Working Farms Fund is sponsored by The Conservation Fund. The Working Farms Fund aims to rejuvenate Georgia's local food system and foster sustainable farm businesses by providing a pathway to affordable land ownership for next-generation and historically disadvantaged farmers.

Protecting America’s Farmlands - The Conservation Fund Protecting America’s Farmlands Our Programs Protecting America’s Farmlands Every hour, 40 acres of America’s farmland are lost to development — a problem most acute on the edges of growing cities.

Working farms play an important role in our local communities, providing nearby access to fresh food, supporting local economies, and preserving open land in places experiencing rapid change. Once farmland is paved over, it is forever lost to agricultural use, permanently shrinking open space, food production, and livelihoods.

The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund program was launched to protect at-risk farmlands near growing cities, so they can continue to serve both rural and urban communities — even as development pressures intensify. By protecting at-risk farmland, we ensure that communities have access to the fresh, local food they want, while keeping farmland productive and accessible for the next generation of farmers.

Understanding the Threats to Farmland Several converging trends are making farmland near large metro areas increasingly vulnerable to permanent loss: An aging farmer population means many legacy farmers are retiring, and farmland is changing hands. Rising land prices near metro areas are leaving the next generation of aspiring farmers with no affordable path to land access.

Rapid urban expansion is pushing farmland out of reach for farmers and into the hands of developers. As farmland disappears, the U.S. food system is becoming increasingly dominated by large agribusinesses that are disconnected from the land and vulnerable to disruption. Preserving farmland near cities is critical not only for the land itself but also for maintaining resilient, community-centered food systems.

acres of farmland lost every hour acres of farmland lost since 2000 average age of American farmer At The Conservation Fund, we use a proven conservation model to keep farmland working: Buy : Acquire at-risk farmland before it’s lost to development Support : Farmers with access to markets, training, and resources Protect : Place permanent agricultural protections on the land so it stays a farm forever Sell : Match farmland with committed farmers and provide a patient pathway to affordable ownership This approach ensures that land remains in agriculture, farmers can build viable businesses, and communities benefit from food produced close to home.

Photo credit: JJN Multimedia The Farms Fund builds on The Conservation Fund’s long history of protecting working land and applying real-world land-deal expertise. We move quickly when threats arise, and we use conservation tools that make farmland affordable and enduring for farm businesses.

This practical land stewardship model — successful for forests, ranches, and other working landscapes — now preserves farmland in the places where it’s most threatened and most needed. North Carolina Farmland Secured for Next... In one of the fastest-growing regions of North Carolina, farmland is disappearing at an alarming pace — thousands of acre...

The Conservation Fund acquired and protected 44 acres of at-risk farmland outside Charlotte, North Carolina to protect it... Connecting the Next Generation of Farmer... Farming has sustained Americans since the nation’s founding.

But today agriculture in the United States is at a turning p... North Carolina Farmland Secured for Next... In one of the fastest-growing regions of North Carolina, farmland is disappearing at an alarming pace — thousands of acre...

Connecting the Next Generation of Farmer... Farming has sustained Americans since the nation’s founding. But today agriculture in the United States is at a turning p...

The Conservation Fund acquired and protected 44 acres of at-risk farmland outside Charlotte, North Carolina to protect it...