Florida Agricultural Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced the preservation of over 4,500 acres of agricultural land through the state's Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
The Florida Cabinet, which includes Commissioner Simpson, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, and Florida Chief Financial Blaise Ingoglia, approved the easement. The measure is designed to preserve and enhance Florida's agricultural industry, including for food, timber, and other resources.
“The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program gives us the most effective and cost-efficient way to preserve our natural lands while also supporting our farmers and ranchers,” Simpson said. “By permanently protecting working agricultural lands while keeping them in private ownership, we’re protecting Florida’s food supply and our rural way of life without taking the land off the tax rolls or creating new costs for the state. This is what smart conservation looks like, and it’s why this program is the best tool we have to protect Florida’s agricultural lands. I’m grateful to Governor DeSantis and my fellow members of the Florida Cabinet for continuing to support this mission.”
Easements include the following.
- Blandford Farm & Ranch - an approximately 349-acre sod and hay farm in Lake County preserved with a $7.5M easement.
- Encore Farms - an approximately 194-acre horse and cattle operation in Lake County preserved with a $5.436M easement.
- Fair Bluff Ranch - an approximately 618-acre cattle ranch in Martin County preserved with a $6.2M easement.
- Leonard Property - an approximately 219-acre cattle ranch in Martin County preserved with a $20.15M easement.
- Turnpike Dairy - an approximately 498-acre cattle operation in Martin County preserved with a $7.48M easement, with Martin County providing $3.74M of the share.
- Limestone Creek - an approximately 1,034-acre cattle ranch in Hardee County with a $6.52M easement.
- Stokes Farm - an approximately 1,586-acre timber operation in Columbia County with a $5.562 easement.
The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program has helped preserve over 251,000 acres of working land since 2001, including 186,000 under Commission Simpson's leadership. Simpson has also helped secure over $1.1B is state funding for the program, including $425M in the 2026-27 state budget.
