Jefferson County Farm to Receive Permanent Protection from Development, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Announces
Bishop Family Farms, a 228-acre property in Jefferson County, Florida, is one of four farms in the state to be permanently protected from development. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson, announced that this protection is part of the state’s Rural and Family Lands Protection program, which aims to safeguard over 1,500 acres of Florida farmland indefinitely. The protection for Bishop Family Farms is secured through a rural lands protection easement, valued at approximately $1.3 million. Of this total, $655,500 is funded through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service-Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The farm's land includes a mix of crops, pasture, planted timber, and wetlands, and it shares a border with the Aucilla River Watershed. The other farms included in this protection initiative are Meetinghouse Groves, Warren Timberlands, and Stevens Land and Cattle. 
