Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 290, known as the Florida Farm Bill, into law last Monday in Sebring. The legislation bans cities and counties from prohibiting gas- and diesel-powered agricultural tools and allows certain conservation lands to be used for commercial farming. It takes effect on July 1.
DeSantis signed the bill before a crowd in Sebring, Florida, praising its support for agriculture and rural communities. The measure passed the House 94-10 and the Senate unanimously. Speaking at the event, DeSantis said, “If you want to use different stuff, fine, it’s a free country. But I like the gas-powered better. I just think it’s more reliable.” The law prevents local governments from outlawing tools such as tractors, lawn mowers and leaf blowers powered by gas or diesel, despite few existing municipal bans on such equipment, according to Brooke Alexander-Goss, organizing manager at Sierra Club’s Florida chapter. Alexander-Goss called it an overreach by the legislature into local control. The bill also permits the state to reclassify conservation lands acquired since 2024 as suitable for agriculture, requiring an easement but raising concerns from environmentalists. Javier Estevez, political and legislative director at the Sierra Club’s Florida chapter, described it as a shift away from land conservation commitments amid climate challenges. Farmers welcomed the protections for their $387 billion industry, strained by extreme weather, hurricanes and rising costs. An earlier version's proposal to expand food disparagement laws was removed following opposition from advocates like Kelly Ryerson of Glyphosate Facts.
