Yes, preserving President Jimmy Carter’s family farm is definitely worth it.
The family farm located near Plains, Georgia, reflects Carter’s childhood experiences and agricultural roots, holding deep historical significance.
In November 2026, The Conservation Fund purchased the approximately 2,458-acre property for $8.5 million, ensuring its preservation for future generations.
The plans for the farm include making it a nature preserve, allowing for activities like hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.
Additionally, Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources will eventually receive the property, which emphasizes its long-term conservation value.
What does this initiative honor?
This initiative not only honors Carter’s legacy but also promotes environmental conservation. Making it a significant step toward preserving both cultural heritage and natural resources.
“Long before Jimmy Carter protected millions of acres across America, he worked the fields and roamed the woods of southwest Georgia. This land shaped him and his legacy, and he never stopped coming home to it. We’re honored to help ensure this land remains a healthy habitat for wildlife, and we look forward to the day we open it to everyone who wants to experience it,” said Stacy Funderburke, vice president of the central Southeast region at The Conservation Fund.
Preservation group The Conservation Fund announced Monday that it acquired the farm as part of a 2,458-acre (995-hectare) purchase. The farm sits just outside Plains, Georgia, the 39th president’s hometown.
Carter spent his youth exploring the woods around the farm and returned many times as an adult to walk with his wife Rosalynn and hunt, the fund said.
Near the end of his life, Carter, who died in 2024 at 100, returned to the farm for one final fishing trip to its pond. Rosalynn Carter died in 2023.
What did the grandson of Carter say?
“For our family, this land has always meant more than a farm. My grandparents treasured it as home — a place we’re grateful to The Conservation Fund and to everyone who works to ensure they protect it for generations to come,” Jason Carter, a grandson of the Carters, said in a statement.
The farm should open to the public for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation as soon as next year, The Conservation Fund said.
The fund plans to transfer the land to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources the following year. The purchase price was $8.5 million, The Washington Post reported.
The family decided to plant young long leaf pines on the property.
The family kept a stand of mature longleaf pines at the farm at Carter’s request, The Conservation Fund said. One of his final decisions about the property was to replant much of it with young longleaf pines, the fund said.
The replanting effort means the property fits naturally to expand Georgia’s Lanahassee Creek Wildlife Management Area, which will grow to almost 7,000 acres (2,833 hectares), the fund said. The Plains area also hosts Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, which includes Carter’s boyhood home.