A 2,000-plus-acre Southwest Florida ranch has been added to a state program designed to protect rural land.
Florida agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced the addition of the Syfrett Ranch property in Highlands and Glades counties on Monday through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
The approval was part of $19 million approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday to conserve rural land used for cattle, while also expanding a list of agricultural properties the state could help shield from residential or commercial development.
Meeting briefly by phone, DeSantis and the Cabinet approved a new ranking list of 258 farms, ranches and forests that could be preserved through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
“That's 178 new projects just applied for this year and 80 that have rolled over from the previous cycle,” department Rural and Family Lands Director Sue Mullins said.
Mullins and other state staff members were listening in the Capitol’s Cabinet meeting room while DeSantis, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody met for about 20 minutes by phone.
Conservation easements allow farmers and ranchers to continue operations with the promise that their land won’t be developed. The state pays property owners for the easements.
DeSantis and the Cabinet approved three conservation-easement deals, with one under the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and two under the state’s Florida Forever program.
With the approval, approximately 2,101 acres of working agricultural lands will be preserved through a cost-effective rural land protection easement totaling $8,195,000. Rural land protection easements prevent future development of the land and allow agriculture operations to continue to contribute to Florida’s economy and the production of food, timber, and other resources vital to the prosperity of Florida.
“Today’s approval to partner with Syfrett Ranch to preserve over 2,000 acres of productive ranchlands through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program is a triple win for the state,” said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “These rural land protection easements strengthen our food security though the protection of prime agricultural land, keep the protected property on the local tax rolls, and require every property owner to maintain the land and its natural resources according to state standards.”
Once finalized, this project represents the 70th Rural and Family Lands Protection Program easement, with nearly 100,000 acres preserved through the program.
The Syfrett Ranch is a cow-calf operation in Highlands County and Glades County. The easement consists of approximately 2,101 acres along the C-41A canal, and is part of the Lake Okeechobee Watershed. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS' Best Management Practices program and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
DeSantis and the Cabinet also agreed to pay $5.243 million for an easement on 1,425.5 acres of cattle-ranch land from Ferguson-House Farms, Inc. in Hendry County.
Another $5.586 million was approved for an easement covering 1,531 acres of 4L’s Ranch LLC property in west-central DeSoto County. In support of the 4L’s Ranch deal, the Florida Conservation Group said the easement would provide benefits such as preserving drinking water supplies and promoting agriculture and tourism through connections to the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
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. Agricultural lands are being increasingly threatened by urban development. 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.
A story map of all completed Rural and Family Lands Protection Program projects can be viewed here: FDACS.gov/RFLPPMap.
The Rural and Family Lands program continues to use money held over from the 2022-2023 budget. DeSantis vetoed funding for the program in this year’s budget but has proposed spending $100 million on it during the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Simpson is seeking $300 million for the program.
“These rural land protection easements strengthen our food security through the protection of prime agricultural land, keep the protected property on the local tax rolls and require every property owner to maintain the land and its natural resources according to state standards,” Simpson said in a prepared statement after Tuesday’s meeting.
DeSantis has also pitched $100 million for the Florida Forever program in his 2024-2025 budget recommendations.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.