The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS[1]) is rapidly expanding a program to protect agricultural lands and the Florida Wildlife Corridor, an official told lawmakers during committee week.
From 2001 to 2022, the state protected 66,000 acres through the FDACS Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. That amount has surged under Commissioner Wilton Simpson[2], increasing to 161,000 acres since 2023. That’s according to the program’s Director, JP Fraites, who spoke to the Senate Agriculture Committee[3].
“The program[4] is needed to balance responsible growth while also preserving the rural heritage and reinforcing the state’s $180 billion agricultural sector,” Fraites said.
With a $250 million appropriation this year, the Department’s 2025 ranked acquisition list contains 428 projects, up from 233 projects last year, he said.
The state uses the program to acquire permanent agricultural land conservation easements.
“When you think about Rural and Family Lands, if you can buy development rights, you’re going to make sure that 50 years from now, 100 years from now, we can still farm in the state of Florida,” Simpson said, according to the Department’s website.
For the state, the program preserves agricultural lands in perpetuity, protects Florida’s food supply and dives into a matter of national security, Fraites said Tuesday.
“Since these protected rural lands are less than fee acquisitions, the land owner still owns the property and that keeps the land’s taxable status in place to support local government programs,” he said, adding that there is no cost to the state to maintain the land.
The presentation comes as Republican lawmakers have voiced support for supporting the agriculture industry.
“I’m a proud son of rural Florida, Florida’s Heartland, six generations deep,” Senate President Ben Albritton said, promising a “Rural Renaissance”[5] when he took over in 2024. Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, is a citrus farmer.
References
- ^ FDACS (www.fdacs.gov)
- ^ Wilton Simpson (www.fdacs.gov)
- ^ Senate Agriculture Committee (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ program (storymaps.arcgis.com)
- ^ promising a “Rural Renaissance” (floridapolitics.com)