Florida's Rural & Family Lands Protection Program

I am pleased to take this opportunity to recognize a St. John's County Farm Bureau family for their participation in a new preservation program offered by the state.

A historic Hastings farm near St. Augustine will be the first family farm protected through Florida’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. Florida’s Governor and Cabinet approved option agreements today to acquire perpetual conservation easements over the 343-acre Smith Family Farm.  The proposal was represented by Muller and Associates, Inc. and Southern Realty.

The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, administered through the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry, was initiated to halt Florida’s loss of valuable agricultural lands to urban development, estimated to be 5 million acres from 1964 to 1997. Funds from Florida Forever, the state’s comprehensive conservation land acquisition program, are used to buy easements on selected agricultural lands to ensure the land will not be developed. Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson said that the easement would keep agricultural land in production, keep property on the local tax rolls, and provide jobs.

Jim Muller of Muller and Associates, Inc. prepared the Smith’s application with Patrick Hamilton, Southern Realty of St. Augustine.  Muller said the Smith Family Farm project was compelling due to “Hastings’ strong agricultural character, the threat of development in this coastal county, and the Smith family’s commitment to farming.”  The farm’s location near important black bear habitat was another significant factor.  The easement will prevent development and provide a buffer to bear habitat.

Started in 1920, the Smith farm was proclaimed “Florida’s First Horseless Farm” when it acquired a tractor in 1930. While the Smiths are a long-time farming family, this sixth-generation operation closely monitors and adjusts to market demands.  Tracking the increasing interest in the slow food movement, the Smiths run a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprise.  This partnership between local consumers and the Smith family spreads the risks and rewards of the local farm and raises organic vegetables for its 50 shareholders.  As a result of this and other efforts, Jeb Smith was recently named winner of Florida Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award.

In addition to raising row crops, the Smiths operate a grass-fed beef operation, using forage grown on their farm.  As Wayne Smith puts it, “The bottom line to all of this is we are a farm family to whom the way of life is an important part of who we are. There are four generations on this dirt right now that want to find a way to stay here in the face of increasing pressures.”

The project received a strong endorsement from St. Johns County, which has multiple ongoing efforts to support sustainable agriculture in the county.  Ron Sanchez, chair of the St. Johns County Commission, said “The permanent protection of this farm, which is a symbol of the region’s family farms, represents a critical step in St. Johns County’s efforts to insure local agriculture for future generations.”