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Agricultural Department
Osceola County is comprised of 1,467 square miles or 939,000 acres. Agriculture plays an important role in the industry and economics of the county. There are 591,837 acres in agricultural use. The major agricultural uses are cattle, citrus and commercial sod. See Guidelines for Agriculture Classification of Lands at the end of this section.

The Agricultural Department is responsible for assessing all commercial agricultural properties, large undeveloped parcels and state land for tax roll purposes. Florida law allows for the assessing of agricultural land on a basis that agricultural land can support. Our department checks the validity of the agricultural operations to make sure that they qualify for the classification as stated by statute. In order to qualify for the classification, all properties are field checked and income and expense statements are required for the agricultural operation. These statements are compared with state averages in the related fields to see if they are consistent with that type of operation. The classification is a privilege and should not be abused.

Cattle

Ranching is the main agriculture enterprise in the county. The state of Florida is the sixth leading producer of beef cattle in the United States and Osceola County is the leading producing county in the state of Florida. Of the 599,646 acres of agriculture, 551,216 acres are used for ranching. Osceola County is also home of the largest ranch east of the Mississippi River. The Deseret Ranch consists of approximately 300,000 acres with 181,000 acres in Osceola County. The climate and the topography make ranching possible here. The warm climate and abundant rainfall help various grasses grow most of the year. The topography consisting of many lakes, marshes, piney flatwoods and the prairie along the Kissimmee River are ideal conditions for raising cattle. The county has a vivid history of the ranching families as they settled Osceola County in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Citrus

Citrus has also played an important role in agriculture with approximately 20,000 acres in the county. As the state grew around the turn of the century, oranges became the main cash crop for the farmers of the state. The topography also helped the citrus industry here. Citrus grows best in sandy, well draining soil. The western part of the county is part of the Lake Wales Ridge. This area is comprised of hilly, sandy soils ideal for citrus trees. The mid and southern parts of the county also have areas of sandy soils where groves are planted. The citrus industry peaked in the late 60's and early 70's in Osceola County. Several bad freezes and the impact of tourism in the ridge area has caused citrus to decline here.

Commercial Sod

The commercial sod industry is a relatively new agricultural industry in Osceola County. It started as a way for ranchers to supplement income when the cattle prices declined. When central Florida began to grow, there was a need for sod in the new developments. Since most of the Bahia grasses used for grazing were the same as used for yards, it was logical for the large ranches to cut sod. In the past several decades, there have been several improvements in grasses for sod purposes. The introduction of St. Augustine and Floritam grasses has allowed some ranches to grow fields of commercial sod.

There are also various other agriculture enterprises in the county. These include tropical fish, winter vegetables, ornamental plants and timber. These are usually small enterprises; however, they do provide agriculture income and jobs for the county.

Protected Land

Osceola County environment has a biological diversity that is found only in our state. There are sub-species of animals common to this area such as the Osceola Turkey, gopher tortoise and scrub jay. Osceola county also has the largest population of nesting bald eagles in the eastern United States. Other animals include white-tailed deer, armadillo, otters, raccoons, opossums and numerous types of birds. Because of the biological diversity in the county, the State of Florida has acquired 102,500 acres through several land preservation programs. Most of the land is found in three wildlife management areas. These are Bull Creek, Triple N Ranch and Three lakes. There is also 4730 acres that the Nature Conservancy maintains to protect the environment.

The lakes in our county are among the best bass fishing lakes in the world. Many tourists come to our county with hopes to land the "Big One". The Water Management Districts in our county also have acquired land around several of these lakes to maintain the fragile native habitat and insure the future water quality.

Guidelines for Agriculture Classification of Lands

Pursuant to Florida Statute 193.461 (3) (a), ' No land shall be classified as agricultural land unless an application is filed on or before March 1st of each year. Only lands, which are primarily for BONA FIDE agricultural purposes, shall be classified agricultural. Bona fide agricultural purposes means good faith commercial agriculture use of land.' This is intended to provide a level of taxation on agricultural lands that normal agriculture income can support, thus making it economically possible to continue such use. This is a privilege that should not be abused.

General Information

If the agriculture classification is approved for your parcel(s) the property appraisers office will send you an agricultural classification renewal card or green card in January of each year. The card(s) must be signed, dated and returned to our office before March 1st. Failure to make a timely renewal shall constitute a waiver for one year the privilege for a granted classification per F.S. 193.461 (3) (a).

All applications will be inspected by our agriculture appraiser to verify the use of the property and to insure that the property is being properly assessed. There may be additional information requested from the property owner or lessee to determine eligibility. If the application is approved or denied, you will receive a certified letter on or before July 1st of the application year.

Agricultural parcels with homes will not receive the agricultural classification on the curtilage acreage (that acre devoted to homesite).

Pasture Land

  • Recommended size for pasture or grazing land is 20 acres or more. If the land is less than 20 acres, it must be used in conjunction with other parcels to obtain the minimum acreage.
  • The property must be fenced.
  • An indicated effort must be made to maintain and care sufficiently and adequately for this type of land. (i.e. fertilizing, liming, tilling, disking, mowing and other accepted agricultural practices).
  • Regarding livestock in relation to size of parcel. The capability of soil and available forage is considered as to the carrying capacity for livestock for individual parcels. Each stands on its own merit.
  • If property is leased, the lease must be in effect as of January 1st. Please furnish the Property Appraiser's office with a copy of the lease.

Hay

  • Recommended size is 10 acres or used in conjunction with other parcels to obtain the minimum acreage requirements.
  • Property must be used exclusively for production and harvesting.
  • If property is leased, the lease must be in effect as of January 1st. Please provide the Property Appraisers office with a copy of the lease.

Citrus Lands

  • Recommended size is 10 acres of planted trees or used in conjunction with other parcels.
  • Land must be planted by January 1st.
  • An indicated effort must have been made to maintain and care sufficiently and adequately for this type of land. ex: fertilizing, disking, herbiciding, mowing and other accepted agricultural practices.
  • Please provide Property Appraiser's office the number of trees per acre, the variety of citrus, effective age of the grove, and average yield per year.
  • If irrigated, please provide the Property Appraiser's office with a description of the type of irrigation.
  • If the property is leased, the lease must be in effect as of January 1st. Please provide the Property Appraiser's office with a copy of the lease.

Timberland

  • Recommended size is 10 acres of planted pines, hardwoods or predominately natural stand of pines.
  • Larger tracts will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Approval will be based on the merchantability of the timber on the tract and whether or not there has been sufficient management of the timber.(I.e. fire lanes, under brushing, or reforesting).
  • A management plan of the stand of timber will also be required.

Row Crops

  • "Row Crops" will be handled on a case by case basis.
  • "Row Crops" is used in reference to those agricultural products referred to as vegetables.
  • Production of crops for personal or home use, such as a backyard garden, DOES NOT qualify.
  • Please provide the average yield per year.
  • If property is leased, the leased must be in effect as of January 1st. Please provide the Property Appraiser's office with a copy of the lease.

Miscellaneous Agriculture

  • Poultry, swine, bee, blueberries, grapes, pecans, fish hatcheries and rabbits will be handled on a case by case basis.
  • An application for agricultural classification may be acquired from the Property Appraiser's Office.

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