle, regardless of category (perpetual easements, term easements, agricultural development projects, agricultural plans, agricultural growth zones, additional easement purchase funds).
- Contract awards are based on funding availability.
- If total grant requests exceed the funding allocation for the grant cycle, the ADFP Trust Fund will fund a maximum of four (4) applications per category (perpetual easements, term easements, agricultural development projects, agricultural plans, agricultural growth zones, additional easement purchase funds) per applicant.
- Applications for donated easement proposals requesting only transaction cost assistance are not considered in this contract limit.
- If the funding allocation for the grant cycle is greater than the total grant requests, the contract maximum per applicant is waived for the grant cycle.
- Current grantees are subject to the Grantee Risk Assessment Guide. High-risk grantees will have the review of proposed grant requests discontinued, and no grant contract may be offered.
For more information, visit NCDACS.
