Governor touts farm bill package to protect rural Florida and family farms

The governor, speaking at a ceremonial event in Sebring, presented a farm bill package he said is intended to preserve family farms, expand conservation easements and protect farmers from local restrictions.

The package, the governor said, continues investment in water quality and rural infrastructure and boosts a statewide conservation effort that he described as preserving the character of rural Florida. "We've done $700 million to do land where you get the land and then continue it for agriculture use with these conservation easements," he said.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who spoke after the governor, described the measure as the state's fourth farm bill during his tenure as commissioner and listed several provisions. Simpson said the bill would preempt local bans on gas- and diesel-powered equipment, make the 'Farmers Feeding Florida' procurement program permanent, and expand tools for preserving agricultural land. "If you are a young farmer saying how can we afford to buy land in this state, watch for this program," Simpson said.

Simpson also highlighted public-safety and regulatory items included in the package, saying the bill would make illegal the use of signal jammers and would add protections for small cities from takeover by large developers. He offered a broader accounting of past and present measures, saying prior farm bills had addressed issues ranging from restrictions on certain buyers of farmland to various industry-specific provisions.

Florida Senate President Ben Albrittain praised the focus on rural communities and said combating child hunger has been a unifying priority for the legislature, the governor and the cabinet. "Nothing can be more important than that," Albrittain said, urging continued attention to food-security programs.

The governor said the announcement would be followed by a formal signing "in just a few minutes," but the transcript of the event does not record the signature or the text of a final signed bill. Event remarks repeatedly framed the package as supporting family-run farms — the governor cited state agriculture figures including "over 45,000 farms and ranches" and said roughly "92% are family-run." He also said many family farms are small: "70% of them are under 50 acres."

Officials at the event identified sponsors and local partners; Simpson named legislative sponsors and thanked local stakeholders. The event closed with brief remarks thanking FFA students and local fair organizers and reiterating a pledge to preserve rural character.

Next steps: the governor indicated the bill would be signed at the event; the transcript does not record a completed signature or provide the bill text or statutory citations. Several provisions and program details were described in broad terms in the remarks but would require the signed bill text for precise implementation instructions.