In 2001, a group of concerned farmers, citizens and politicians in Carroll County, Georgia met to discuss the threat to the county’s rural heritage posed by  urban sprawl from the growing Atlanta metropolis.  The attendees did not want to lose the County’s farmland, resulting in a county paved over with highways, driveways and parking lots.  The initial meeting evolved into an informal group, dubbed the Carroll County Farm and Rural Preservation Partnership.  Subsequent meetings were open to all who were interested, and resulted in the identification of a number of areas where it was thought a difference could be made.

            Investigations revealed that there was no other land trust in the State of Georgia that focused solely on the protection of farmland.  Farm owners who were interested in permanently protecting their farms told us that they found that existing land trusts were not sensitive to the realities and needs of working farms.  As a result, the Georgia Agricultural Land Trust (GALT) was formed in 2004, and is the only land trust in the State or Georgia that concentrates on protecting agricultural land, whether used to raise crops, livestock or timber.

            GALT received its 501(c)(3) status and became active in 2005, and works with farmers throughout Georgia who are interested in voluntarily and permanently preserving their land in agricultural uses.  While the Trust encourages policies that promote farmland conservation, the Trust does not become directly involved in local land use decisions, such as zoning.

            GALT promotes farmland conservation by educating landowners, politicians and citizens on the positive contributions that local agriculture makes to our way of life.  Locally-grown food is fresher and healthier, requires less energy to be delivered to consumers, and is less subject to potential transportation disruptions.  Farms provide open space, and, if properly managed, can maintain and improve air and water quality.  Farms require little in the way of local government services, and have been shown to more than pay their way in tax revenues versus costs of services.  Farms and rural life are meaningful and important parts of our heritage.

            The Trust may hold fee simple interests in land, but prefers to hold conservation easements, which are voluntary agreements that prevent the use of the land for any activity other than agriculturally-related uses.  With conservation easements, the land remains in private ownership.  The landowner continues to own and manage the land; the owner pays taxes (usually based on the Georgia conservation use assessment); and the land can still be left to children or others; used as collateral for loans; and sold – all subject to the conservation easement.

            While very limited monies are available to purchase conservation easements, there also are significant tax advantages for donating part or all of the value of a conservation easement to a qualified organization, such as the Georgia Agricultural Land Trust.

            Although the Land Trust is still based in Carroll County, it has always been our intent to evolve into a statewide organization, and we are doing so in measured steps.