Cowarts Creek Farm

In the productive farm country of northern Jackson County lies Cowarts Creek Farm, a 532± acre working farm where generations of North Florida agricultural heritage meet an increasingly protected natural landscape.

The farm has approximately 297 acres of farmland with 92 acres of irrigated cropland with a 10-inch well and three irrigation systems. There are also 140± acres of planted pine and great deer and turkey. Along its western boundary it shares nearly a mile with the Northwest Florida Water Management District's Cowarts Creek conservation lands. Cowarts Creek Farm brings together productive farmland, timber, and great hunting in one well-rounded property.

Its story extends beyond its present ownership. Cowarts Creek Farm lies within an agricultural landscape that has been farmed for generations, with documented landownership in the surrounding township extending back into the 1800s.

Today, the farm continues that tradition from an increasingly rare position: productive private land adjoining a permanently conserved creek corridor.

It is working land. Wildlife land. And part of a larger conservation landscape. Cowarts Creek Farm is proudly offered as part of the Jon Kohler & Associates Working Lands Initiative.

The Farm

The property is an agricultural powerhouse and located in one of the strongest agricultural belts in the country. Approximately 92 acres of cropland are served by a 10-inch well and three irrigation systems. In a region where water defines a farm's long-term value, that infrastructure gives an operator the means to manage for consistent yields season after season.

The cropland has historically been leased for approximately $60,000 annually under three- to five-year agreements. That gives a new owner immediate agricultural income from the day of closing, along with the flexibility to continue leasing, farm the ground themselves, or reposition the land over time.

The farm's composition adds to that strength with 95% productive uplands. Only 24± acres are wetlands, less than five percent of the property. In a region where a quarter or more of a tract is typically wetland this is significant farmland value. That is usable ground for farming, timber, habitat and recreation.

“This is one of those highly productive properties where a prior owner sold off the wetlands and floodplain to the State while retaining the best farmland. The result today is a highly productive operation while at the same time retaining privacy and still benefitting from the wildlife and recreation.” — Jon Kohler

Timber, Wildlife and Recreation

Some 140± acres of highly improved genetic planted pine. The pine stands are productive and add a strong wildlife component. Additionally, sawtooth oaks have been planted along many of the edges. There are “condo” type tree stands. The property has great deer and turkey hunting.

Working Land Beside Protected Land

Along the western edge of the farm, crop rows and pine give way to the floodplain of the Cowarts Creek corridor. For approximately 4,875 feet, the property adjoins the Northwest Florida Water Management District's Cowarts Creek tract which is part of the greater Chipola Wildlife Management Area. Former property owners retained the productive agricultural ground and sold the wetlands and floodplain to the State. This part is essentially a roadless wilderness area. An old river landing is accessible from only this farm. The result is unusually high percentage of productive farmland while at the same time continuing in both privacy and an abundance of wildlife along Jackson County’s primary wildlife corridor.

“Essentially, the benefits you have here is the dream sceanrio that we sometimes see out west and almost never in Florida. You border public lands but in reality you are the only one who can access it, the landowner is really the one who benefits recreationally. Its quite a force multiplier.” — Jon Kohler

Cowarts Creek Country

Cowarts Creek Farm lies within one of northern Jackson County's longstanding agricultural landscapes, midway between Malone and Campbellton. The surrounding countryside has supported agriculture for generations, sustained by the productive soils and water resources that continue to make this part of Jackson County one of the most important farming regions in the country.

Historical records show significant agricultural landownership in Township 6 North, Range 10 West well into the 19th century. Title records in nearby Section 7 identify Baker family ownership in the immediate Cowarts Creek vicinity as early as 1873. This is historic Cowarts Creek country, a farming landscape with documented ownership extending into the 19th century.

In more recent memory, the farm was held by the family trust of Thomas Kenneth “T.K.” Snipes, passing in 2004 to Kenneth D. Hagler, Douglas S. Hagler and their co-owners. Through every change of ownership since, Cowarts Creek Farm has remained a single, intact property, and it carries that inheritance forward.

“Cowarts Creek Farm is our Working Lands Initiative in its simplest form: productive ground on one side of the line, protected land on the other, and a family positioned to steward both.” — Jon Kohler

Access and Location

The farm is reached from U.S. Highway 2 via Old U.S. Road 167, with the access an operating farm requires and the rural character a recreational owner values. Marianna lies approximately 20 miles away for everyday needs, and Dothan, Alabama, approximately 35 miles. Panama City and the Gulf Coast are approximately 65 miles away, with commercial air service and coastal recreation.

Stewardship and Optionality

Cowarts Creek Farm offers more than one future. It can continue as a productive irrigated farm with established lease income, mature into a timber and wildlife holding, serve as a family recreational retreat, or combine all three. The neighboring conservation corridor adds a further dimension, making the property a natural candidate for owners interested in long-term stewardship strategies, including purchase conservation easement opportunities for this property under various state programs.

Generations of agriculture. Productive working land. A protected creek corridor. And 532± acres positioned at the intersection of all three.