Liberty-Randleman Farmland Protection Corridor

Ike and Pat Ferguson. Donation of Conservation Easement.

“I was talking to my grandsons about the farm and I told them I might be messing up their inheritance. They said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m going to put this in an easement so the land can never be developed. It will always be farmland.’ They thought a little and said, ‘Well that’s the way we want it. We don’t want it developed.’” ~ Ike Ferguson

In June 2000, the first farm in PLC’s Liberty-Randleman Farmland Protection Corridor was protected. Mostly open pastureland, this former tobacco farm has been farmed by Ike’s family for more than 100 years. The conservation easement ensures that the agricultural soils are protected and that non-agricultural development is prohibited on the property. The love this family has for farming and their land is most obvious when walking the farm with the family and listening to their stories.

Project funding provided by the landowner, Syngenta Cropland Division and the NC Farmland Preservation Trust Fund via the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

Troy Farms, Inc. Donation of Conservation Easement.

“My grandfather took a desperate gamble on unborn grandchildren he would never see – trying to ensure that this land stayed a farm. By donating this easement, I can ensure that his wishes will be carried out far into the future.” ~ Retired Colonel Guy K. Troy, United States Army

Situated off of US Highway 421 near Liberty the protection of this farm in 2001 was PLC’s second easement in the Liberty-Randleman Farmland Protection Corridor. Approximately half of this farm is managed for loblolly and longleaf timber according to a sustainable forest management plan. The remaining portion of the farm is comprised of hardwood forests, a farm pond, and cornfields and soybean fields. The easement ensures that this land’s agricultural soils and open nature will always be protected.

Project funding provided by landowner, NC Farmland Preservation Trust Fund via the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, and Syngenta Cropland Protection Division.

Rick and Barbara Williams and Jeanette and Charles Williams. Bargain Sale of Conservation Easements.

When Cora Williams died, she left her estate including the land used by the family dairy business to nine heirs. As is often the case when there are several heirs, the only viable solution regarding the land was to sell it and divide the proceeds accordingly. As a critical piece of the family’s dairy business, Rick and Barbara Williams began searching for ways to purchase the land from the other heirs so that it could be retained as part of the family dairy business. After talking with other farmers in the Liberty-Randleman Corridor, Rick Williams contacted PLC to request our assistance. Fortunately, PLC had funding available to purchase the development rights on the land which provided Rick and Barbara with the necessary capital to purchase the land from the other eight heirs.

Living the experience of being one of multiple heirs for family farmland, Jeanette Williams, Rick’s mother, decided to take a proactive step for the benefit of her heirs. Jeanette and her husband, Charles, decided to sell an easement on the land that contains the main portion of the family’s dairy business at a bargain sale rate. By selling the development rights, Jeanette is able to invest the funds received for the benefit of her heirs that aren’t interested in maintaining the land while ensuring that her heirs that wish to retain the land will not have to sell the land to pay the estate taxes. Her decision benefits the land, the family business, and her heirs.

PLC completed protection of Rick and Barbara’s 147-acre easement in 2002 and Jeanette and Charles’ 116-acre easement in 2003. The easements protect the prime agricultural soils by prohibiting non-agricultural development and specifying where future construction can occur. Since these two adjacent parcels border along approximately 1 ½ miles of Sandy Creek, the drinking water supply for the Town of Ramseur, 75-foot riparian buffer zones along the creek were also established for water quality protection.

 Project funding provided by the landowners, the USDA Farmland Protection Program, the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Hillsdale Fund, and the Town of Ramseur.

Meredell Farms, Inc. Sale of Conservation Easement.

This large dairy farm in the Liberty Randleman Protection Corridor contains almost two miles of tributaries to Sandy Creek, the water supply for the Town of Ramseur. The owner’s need to sell the farm in 2003 raised the threat of losing this farm to a non-agricultural use. By the end of 2003, PLC purchased a conservation easement, ensuring the long-term protection of the prime soils and the streams and an area farmer had acquired the land subject to the easement. 

Project funding provided by the NC Department of Transportation, the US Department of Agriculture’s Farmland and Ranchland Protection Program, and PLC.

Steve, Lee and Virginia Tate. Bargain Sale of Conservation Easements.

“Sustainable farming is like a three-legged milking stool, with an environmental leg, an economic leg, and a spiritual leg. For farming to be sustainable, we must nourish the earth that nourishes us, being careful not to deplete the soils or leave behind pollutants. Families must be able to make a living, and farms must create enough wealth to support the local economy and attract the next generation to choose farming as their life’s work. Finally, we must nourish our spirit with good work and a balanced lifestyle.” ~ Steve Tate

A 13-acre riparian buffer easement purchased in 2003 protects the water quality of a tributary of Sandy Creek, the drinking water supply for the Town of Ramseur. This easement prohibits the development and harvesting of the existing mixed forest within 300 feet of the stream’s bank. PLC acquired a second 24-acre easement in 2005 that prohibits non-agricultural development on the adjacent land encompassing the agricultural buildings, gardens and pastureland.

Project funding provided by the landowners, the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, and the NC Farmland Preservation Trust Fund via the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

Joseph F. and Nancy Capps, Sr., Joseph F. and Misty Capps, Jr., and Darryl and Tammy (Capps) Smith. Donation of Conservation Easements.

Located near Randleman in the Liberty-Randleman Farmland Protection Corridor, the Capps Family Farm is a farm owned and operated by two generations. The family granted two easements over this diversified farm raising poultry, cattle and row crops due to the ownership of the various tracts of land comprising this farm between 2005 and 2006. The easements provide for future agricultural development but prohibit non-agricultural development. This farm is the first protected in the western half of the Corridor. 

Project funding provided by the landowners and the NC Farmland Preservation Trust Fund via the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

Dennis and Wylene (Coward) Johnson, William and Wilma (Coward) Allen, and Wayne and Elizabeth Coward. Donation of Conservation Easements.

In 2006, PLC completed three easements that protect five parcels within the Coward Family Farm. The farm was previously subdivided amongst the Coward siblings. These easements protect the agricultural capacity of the land and the water quality of Polecat Creek, a major tributary of the Deep River. Coward Family Farm is the eighth farm in PLC’s Liberty-Randleman Farmland Protection Corridor bringing the total protected acres to more than 1200 acres.

Project funding provided by the landowners and the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.