Commissioner Wilton Simpson Highlights Agricultural Lands to be Preserved With $47 Million in Recently Announced Partner Funding

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Following the Florida Conservation Group's recent announcement of $47 million in state and federal funding to preserve active agriculture operations in the Peace River Valley region, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson is highlighting four proposed agricultural conservation projects that will receive funding. These agricultural operations in Southwest Florida will be permanently preserved from future development, as well as their environmentally critical land and water resources, through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program's voluntary rural land protection easements.

"The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program was created more than 20 years ago to permanently preserve Florida's natural resources as well as our active farms and ranches; and since I took office in early 2023, we have more than doubled the acreage of land preserved by this program," said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. "Through strategic partnerships and by combining resources from state, federal, and private partners, we're working to preserve as much of Florida's natural and productive landscapes as possible - and before it is too late."

The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program purchases the development rights to the agricultural properties through voluntary rural land 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.

Bentley Ranch

The Bentley Ranch is a 2,621-acre family-run cattle, citrus, and blueberry operation in southeastern Hardee County. The Bentleys started ranching here in the 1930s. Forty years ago they diversified into citrus and now raise blueberries and other crops. The northern half of the site is mostly pasture and cropland, with Oak Creek, a tributary to the Peace River, flowing through the southern half. The site is comprised chiefly of mesic flatwoods and marshes typical of the Peace River Valley and is surrounded by similar agricultural lands, primarily pasture and citrus. The ranch is home to gopher tortoise, indigo snakes, American kestrels, and wood storks. Oak Creek flows into Charlie Creek and then the Peace River, which is an important drinking water source for Floridians in Hardee, Desoto, Manatee, and Charlotte counties.

Ryals Cattle Company

The Ryals Cattle Company includes approximately 2,845 acres in north-central Charlotte County. It is a contiguous 4-mile long, north-south oriented piece of property that contains a portion of Prairie Creek as it flows west to the Peace River. The Ryals Family has been ranching in Charlotte and De Soto Counties since the 1920s and on this particular property for three generations. The Ryals Family runs a cow/calf operation, sod production, citrus groves, and a five-year rotational watermelon crop. Prairie Creek runs for 1.5 miles through the project and is bordered by intact scrub, mesic flatwoods, and mesic hammocks.

Sweetwater Preserve

Sweetwater Preserve is an 1,887-acre ranch located within the Charlie Creek watershed subbasin and contains 4.2 acres of Charlie Creek on the eastern side of the property. Mr. Pace has built this diversified agricultural operation from the ground up. He began assembling this property in 2008 and built the operation with the intent to protect it in perpetuity. Mr. Pace currently operates this land as a cow-calf operation and also farms strawberries, watermelon, hay, and citrus groves. The property is mixed wetland hardwood forests, natural grasslands, and improved pasture, with the land cover retaining most of its natural composition. The project is home to Panthers, crested Caracara, and a number of game species.

C&G Cattle Company

C&G Cattle is a family-run cow-calf operation covering 1,472 acres in southern Hardee County that dates back over 100 years. Some of this property is still in citrus production and features forested wetlands along Charlie Creek in the Peace River Valley, which runs through the center of the property. Another portion of the ranch features mesic flatwoods, marshes, and forested wetlands along Fish Branch, which is a creek on the property situated just before it joins the Peace River. Surrounding lands are a similar mix of pasture, citrus, crops, forests, and wetlands. Florida panthers, black bears, burrowing owls, and many other native species call this project home.

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.

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 recently recognized the families of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program at an event in Lake Placid, Florida, and celebrated the program's 100,000^th acre milestone in agricultural land preservation.

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.

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