FLORIDA – More than $16 million is being paid by the state to place four ranches, covering more than 2,600 acres, into conservation easements intended to keep the land from being converted into residential or commercial development.
The Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services announced the deals through the Rural and Family Land Protection Program. They involve the 639-acre Ludwig cow/calf operation in Hardee County, 589-acre Dale Wright Farms in Marion County, and two C&G Cattle operations in Hardee County covering a combined 1,451 acres.
Conservation easements allow landowners to continue using property for agriculture while agreeing not to develop the land…