By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

             Levy County Commissioners will meet in a workshop Tuesday to discuss farmland preservation.

            The workshop will start at 6 p.m. in the Levy County Government Center.

            A number of expert guests are expected to speak.

            Florida Department of Agriculture representative Hank Vinson, Conservation Florida representative Traci Deen, Audubon Florida’s Charles Lee, and Thomas Harper of Harper Farms are on the agenda along with Stacey Hectus, director of planning and zoning for the board.

            Commissioners are still gathering input on what a Farmland Preservation policy or ordinance might look like and how it would be implemented.

            Farmers are approaching the subject with caution. They don’t want to lose land rights in the process of preserving farmland.

            The proposal to establish farm preservation guidelines has its roots in protecting the county from the construction of a toll road. At the same time, saving the county’s farms from losing production land from such a project is also part of the discussion.

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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt August 1, 2022; Posted August 1, 2022