page_title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Florida
section_title: Deseret Ranches
hierarchical_section_title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Florida / Deseret Ranches
caption_attribution_description: English: Deseret Ranch at the intersection of Deer Park Road and U.S. Route 192 / Florida State Road 500 (East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway / Space Coast Highway) in St. Cloud, Florida in Deer Park.
context_page_description: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Florida is one of the largest populations of the faith outside of the western United States.
  As of December 31, 2019, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 160,266 members in 33 stakes, 267 congregations, 84 Family History Centers, as well as four missions and two temples in Florida.
  Stakes are located in Boynton Beach, Brandon, Cocoa, Coral Springs, DeLand, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Walton Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lake City, Lake Mary, Lakeland, Leesburg, Miami, Miami Lakes, Ocala, Odessa, Orlando, Panama City, Pensacola, Sarasota, Saint Petersburg, Stuart, Tallahassee, Tampa and Vero Beach.
context_section_description: In 1950, more than 50,000 acres (200 km²) was purchased by the church which is now known as the Deseret Ranches. Deseret Ranches, now part of the Cattle division of AgReserves, encompasses 295,000-acres and extends across Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties and is seen as critical to the Orlando region's water supply. The ranch is home to about a quarter million citrus trees, timberland, tree farms, commercial crops, and large deposits of fossilized seashells used in road base.
  In 2013 the LDS Church purchased 382,834 acres from St. Joe Company in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties. The land, primarily timberland, was purchased for $565 million. The LDS Church is now Florida's largest private landowner. In 2020, the LDS Church sold more than 20,000 acres of land surrounding Lake Wimico in Florida to The Nature Conservancy who then donated the land to the state and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
caption: Deseret Ranches in St. Cloud, Florida
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