VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson asked the Legislature for $300 million to protect undeveloped land last week, arguing that “if the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program doesn’t get better funding, it might not survive longer than another year.”

What You Need To Know

  • Florida Agriculture commissioner Wilton Simpson asked for $300 million to protect undeveloped land in the state

  • David Register and his family own 300 acres of land, which house FernTrust in Seville

  • Register said he likes the idea of the program, but has some reservations about it 

Farming and agriculture are a huge part of Florida’s economy, and businesses like FernTrust Inc. in Seville are operated by people that have been doing it for a long time.

“I’m a fifth-generation farmer,” said FernTrust farm manager David Register. “My daughter actually works with me in the office, so she’s generation six.”

His family has been making a living off of the 300 acres of FernTrust land for those six generations.

After a big freeze in 1983 killed off all the orange groves, the land is now used to farm ferns and other things like cattle.

“If we hadn’t of been able to roll into different crops and other things, it would have all gone into development, probably back then just like a lot of the land has around Orlando, Orange and Osceola County, down there,” he said.

Ensuring that land is used to grow crops is something Register said he is passionate about.

“I’m part of the Volusia County Fair Bureau, on their board of directors, and I’m also on the board of the American Grown Flowers Association,” he said.

Register said he is working to promote farmers in the area, and throughout Florida.

“There aren’t many of us left and a lot of the decisions are made for us up in Tallahassee or Washington D.C., that maybe don’t have a lot of experience in farming and they don’t know the ins and outs of what it takes to put food on our table or provide the foliage or pretty flowers,” he said.

When Register heard about the request by Stimson, he said he has mixed feelings about the Family Lands Protection Program.

“I think it will help keep more land in farming, but at the same time we have to wait until we see the fine print of what’s in the deal before agriculture can decide if this is going to be good for me and my particular farm or not,” he said.

Still, Register has teamed up with local organizations, and even works with the University of Central Florida, to explain the importance of agriculture in the region. Register said the more people know about what it takes to be a farmer and how much it truly brings to the area, the more local, state and national leaders are willing to listen.

Register said farming isn’t just a sentimental way of life — it also keeps many people employed.

“At any given time there are about 100 people out here, working to make sure this is all running and operating smoothly,” he said.

The state will consider the $300 million proposal for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program during the next Legislative Session in January.