06/16/2026
First one’s in the books.
We just closed our first agricultural conservation easement under Commissioner Wilton Simpson’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. A piece of working Florida, kept working, permanently, by an owner who chose it.
The program does what most conservation fights can’t. It pays willing farmers and ranchers a fair price to keep their land in production. No mandate. The owner decides.
234,000 acres conserved since 2001, and counting.
We Know the Dirt—All of It 🌱💼
The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program works with willing farmers and ranchers to prevent future development of working land through rural lands protection easements. By permanently protecting working lands from development, Florida is supporting agricultural operations that contribute to Florida’s economy and the production of food, timber, and other resources vital to the prosperity of Florida.