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Tennessee tobacco fund donates $165K to farmland preservation

By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Farmland preservation got a boost last week with a $165,700 donation from tobacco settlement funds.
Gov. Phil Bredesen and state Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens announced the contribution that will go to the Land Trust for Tennessee (LTT) organization.

“Farmland preservation is more than just preserving our rich agricultural legacy and the land. It’s about achieving balance in our land-use planning and supporting a major component of our rural economy,” said Bredesen.

“I’m pleased that through this donation that we will be able to support private/public partnerships with The Land Trust to preserve working farms in Tennessee.”

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) partners with LTT to “conserve farmlands by providing funds that help defray some of the legal and other costs that farmers may incur while permanently protecting their land. Through the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program, the Land Trust has been successful in preserving over 30 farms totaling 9,000 acres since early 2007,” according to information from the TDA.

A component of that partnership, which began just two years ago, includes contributing $100,000 a year for five years from the state to LTT to aid their efforts to ensure as much farmland as possible in Tennessee will remain farmland.

“The idea is that the land trust will use these dollars and the donation that the Governor announced last week to help defray legal as well as other costs associated with farmers either selling or donating their development rights to the farm so they can continue farming,” said TDA Spokesman Tom Womack.

“That’s the key here. What this donation represents is an effort to support working farms in Tennessee and those farm families who are willing to sacrifice the value of those development rights so that the farmland can remain in farm production.”

The donation comes from the state’s portion of Phase II tobacco settlement funds which was a separate fund from the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) that went to 14 producer states to offset changes in the tobacco industry brought about by the MSA.
That funding pool went away with the federal tobacco quota buyout in 2004 and the Tennessee Tobacco Farmers Certifying Board was in a position to close out that trust fund and designate those unused dollars for a farm-related purpose, said Womack.

Tennessee Phase II funds helped approximately 50,000  tobacco farm families who shared in more than $170 million from the trust over a six-year period.

“We’re glad the tobacco board saw the wisdom in using this money broadly to help preserve farmland in Tennessee for farm families and future generations,” he added.

Commissioner Givens, who serves as vice chairman of the certifying board said, “The tobacco settlement trust served its purpose by helping thousands of Tennessee tobacco farm families transition through some turbulent years in the industry. I can’t think of a more fitting way to bring this program to a close than by helping farm families build a legacy through farm preservation.” 

Womack also said that while Tennessee is an agricultural state, it is quickly becoming urbanized with metropolitan areas growing and land fragmentation occurring not only with farmland but forestland as well.

The Land Trust Program does have certain restrictions pertaining to the land such as no subdividing or building residential homes other than the farm’s homestead, but it does allow for the continuance of ag production of many forms whether it be agritourism, organic production or traditional cattle and row-crop production according to Womack.

“As long as the land stays in agricultural character, that is the main thing,” he said. “It is a natural tie for the tobacco board to make this donation because we have lost so many tobacco farms as a result of changes in the industry over the last 10 years.”
Keeping Tennessee farms going is important to the state’s economy in a big way.

“Agriculture represents about a $2.7 billion industry at the farm level with an overall total economic impact that is closer to $60 billion said Womack.

The land trust knows of at least 20 other farmers wanting to enter the program. This new donation will be beneficial in making that happen.

“Over our 10-year history, we have been privileged to work with many Tennessee farmers,” said Jean Nelson, president and executive director of The Land Trust for Tennessee. “This fund will give us the opportunity to help many more. We appreciate the Tennessee Tobacco Farmers Certifying Board and the confidence they have placed in us to provide this assistance to Tennessee farmers.”

For more information about the land trust go to www.landtrusttn.org

5/20/2009