Rural and Family Lands Protection Program Safeguards Florida’s Food Supply

In partnership with: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Ensuring a safe, affordable and abundant food supply is more than a matter of convenience; it’s a national security issue. While Floridians are resilient by nature and have experience responding to disasters, if grocery stores didn’t have food for a week, or two weeks, there would be chaos. The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP) is the crown jewel of Florida’s efforts to protect its agricultural production and food supply.

Created in 2001 by the Florida Legislature with the passing of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act, the RFLPP has successfully acquired conservation easements for close to 90,000 acres of agricultural land to protect Florida’s agricultural production, and the land and natural resources that support it.

See more: Soil, Seed, Soul: Improving Diversity in Florida Agriculture

Benefiting Farmers and the Land

Spanning a remarkable 9.7 million acres, agricultural lands in Florida are increasingly threatened by urban development. From 1964 to 1997, Florida’s rural land base saw a fivefold increase in urban conversion, resulting in the loss of nearly 5 million acres of critical agricultural land, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Administered by FDACS, the RFLPP works with farmers and ranchers to acquire development rights through conservation easements on agricultural-producing land. Landowners can continue farming through these agreements while preserving wildlife habitats and protecting the environment.

By coordinating with landowners, the Program ensures sustainable production practices are used. Conservation easements create two primary benefits: protecting viable agricultural sectors and providing rural landscapes and open space. With the purchase of conservation easements, the RFLPP saves taxpayer dollars by not incurring costs to maintain land.

See more: Hundley Farms Produces Sweet Corn and More Using Sustainable Methods

Cultivating the Future

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson helped secure $300 million in funding for the RFLPP to safeguard working agriculture operations that add valuable contributions to Florida’s economy and food and fiber production. This new investment expands the Program to include lands that were managed using sustainable practices, in addition to ranches and timberlands. 

“By buying land development rights, we can keep the lands in perpetuity in agriculture,” Simpson says. “It makes sure that 50 years from now, 100 years from now, we can still farm in this state and provide food.”

More than 40 farms and ranches are part of the Program, including XL Ranch, a cow/calf operation in Highlands County; Clay Ranch, a seven-generation cattle ranch in Putnam County; and Hartt Family Ranch that grows citrus and other crops in Highlands County.

To be eligible for the Program, landowners must meet at least one of the four public purposes. These include protecting agricultural lands threatened by conversion to other uses; protecting and enhancing water bodies, aquifer recharge areas, wetlands and watersheds; perpetuating open space; and promoting and improving wildlife habitats.

“Food security is a matter of national security, and by protecting and preserving lands that have an immense amount of economic impact on food and agricultural production in our state, we are securing the livelihood of Florida,” Simpson says.

See more: New-to-Florida Crops Include Artichokes, Finger Limes and Blackberries