ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s agricultural land has become a “national security issue” that needs to be protected for future generations, according to Florida’s new Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
In an exclusive interview with WKMG-TV News 6, the veteran state lawmaker said his top priority is to make sure that Floridians see our agriculture as a commodity that must be protected from “foreign enemies.”
Simpson said he is working to protect the source of Florida’s food supply for generations to come.
“I generally think in terms of the long term, I don’t think of what we are going to do this year to sort of make a splash,” Simpson told News 6. “I’m thinking how we are going to set up our agriculture for the next 50 to 100 years.”
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The former state senate president said his long-term agenda includes investment in rural and family lands, buying development rights of local farmers and “not allowing our foreign enemies to come in and buy up our agricultural lands.”
Simpson told News 6 the wildlife corridor is another layer in his 21st century blueprint.
“We want state land on the tax rolls,” he said. “If we buy those properties instead of development rights then we have to go back (to the Legislature) and get more money to take care of that property.”
Simpson is supporting several pieces of legislation that, in his view, will impact the “longevity of farming.”
SB 264, concerning the interests of foreign countries, would prohibit foreign principals from purchasing agricultural land. Then, SB 1184, pertaining to agricultural lands, would prohibit special assessment taxation on non-residential farm buildings.
Finally, SB 1150, the gas pump manipulation bill or LP gas installer, would ban the use of devices that alter or manipulate the operation of a retail diesel fuel pump.
“If we have adequate agricultural land in the state of Florida, it will be because of the programs we will be putting in place today,” Simpson said.
All three bills are expected to pass in House and Senate committees and in the Florida House and Senate.
If the bills are signed into law, they will go into effect July 1, 2023.
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