JUNE 2015
ANNUAL CATTLE ISSUE
Florida First in Cattle
June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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June 2015
June 2015
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JUNE 2015
June Features 24
Other Side Sod
By Dixie Thomas
28
June is National Dairy Month
Florida Dairy Association
34
The King of the Cracker Cowboys
By Brady Vogt
38
Florida Cattle Industry
42
Seminole Beef Pride
By Robbi Sumner
44
Intro to Florida Sale Barns
By Audra Clemlons
46
Kelly Durrance
By Kyndall Robertson
50
South Florida Beef Forage Program
By Robbi Sumner
Florida Cattlewomen
52
Departments 14
SW Florida Gulf Coast Fishing Report
By Captain Chris O’Neill
54
Florida Cattlemen’s Sweetheart
20
Citrus Update
By Justin Smith
58
Manatee County Ranch Rodeo
By Kathy Gregg
72
Getaway Girl - Getaway to Alaska
By Casey Wohl Hartt
60
Walter Mann Special Awards
By Kathy Gregg
75 Happenings
66
A Look Back At Rawhide
By Brady Vogt
Next Month
69
Warner University
Thinking Outside the Box
6
Heartland InTheField Magazine
Agriculture Niches
June 2015
Publisher Rhonda Glisson Rhonda@heartlanditf.com Karen Berry kdberry@inthefieldmagazine.com Business Manager Nadine Glisson Lizette Sarria Art Directors Carrie Evans Olivia Fryer Staff Writers Cindy Cutright Ron Lambert Levi Lambert Brian Norris Kyndall Robertson Justin Smith Robbi Sumner Dixie Thomas Brady Vogt Contributing Writers Taylor Dupree Brewington Audra Clemons Kathy Gregg Laurie Hurner Tim Hurner Capt. Mark King Capt. Chris O’Neill Bob Stone Brenda Valentine Matt Warren Butch Wilson Lindsey Wiggins Casey Wohl Social Media Director Robbi SUmner Photography Regina Blackman Kathy Gregg Russell Hancock Silver King Photography Nell McAuley Brian Norris
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Editor’s Note Not only is June National Dairy Month, but it is also time for the Florida Cattlemen’s Association Annual Convention and Trade Show – the perfect month for us to showcase Florida’s cattle industry!
Due to construction at the Marco Island Marriott, this year’s FCA convention is being held at the Champions Gate Resort in Orlando, and is looking to be every bit as fun and exciting as years past! The Sweetheart Contest is celebrating its 50th year and you can learn more about this year’s Sweetheart contestants on page 54. Our friends at Florida Dairy Farmers are extra busy this month with events like the 100-Gallon Milk Giveaway and The Great American Milk Drive. We’ve included a Dairythemed crossword puzzle and a word search for kids and adults alike to enjoy.
Brady Vogt introduces us the “Kings of the Cracker Cowboys” on page 34. His historic look back on characters such as Jacob Summerlin and Bone Mizzell will take you right back to Punta Rassa and those early days on the Florida Frontier. Brady also revisits one of our all-time favorite Western television shows, Rawhide. His recollections of those “incidents” on the Sedalia Trail will have you ready to “head ‘em up…move ‘em out!” The Seminole Tribe of Florida has a long history of raising beef cattle, and Robbi Sumner recently sat down with Alex Johns, their Natural Resources Director, to learn about their latest project. Seminole Pride™ Beef was launched in June 2013 and is continuing to grow as a business, providing producers across our state the opportunity to join in on a thriving beef marketing venture. You can learn more about Seminole Pride™ on page 42.
As always, we love to hear from our readers! If you have an idea for a story or know of an event we should cover, please let us know. You can email Rhonda@heartlanditf.com or share on Facebook.com/HeartlandMagazine.
All of us at Heartland Magazine
Heartland in the Field Magazine is published monthly and is available through local businesses, restaurants and other local venues within Hardee, Highlands, DeSoto, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Okeechobee, Lee, Manatee and St. Lucie Counties. Letters, comments and questions can be sent to Heartland In the Field Magazine, P.O. Box 3183 Plant City, FL. 33563 or you are welcome to e-mail them to Rhonda@ heartlanditf.com or call 813-708-3661. Advertisers warrant & represent the description of their products advertised are true in all respects. Heartland In the Field Magazine assumes no responsibility for claims made by their advertisers. All views expressed in all articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of G Five Publications, Inc. Any use or duplication of material used in Heartland In the Field Magazine is prohibited without written consent from Berry Publications and G Five. All contents Copyright 2015. No part of this work may be copied, transmitted, reproduced or reprinted without the express written consent of the publisher. Annual subscriptions to receive Heartland A Way of Life at your home or business is $25 annually. For advertising, subscriptions or editorial questions please call 813-708-3661 or email rhonda@heartlanditf.com. Heartland® A Way Of Life In The Field publication has been in print since 2008.
