SEBRING, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) signed Florida’s 2026 “Farm Bill” Monday morning in Sebring, putting into law a sprawling package that touches everything from gas-powered farm and lawn equipment to agritourism, conservation land policy, public safety and food programs. The bill, SB 290, is the fourth farm bill lawmakers have approved in as many years.
At the signing, DeSantis cast the measure as part of a broader push to protect rural communities from overdevelopment and preserve agriculture as a defining part of the state’s identity.
“We do continue the momentum for preserving land and rural communities, particularly with respect to agriculture,” he said, later adding, “We have not wanted to see the state of Florida just turn into a big concrete jungle.”
The new law blocks counties and cities from banning or restricting gas-powered farm and landscape equipment, including tools like gas leaf blowers and lawn equipment. DeSantis leaned into that provision during the ceremony, saying local governments (both cities and counties) should not be the ones deciding what equipment farmers and landscapers can use.
“If you want to use different stuff, fine. It’s a free country, but I like the gas power better,” he said. “I just think it’s more reliable and if that’s what you believe, then you should be able to continue to do that.”
SB 290 also creates a new pathway for some state-owned conservation lands acquired on or after Jan. 1, 2024, to be evaluated for “bona fide agricultural purposes” and, if deemed suitable, surplused for agricultural use, with a rural-lands-protection easement retained. The law excludes state forests, state parks, wildlife management areas and lands inside the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan from that process.
That section has been one of the bill’s biggest flashpoints. During the House debate earlier this month, state Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg, argued the proposal lacked sufficient guardrails and warned some of the lands at issue were purchased for reasons like wildlife protection and water quality.
"Floridians, when we have a purchase of land … there were specific reasons why those lands were purchased," Cross said. "We want to ensure that we are making good on the promises for Floridians that those conservation lands stay in conservation."
Supporters, though, argued that the land language could help keep property in agriculture and make it easier for future farmers to get access to land. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R-Fla.) said the bill would let the state assess certain land and, where appropriate, move it back into agricultural production after removing development rights.
"If you are a young farmer saying, ‘How can we afford to buy land in this state,' watch for this program," Simpson said. "This land is much more affordable."
Beyond the headline fights, the law does a lot more. It bars local governments from requiring permits or licenses for rural event venues on agricultural land, creates a veterinary loan repayment program focused on food-animal and equine practice, makes the Farmers Feeding Florida program permanent, bans signal jamming devices with criminal penalties, requires licensed contractors to pay subcontractors or suppliers within 45 days absent a bona fide dispute, and creates penalties tied to unauthorized help on commercial driver's license exams.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Bartow, speaking at the Sebring event, tied the bill to a larger vision for the state's interior counties.
"Rural Florida matters," Albritton said. "Rural Florida is really important to the culture here in the state of Florida."
One other provision likely to get attention from homeowners is a new statewide rule against commercial solicitation at homes that post a compliant sign stating solicitation is not allowed. The bill also includes biosolids changes and several Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services policy revisions, underscoring how broad the package became as it moved through the Legislature.
The measure now heads toward implementation with an effective date of July 1, 2026. It's being praised by supporters as a defense of farmers and rural Florida, and criticized by opponents as another step toward weakening local control and blurring the line between land conservation and agricultural development.
