Saving Working Lands: The Family Farm

Greenville’s farm heritage is shrinking fast. Once a county of dairies, row crops, and cattle, we’re rapidly trading fields for subdivisions—even on soils USDA ranks among the nation’s most productive.

What’s changed

• 2017 → 2022: Greenville County lost 116 farms and about 6,700 acres of farmland—roughly an 11% decline in both.

• Bottom line: Fewer local producers, fewer local food options, and less working open space buffering floods and filtering water.

Why it matters

The pandemic made it plain: waiting on luxury goods is one thing; wondering where your food comes from is another. Keeping farms close to home strengthens food security, protects water quality, and preserves the rural character people value.

What we’re doing

The Greenville County Historic & Natural Resources Trust, partnering with SC Farm Bureau Land Trust and Upstate Forever, is investing in conservation easements to keep farms working. Seven of our first nine easements protect active farms—permanently.

A quick win you can see

In fast-growing Five Forks, two easements together secure nearly 70 acres of open space. They help reduce flooding and improve water quality in Horse Pen Creek while preventing more farmland from becoming rooftops and cul-de-sacs.

The real conservation heroes

These successes start with private landowners who willingly turn down large development offers to keep their family land in agriculture. Their choices deliver public benefits every day.

Source: USDA Census of Agriculture, Greenville County (2017 & 2022).