Wilkes County is a beautiful county in North Carolina. With a wide variety of ecosystems and microclimates, our state is full of incredible, diverse forests across two watersheds. 

To protect our county and increase forest productivity, North Carolina has implemented several cost-sharing programs through the Department of Ag by way of Soil and Water conservation, as well as the North Carolina Forest Service and the federal government.

Because of how logging and agriculture can influence the land and watersheds, it's critical to develop plans to protect and improve water quality, as well as prepare land for regrowth after timber harvest.

What Is Cost Share?

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Forest Service use cost-share assistance programs to encourage landowners to use best management practices on their property. Sometimes, such as with the Agriculture Cost Share program, these objectives are solely environmental. In other cases, similar policies encourage nonindustrial private forest productivity.

These programs often assist in covering expenditures associated with land improvements, such as hiring contractors, legal fees, and other expenses.

Current Available Cost Share Programs in Wilkes County

Landowners can benefit from a number of state and federal cost-share initiatives in both agriculture and forestry. These are some of the programs available:

• Agriculture Cost Share Program (Soil and Water Conservation) - This program encourages the use of best management techniques to keep pollution out of streams, creeks, and rivers that run alongside agricultural land.
• Prescribed Burning - Every year, the NC Forest Service spends about $1 million on prescribed burning. This can be used to burn property for danger reduction, wildlife habitat creation, and forest regeneration preparation.
• Federal Programs - There are several Federal programs that fund projects to help sustain the vital role of nonindustrial forested land. These can be anything from the Forestry Incentive Program, the Stewardship Incentives Program, etc. By funding these cost-sharing programs, the federal government can ensure productivity on land while also addressing environmental concerns.

Church & Church And Land Cost Share Programs

Church and Church is a family-owned company that serves Wilkes County and the neighboring areas. From logging and forest management to direct lumber sales, we offer a wide range of services, and in some cases, we can assist in securing funding from available cost-share programs.

  One of our key objectives is to assist landowners in getting the most out of their investment while also considering the environment.

Contact Church & Church today for more information about how we can help you better manage your land by utilizing cost-share programs.