The recently completed Macon County Farmland Protection Plan found more land is farmed locally than 15 years ago, and the number of producers and products sold is up in that period.
This plan is the result of a 2022 N.C. Ag Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund grant by the Macon Soil and Water Conservation District. Foothills Regional Commission, the closest firm with experience developing farmland plans, was contracted to create the plan.
Macon County Soil and Water Conservation District Director Doug Johnson introduced Magnolia Long and Alan Toney from the Foothills Regional Commission to present the plan at the Macon County Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 13. Johnson said everyone asked to take part in the study did, and their responses were eye-opening.
The plan can help Macon County apply for agricultural grants at a lower local match, making projects more economically feasible. Johnson said the Macon County Fair came to him with an idea for building a new livestock arena and with a farmland protection plan, the local match for grant funds would decrease from 25% to 10%.
Despite North Carolina losing 732,000 agricultural acres between 2001 and 2016, the second-most of the 50 U.S. states, Macon County gained farmland from 2007 to 2022, going from 21,133 to 21,973 acres. The number of Macon County farms remained at 346 in 2007 and 2022, although Toney said it’s not all the same farms. The total number of producers is 635 as of 2022; of those, 228 state farming is their primary occupation. Out of those producers, 241 have been farming 10 or less years. The average age of the farmers is 59.8 years old.
The market value of Macon County products sold is up 19.5% from $5.589 million to $6.681 million over the same 15-year period, despite the market value of all ag products sold dropping over $1 million from 2017 to 2022 due to inflation.
Toney said Macon County’s farms are scattered throughout, which is unusual in North Carolina. Of the 346 farms, 231 are 50 acres or less with the average farm size being 64 acres, and the median farm size is 25 acres.
The leading crop in Macon County in acres is hay, with 3,290 acres, but it only accounted for roughly 15% of crop sales in 2022. Fruits, tree nuts, berries, vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes accounted for 75% of Macon County crop sales that year. Top livestock are cattle and calves (3,876), layers/chicken egg producers (1,632), and broilers/other meat-type chickens (1,260).
Overall, Toney said Macon County has a good climate and a great local government agency. The study also noted everyone who commented had good things to say about the Macon County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Macon County Cooperative Extension.
Short-term goals include increasing awareness and support for those interested in transition planning, increasing awareness around conservation easements through outreach, increasing awareness about opportunities and resources provided by local government entities and local farmers markets, providing support and marketing assistance to farmers and setting enrollment goals for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) and establish an Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) ordinance for agribusinesses.
Near-term goals are investing in local farmers markets, increasing awareness about opportunities and resources provided by local government entities, providing marketing assistance and support to farmers and agribusiness and supporting agricultural training and education at the K-12 levels.
Developing a land lease recruitment program is a long-term goal and one that Toney talked about to recruit new farmers. Toney said many farmers starting without family-owned land usually are on land they don’t own.
The commissioners tabled approving the plan as Commissioner John Shearl said he wanted to talk to local farmers before casting a vote. The vote will come up again at the Sept. 10 commissioners meeting.