Ayrshire Farm Conserved

First certified organic farm in NC ensures its legacy

May 23, 2010

Pittsboro, NC—Bill Dow has always been on the leading edge of the local food movement.

When he started growing organically at Ayrshire Farm in central Chatham County in 1983 he had to prove wrong local agricultural leaders who said organic couldn’t be done in North Carolina.

He later went on to help found the Carrboro Farmer’s Market, develop markets for local produce with local restaurants, establish the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and the Sustainable Agriculture Program of Central Carolina Community College, and become the first certified organic farm in North Carolina.

Now he’s leading again, this time in conservation. On May 7, Mr. Dow granted a conservation easement on his 22-acre Ayrshire Farm to Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC). This is TLC’s 52nd conservation easement project, but the first on one of the Triangle region’s many small, organic farms.

The easement protects Ayrshire Farm from subdivision, ensuring forever that this fertile land will be available to provide fresh food to Triangle residents. In addition, it provides a forested buffer on two-tenths of a mile of Landrum Creek, a tributary of Rocky River.

A few years ago TLC might not have pursued a project on a small farm like Ayrshire, with land protection criteria in place calling for projects with a minimum of 100 acres.

But since 2008 TLC has taken a new angle in its work, called the Public Benefits Approach. Rather than concentrating on the number of acres in its success measurements, the organization is pursuing projects that bring the benefits of conservation to the people of the region. [Learn more about TLC's Public Benefits Approach]

One of those benefits is Local Farms & Food (along with Wildlife Habitat, Clean Water and Places to Connect with Nature). By ensuring the future of Ayrshire Farm, TLC is clearly bringing the benefit of Local Farms & Food to the region.

Two of North Carolina’s conservation trust funds played key roles in the project. The NC Agricultural Development & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund provided $96,000 to purchase the conservation easement. (In the bargain sale arrangement, Mr. Dow also contributed $50,000 of land value.) And the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund will provide $25,000 through a mini-grant to help cover project expenses such as surveys and legal fees.

TLC covered another $10,000 in project costs through a grant from the SOUL Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation. The SOUL Fund (Save Our Undeveloped Land) has been supporting TLC’s conservation work in Chatham County since 2005.

Check out our YouTube video featuring Bill Dow talking about Ayrshire Farm, organic farming, and conservation.