NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee is losing an alarming amount of farmland every day.
In his budget address, Gov. Bill Lee said Tennessee is losing 10 acres every hour.
The governor is backing a bill reintroduced this year that would establish the Farmland Conservation Act and create a grant program for farmers interested in protecting their land from development.
We talked to goat dairy farmers in Williamson County, where some of the most farmland in the state has been lost.
Dustin and Justyne Noble operate Noble Springs Dairy on the farm with a conservation easement. With the help of Land Trust for Tennessee, the owners before them took steps to insulate it from all the development in the area.
The Nobles wouldn't want it any other way.
"We're not going to do this inside a little building in the city, so we have to have space for the goats to be happy and live productive lives," said Justyne Noble.
Liz McLaurin, president and CEO of Land Trust for Tennessee, explained how conserving land with them works.
"We write the conservation easements — a legal document that's usually 25 pages long — and we sign that document at closing. And our job from that point forward, as a land trust, is to make sure that in perpetuity the terms of that conservation easement is left in place, they remain with the property," said Liza McLaurin.
McLaurin also said that landowners can do things like sell or pass the property down to their heirs.
"It's not static; it's working land. You can farm, fish, and hunt, you can do all the things you have on the land, and so can the next owners, but that conservation easement remains in place in perpetuity, and that's our job," McLaurin said.
In his State of the State address in January, Governor Bill Lee pushed for a $25 million farmland conservation fund to establish a grant program for farmers who volunteer to preserve their land. Now, Tennessee SB 207 is making its way through the General Assembly.
The conservation easement would not be held by the state. Instead, an organization like The Land Trust of Tennessee would take care of it.
The Nobles were recognized during the governor's address.
"It’s time that we support family farms like Noble Springs Farm in rural Tennessee, owned by first-generation dairy farmers Dustin and Justyne Noble," Gov. Bill Lee said. "Together, they source food for their local community to make a living and help drive our economy, all while teaching their children the value of agribusiness. Our strategy will ensure farms just like theirs can be preserved well into the future."
Dustin Noble, who grew up in Brentwood, has witnessed the dramatic loss of farmland and thinks a farmland preservation fund is a smart idea.
"I think the work the Land Trust is doing in the area is really important in the area," Dustin Noble said. "So you don't have houses on top of houses everywhere. Hopefully, it will inspire more people to put their properties into easements, so we maintain some green space and areas around here so we're not just covered up with development and housing," Noble said.
The same proposal got caught up in committee last year. This time around, the governor's team is predicting it will pass.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
Breaking barriers and moving to the beat! One local dance company is making it possible for young people in wheelchairs to move and groove like everyone else. Good for your mental health, good for your physical health and good for your dose of positive news today. I hope you check out what they're doing!
-Rebecca Schleicher
