More than 2,600 acres of working farmland across Hardee and Marion counties will never be paved over, fenced off for subdivisions, or converted to strip malls. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced the permanent preservation of four separate ranches and farms through a state easement program designed to keep agricultural land in production while blocking future construction.
The deal, completed through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, does not require the state to buy the land outright. Instead, as reported by the Tampa Free Press, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services purchases development rights through conservation easements, letting families keep ownership, stay on local tax rolls, and continue farming without the state taking on land management costs. The four properties fall within the Florida Wildlife Corridor and are enrolled in state Best Management Practices governing water conservation.
Three Hardee County Ranches Anchor the Peace River Valley
Three of the four properties sit in Hardee County, within the Peace River Valley watershed. The C&G Cattle – Fish Branch ranch, roughly 779 acres of pasture, fallow cropland, and natural areas around Fish Branch Creek, was preserved for $4,550,000, with the USDA's Agricultural Land Easements program contributing $2,132,600 toward the purchase, per the outlet's reporting.
Nearby, the roughly 672-acre C&G Cattle – Charlie Creek ranch, which runs along Charlie Creek and includes pasture, citrus groves, and wetlands adjacent to an already-protected easement, was secured for $4,995,000. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service-Agricultural Land Easements program supplied $2,168,955 of that total, the Tampa Free Press reported. The third Hardee County parcel, the roughly 639-acre Ludwig Property along Bushy Creek north of its junction with Horse Creek, was preserved through a $3,850,000 easement and features pasture, cropland, flatwoods, and mixed wetland hardwood forests.
The watershed context matters beyond Hardee County's borders. Water flowing through the Peace River eventually reaches Charlotte Harbor and supplies drinking water to more than a million residents in Southwest Florida, according to WUSF, which reports the state has approved nearly $30 million in easements across more than 9,100 acres in the region to protect water quality and floodplains.
A Cattle and Peanut Farm on the Withlacoochee
The fourth property, Dale Wright Farms, sits about 589 acres in Marion County along the Withlacoochee River. The cattle ranch and peanut operation, which contains pasture, upland forests, and wetland forests, was protected for $2,825,000, with $1,400,000 coming from the USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program, the Tampa Free Press reported. Marion County ranks 10th in the state for beef cattle production and is known as the Horse Capital of the World, with agriculture generating $1.2 billion in annual revenue and supporting more than 27,000 local jobs, according to the Ocala Gazette.
Simpson said the program remains the state's most cost-effective conservation tool for protecting the food supply, natural resources, and wildlife habitat from development, per the Tampa Free Press. Under his administration, the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program has protected more than 179,000 acres, and the program has preserved more than 244,000 acres statewide overall since it was established under the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act of 2001.
Budget Growth Reflects Bipartisan Push Against Sprawl
The 2026-2027 state budget allocated $425 million to the program, following a $250 million allocation the prior year, bringing total funding secured since 2022 to more than $1.1 billion — investments the Tampa Free Press attributes to the Florida Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis. That growth comes as Florida continues losing farmland at a rapid clip: the state lost 2,887 farms and more than 30,000 acres over a five-year period, according to 2022 USDA Census data cited by the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, which also cites University of Florida projections estimating losses of up to 45,000 acres a year to development through 2070.
The stakes extend well past these four properties. Florida's agriculture, natural resources, and food industries generated $11.78 billion in direct agricultural sales and supported more than 2.5 million direct and indirect jobs statewide in 2022, according to a UF/IFAS economic impact analysis. Enrollment in the easement program requires landowners to maintain active agricultural production and follow state Best Management Practices for water conservation and nutrient runoff, under rules established by the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act.
These four parcels are part of a broader wave of recent state acquisitions. FDACS previously preserved 2,585 acres of pine plantation across Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties in June 2025 and 1,373 acres in Hardee County's Charlie Creek Marsh this past February, according to Florida Politics. Hoodline has previously reported on Simpson's reelection campaign and land push, as well as the broader economic weight of the state's timber and agriculture sector.
