You may be in a media savvy area where a location crew has been through and offered contingency fees for site locations.

Depending on how many people you are asking, the word may be 'spreading' that there's a photographer about looking for releases.

For negotiation purposes, you could offer them a signed copy of the photo in question as the 'consideration' part of the release. General releases can usually be thought of as a courtesy, unless there are recognizable people, or a trademarked image, or you've gone onto (like a lane) or across private property(walked through a field) to obtain the photograph. If you are in the middle of a public country road and take a picture of horse leaning over a fence, it is yours. Now, if the horse is uniquely recognizable to the public or is against a backdrop that says something like "Jones Arabian Stable Clayton, NC" then you should pursue an agreement.

Not being familiar with the intricacies of NC law, does it have any state legislation like California that provides additional protections for images of people? That might change the things somewhat.

I've found very few people who wouldn't give me permission, verbal at least, to photograph from even the middle of the front yard if I asked and explained what I was doing. Otherwise a long lens might be your best friend. If the photo is truly good the wallet or checkbook often comes out when they see a print. Just show 'em what you've done and see what kind of response you get!

Good luck!