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Published: 2022-03-23 18:34:00
Updated: 2022-03-24 08:47:56
Posted March 23, 2022 6:34 p.m. EDT
Updated March 24, 2022 8:47 a.m. EDT
By Byran Mims, WRAL reporter
Holly Springs, N.C. — John Burt is one of the few farmers left in Wake County.
Burt, 39, said the land near Fuquay-Varina has been in his family even before the United States were established.
“I fully intend to farm the rest of my life, and I’m sure my kids are interested in doing something agricultural and staying on the farm as well,” Burt said.
But that won’t be easy.
Burt owns more than 700 acres of land and raises beef cattle and stables horses. Developers are constantly asking for his land to build on.
“We get a lot of invitations to take offers,” he said. “People will email, or call, or send us letters. There’s a lot of interest in our farm.”
His neighboring landowners decided to sell their property across from Buckhorn-Duncan Road.
“If nobody wants to farm the land, and with land prices as high as they are, I don’t blame them for wanting to sell and develop it into houses,” he said. “I guess that’s the price of progress, if you want to call it that.”
Burt spoke at Wake County’s virtual Keeping the Farm Workshop to discuss these issues that farmers are facing. As president of the Wake County Farm Bureau, he says farmers have options when it comes to protecting their land.
Farmers can apply for conservation easements, which is a “deed restrictions landowners voluntarily place on their property to protect resources,” according to the Farmland Information Center.
Landowners are able to get a tax deduction and could be eligible for state, local and federal funds.
Wake County, through the Triangle Land Conservancy, has 1,500 acres of farmland protected in these easements.
“I love farming,” Burt said. “I love being out, being on my own schedule, taking care of the land, being a good steward of the land.”
If you’d like to see today’s virtual “Keeping the Farm” workshop, you can watch it in its entirety on Wake County’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
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