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According to Davie’s Gonzalez family, the most important thing they raise on the farm is grandchildren.

On Aug. 19, the family helped to ensure their farm will be available for their children and grandchildren to enjoy by permanently conserving it with Three Rivers Land Trust.

Passing a family farm down to the next generation is often harder than it may seem.  Sometimes the heirs have no interest in farming which necessitates the property to be subdivided or sold.

The Gonzalez’s decision to permanently conserve their farm remedies that issue.

Betina and Benigno Gonzalez purchased Chinquapin Farms from her father.  Betina recounts how she found out about the land trust.

“I was cleaning house one day and I looked up and I said ‘Lord how are we going to afford to pay for this farm?’ Because it was a substantial payment each year. And about an hour later, Randy Blackwood with NRCS called and said I have an idea for you. A conservation easement through Three Rivers Land Trust. We didn’t want to see this land developed, we wanted it to stay a farm. So, I contacted Crystal from Three Rivers, and now this farm is protected. To us, it’s important to conserve land and leave it for generations to come.

“We’re only here for a little while, and actually when you buy a piece of property it’s like you’re renting it, you’re not really owning it, you’re just renting it for while you’re here.

“This land will always be a farm. It will always be trees growing and creeks running through it and the children able to do what they need to do. If they decide to sell it, then it’s sold, but the conservation easement stays with it. It will always be a farm. You can’t ask for anything more than that,” she said.

This 297-acre farm is located just a short drive from Mocksville in Davie County. This is one of the more rapidly developing portions of Three Rivers Land Trust’s region. And land prices in this part of the region continue to increase, as developers race to provide housing for commuters to Bermuda Run and Winston-Salem, said Emily Callicutt, Three Rievers senior land protection specialist.

“Just in the short time since we started working on this project, land prices in this area have doubled. We’re fortunate to have great landowners like the Gonzalez family who understand the importance of conserving farmland and our region’s rural character, while open lands like this are still available.”

“Three Rivers Land Trust is also very fortunate to have funding partners who support us in our effort to save family farms like the Gonzalez farm,” states Executive Director Travis Morehead. “We are grateful for the support of the state and federal farmland trust funds as well as our corporate partners, including Chick-Fil-A and SC Johnson. We would not be able to do this vital work without these partnerships.”

This project was made possible by funding from the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, the USDA Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and the support of other TRLT members.  If you would like to find out how to conserve your property or support TRLT’s conservation mission contact Callicutt at emily@trlt.org.