Commissioners move to preserve more farmland

SMITHFIELD — With roughly $300,000 from the county, Johnston’s Soil and Water Conservation District can protect more than 1,000 farmland acres from development.

County Commissioners Chairman Butch Lawter did the math. “For $301,000 on our part, we’re looking at 1,024, so less than $300 per acre,” he said. “That’s something we all like to see.”

Lawter gave credit to Soil and Water Conservation chief Greg Walker for securing millions in state and federal grant dollars to purchase the conservation easements that will keep the land in farming.

“This is almost Austin Cross-level success here,” he told Walker in a reference to the county Parks and Open Space staffer with a knack for landing grants.

Most of the money — $209,867 — will provide the match needed to conserve 90 acres near Smithfield. The rest will cover closing costs on six tracts, three near Selma and four near Middlesex.

Now is the time to act, Walker told commissioners. “I cannot afford to sit still for a year,” he said.

Commissioners agreed.

“I think this is a great move of $300 an acre to set aside that much,” Commissioner Ted Godwin said. “I’ll move we approve the request.”

Commissioner Bill Stovall said he had read a report stating that within 30 years, the United States would no longer have enough farmland to feed its population. “So I think it’s very important that we continue to look at ways to preserve farmland, and I wholeheartedly support this effort,” he said.

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