Cowarts Creek Farm
A Florida Legacy Farm
- 532± Acres | Jackson County, Florida
- 297 Acres of Productive Farmland with 92 Irrigated Acres
- 10-Inch Well and Three Irrigation Systems
- Approximately 140 Acres of Planted Pines
- Established Agricultural Income Potential
- Excellent Deer and Turkey Hunting
- Approx. 95% Uplands
- Borders Chipola Wildlife Management Area
- Cowarts Creek Frontage
- Approximately 20 Miles to Marianna, Florida
- Approximately 35 Miles to Dothan, Alabama
- Approximately 65 Miles to Panama City and the Gulf Coast
- Currently, there is no conservation easement on this property
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.
Broker's Comments
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Maps & Location
Cowarts Creek Farm
- Approximately 20 Miles to Marianna, Florida
- Approximately 35 Miles to Dothan, Alabama
- Approximately 65 Miles to Panama City and the Gulf Coast
The Kohler & Associates’
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From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.
Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Cole’s dedication to land management lies in his family roots. As a fourth-generation timber expert, Cole’s earliest memories were spent with his father managing timber investments. With a degree in Food Resource Economics from the University of Florida, Cole is the epitome of an up-and-coming leader. He grew up with a hands-on approach to learning land management and conservation and has spent the last 15 years learning every angle of the real estate and forest industry. Cole is a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Red Hills Quail Forever, Southeastern Wood Producers Association and he uses this platform as an advocate for landowners and their land investments. His family has dedicated the past 60 years to providing landowners in North Florida and South Georgia with professional land management services focused on improving and protecting one’s forestland and wildlife investment. In fact, their family business, M.A. Rigoni, Inc., was one of the first to introduce whole tree chipping to the Red Hills Region.
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.