Holt Agricultural property, Alachua County, Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced the preservation of more Florida farmland through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. Holt Agricultural, a 421-acre property located in Alachua County, is being preserved through a rural lands protection easement for $2,975,000.
“Protecting working farms like Holt Agricultural is how we keep Florida free, self-reliant, and economically strong,” said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “This easement ensures the land stays in private hands, continues to feed our communities, and supports the values that make rural Florida worth fighting for.”
The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program purchases the development rights to agricultural properties through voluntary rural lands protection easements, which prevent the 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.
Holt Agricultural
Holt Agriculture is a 421.77-acre farm north of San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park in Alachua County. This property consists of cropland and pastureland with small strips of wetland forest following small creeks. Surrounding lands are pasture, upland and wetland forest, and planted timber. Irrigated row crops include peanuts planted during the winter, and broccoli and watermelon during the spring and summer. The understory of the fields is composed of bahia grass, coffee senna, hairy indigo, and scarlet creeper, among others. Areas adjacent to the property on all sides are projected to develop by 2040 in the UF development projections.
About the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program
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. Since its inception, the program has permanently preserved more than 210,000 acres of working agricultural land, with nearly 146,000 acres preserved during Commissioner Simpson’s administration.
During the 2024 Legislative Session, Commissioner Simpson helped to secure a $100 million legislative appropriation 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 rural land protection easements under the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
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 better protect and connect Florida’s natural areas and wildlife habitats and to preserve working agricultural lands from future development. As Senate President, Commissioner Simpson also secured a $300 million legislative appropriation for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
A story map of all completed Rural and Family Lands Protection Program projects can be viewed here: FDACS.gov/RFLPPMap.
For more information about Commissioner Simpson and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit FDACS.gov.
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