Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Wednesday the preservation of a Florida family farm in the Florida Wildlife Corridor through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
The Holifield Family Farms property, a nearly 160-acre cattle and row crop operation in Dixie County, is being preserved through a rural land protection easement for $329,300.
“Partnering with Holifield Family Farms to preserve productive agricultural land through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program marks another significant victory for Florida,” said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “By safeguarding our rural lands through protection easements, we enhance food security, maintain these protected properties within the local tax system, and ensure property owners adhere to state standards for land and natural resource conservation.”
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The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program purchases the development rights to agricultural properties through voluntary rural land easements.
These easements prevent the future development of the land and allow agriculture operations to continue contributing to Florida’s economy and the production of food, timber, and other resources vital to Florida’s prosperity.
Holifield Family Farms
Holifield Family Farms is located within two miles of the Suwannee River and is a row crop operation on 100 acres during the spring and summer with cattle grazing on the land in the fall and winter.
On the remainder of the property, cattle graze year-round on a large portion, hay is grown and harvested on a smaller portion, and there is a small acreage of natural areas. The Holifield family has farmed in this area since the mid to late 1800s and drove cattle to Dixie County just after the Civil War, where they still live today.
Established in 2001 with the passage of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act, the program recognizes that working agricultural lands are essential to Florida’s economic future.
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However, urban development is increasingly threatening agricultural lands. To counter this trend, the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program partners with farmers and ranchers to ensure sustainable production practices while protecting natural resources.
During the 2023 Legislative Session, HB 1279 was signed to support the department’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program by no longer requiring the department to submit a purchase agreement to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund for approval for projects with a purchase price of less than $5 million.
In early January, Commissioner Simpson announced the first acquisition of a permanent rural land protection easement through the department’s sole authority.
During the 2024 Legislative Session, Commissioner Simpson helped to secure from the Florida Legislature $100 million for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and another $100 million each fiscal year, appropriated in SB 1638, to support the Florida Wildlife Corridor, including the acquisition of conservation easements under the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
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Commissioner Simpson has been involved in Florida’s land conservation policy issues long before becoming Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture. As Senate President, Commissioner Simpson championed the successful passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, which directed the state of Florida to protect better and connect Florida’s natural areas and wildlife habitats and to preserve working agricultural lands from future development.
Commissioner Simpson secured $300 million for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program as Senate President.
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