Florida ag commissioner hopeful pushes Greenbelt reform, citing ‘rent-a-cow’ story

A Republican vying to become Florida’s next commissioner of agriculture is urging for sweeping reforms to the state’s Greenbelt law, citing abuses highlighted in a Suncoast Searchlight investigation.

Matt The Welder — whose birth name was Matt Taylor before he legally changed it in an attempt to get his persona on official ballots — posted an Instagram video Monday highlighting excerpts from a Suncoast Searchlight story published in February 2025 that revealed how area developers score big tax breaks through the “Rent-A-Cow” loophole.

He said closing the loophole has become a central theme in his campaign for the statewide seat, citing the need to protect Florida’s farmers and ranchers from threats of development, while slowing urban sprawl. 

“As soon as they file to go before the zoning board, and plans become clear it’s no longer agriculture, that’s when it should be taxed for what it is,” The Welder told Suncoast Searchlight. “The law was designed to help farmers — not real estate developers.

“Because they’re not paying what they should on that property, (the costs) get shifted to longtime residents to cover the infrastructure.”

The Suncoast Searchlight “Rent-A-Cow” investigation showed how real estate developers often tap the decades-old law meant to preserve agriculture to shrink the taxes on pastures they intend to pave over.

Known as Greenbelt, the law was designed in the 1950s to protect Florida farmland with rock-bottom tax rates but has been mastered instead by builders eyeing land for subdivisions and shopping centers. By leasing their land to cattle grazers and claiming it as agriculture until they’re ready to build, developers avoid the higher property taxes associated with new construction.

READ THE FULL INVESTIGATION: Sarasota, Bradenton developers score big tax breaks with “Rent-A-Cow” loophole

Among the examples, Neal Communities paid just $55 in ad valorem property taxes in 2024 on a 6.4-acre commercial development site south of University Parkway that the developer bought for $2.2 million.

For decades, area officials have grown frustrated by the loophole but say their hands are tied – until someone fixes it.

“We know they are playing the system,” Manatee County Property Appraiser Charles Hackney previously told Suncoast Searchlight. “But they are acting within the bounds of the law.”

Donning a trucker cap and T-shirt, The Welder can be seen on his Instagram video blasting developers for claiming Greenbelt as they push to eliminate property taxes for many residents altogether. 

He suggests making real estate developers cover the expected shortfalls of eliminating property taxes, adding that they’re the reason Florida’s infrastructure has fallen behind.

“Let’s make it easier for farmers to hold onto their land by amending our broken Greenbelt law,” he said in the online clip. “Right now, wealthy developers like Pat Neal are abusing the Greenbelt laws … it’s costing long-time residents a fortune.” 

When reached by phone this week, Neal said he had never heard of Matt The Welder nor had he seen the Instagram post, but he vigorously defended his use of Greenbelt.

“The Greenbelt designation is in the state constitution,” Neal said. “The agricultural land I own is used for agriculture …. I have a substantial agricultural operation.”

A blue-collar resident of Plant City, a historically agricultural community in Hillsborough County, The Welder, 36, grew up raising cattle, horses, and pigs from a young age, while spending years involved in rodeos.

He will face Richard Earl Olle Jr. in the Republican primary in August, with a Democrat and no-party candidate also challenging for the seat. He’s raised $32,326 in campaign contributions so far, while his GOP contender has not reported a penny in contributions, campaign finance records show. The sitting commissioner of agriculture, Republican Wilton Simpson, has yet to announce if he will seek re-election.

The Welder gained fame through viral posts on social media, where he has some 700,000 followers across various platforms. But this is not his first dive into politics, briefly running for governor and also for the Hillsborough County Commission in 2024.

He has also challenged legislation championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis known as the SAVE Act, which calls for stricter voter ID requirements, tougher penalties for election crimes and expanded rules for candidate qualification. 

Many of his viral videos center around his opposition to Florida’s phosphate mining industry and its adverse impact to the environment. Companies like the mining giant Mosaic Co. also have tapped Greenbelt to save on their taxes, Suncoast Searchlight found.

MORE COVERAGE: Developers aren’t alone. Greenbelt loophole tapped by Sarasota Orchestra, Mosaic and more

In one of his videos, The Welder talks with an Englewood property owner who purchased nearly 100 acres to ward off new development, then struggled to gain Greenbelt despite efforts to farm bees and chickens.

In another video, he notes that he was detained by law enforcement in Hillsborough County in 2024 that spurred a mental health evaluation, which he said that he “cleared.”

Officials who for years have called attention to the Greenbelt abuses commend his efforts to close the loophole once and for all.

“All you have to show is that you’ve got six chickens, a pig and horse,” Steve Geller, a Broward County commissioner, former Florida senator and practicing land-use attorney who has pushed back against Greenbelt, said previously. “And that’s ridiculous.”

Josh Salman is the investigations editor for Suncoast Searchlight. Email Josh at josh@suncoastsearchlight.org