Heartland InTheField Magazine
June 2015
Conserving and recycling water is
Lian Blackwelder, Engineer Florida phosphate operations
Safeguarding local water sources is an important part of what we do at Mosaic. As an engineer here in Florida, I help ensure Mosaic reuses and recycles approximately 90 percent of the water at its local facilities. Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen our phosphate operations reduce groundwater use by more than half. But we’re not done yet. Every day, we explore new ways to conserve natural resources and reduce our water usage even further.
®
We help the world grow the food it needs. © 2015 The Mosaic Company
June 2015
mosaicco.com/florida
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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JUNE 2015
Index of Advertisers 83 Arcadia Stockyard
65 Hardee County Cattlemen’s Ranch
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7
Rodeo
49 Platinum Bank
78 Big T Tire
53 Hardee Ranch Supply
84 Quail Creek Plantation
63 Cattlemen’s Livestock Market
63 Heartland Growers Supply
81 River Pasture
23 Center State Bank
11 Hicks Oil
27 Seedway
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15 Highlands Farm Bureau Thank You
79 Spring Lake Hardware
63 Crosby & Associates
75 Hudgins Law Firm
82 Stampede
79 Cross Ties
87 Kelly Tractor
79 Superior Muffler
85 Domer’s Inc.
51 Labelle Feed
41 Taylor Oil
57 Everglades Farm Equipment
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27 The Andersons
86 Farm Credit
79 Michael G. Kirsch
33 Trinkle RedmanCoton
27 Fields Equipment
9 Mosaic
77 Tutto Fresco Italian Grill
41 Florida Fence Post
21 Newton Crouch
56 Walpole Feed
84 Florida Mineral & Agriculture Prod-
37 Okeechobee Livestock Market
88 Watering Hole
ucts
23 On-Site Accounting
27 Wicks Brown CPA
83 Florida Propane
15 Other Side Sod
79 Williams Pawn & Gun
33 Glade & Grove
19 Pathway
79 Winfield Solutions
77 Griffin’s Carpet Mart
20 Peace River Citrus
BayCare Health Systems
Creel
Marmer Construction
Plant Food Systems
Sales Team Highlands
Morgan Norris
Manatee
Tina Yoder
Lee and Hendry
Cindy Cutright
morgan@heartlanditf.com
tina@heartlanditf.com
cindy@heartlanditf.com
Hardee & Desoto
Charlotte
Okeechobee, Glades & St. Lucie
Robbi Sumner
robbi@heartlanditf.com
Morgan Norris
morgan@heartlanditf.com
Levi Lambert
levi@heartlanditf.com
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Robbi Sumner
robbi@heartlanditf.com
Corporate, Polk & Hillsborough
Danny Crampton
danny@inthefieldmagazine.com
Morgan Norris
morgan@heartlanditf.com
Rhonda Glisson
rhonda@heartlanditf.com
June 2015
District 6 Update From the Desk of Andy Neuhofer
Approximately 50 Farm Bureau members plus some Florida Farm Bureau staff attended the annual Field to the Hill event in Washington, D.C. which took place May 13 – 15. Members flew in on Wednesday and went to work. The group had the opportunity to tour the American Farm Bureau Federation’s office facilities and took in a view of the city from the roof. Afterwards, FFBF President John Hoblick and AFBF President Bob Stallman gave a welcome to the group and stressed the importance of meeting with congressional members in Washington. A guest speaker from the United States Dept. of Agriculture talked about international trade and trade promotion authority. A guest speaker from Americans for Tax Reform gave an informative lesson regarding Obama Care and tax issues in general. There was a good discussion with him. Afterwards, participants received a summary of the issues from AFBF staff. Later in the day, the FFBF group met with Senator Bill Nelson and was given an opportunity to ask questions. A tour was available to see the national monuments at night. It was enjoyed by all who participated. On Thursday the 14th, members were treated to a guest speaker from the New Zealand Embassy. Her presentation informed us all about agriculture in her country, trade with the U.S. and trade issues in the Pacific. It was an outstanding and interesting presentation with some members asking questions.
ANDY NEUHOFER FLORIDA FARM BUREAU DISTRICT 6 352.318.2506 Andy.neuhofer@ffbf.org www.floridafarmbureau.org
Most of the day was spent at the Capitol. Members from the different congressional districts met with their respective Representative. Many members met with other Congressional people as well. Discussions with them included immigration, trade, tax issues to benefit agriculture, etc.
Other meetings included a discussion on the proposed citrus marketing order with staff from USDA, a meeting with the chairman of the Agriculture Committee and a meeting with the chairman of the Ag. Appropriations Subcommittee. Most of the members went on a tour of the Capitol. Later in the day, members met with a staff member from Senator Rubio’s office, a group picture was taken on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and a reception was held to visit with legislative aides and other guests. On Friday morning we all learned more about the GMO issue. After breakfast we met with agricultural representatives at the Canadian Embassy. A debriefing session took place at the Embassy before members departed for home.
It was a successful three day trip and I thank the volunteers who took the time away from work and their families to attend. It is a sacrifice to participate but the reward is the knowledge that anyone can participate in our government and be heard.
ANDY NEUHOFER • FLORIDA FARM BUREAU DISTRICT 6 352.318.2506 | Andy.neuhofer@ffbf.org | www.floridafarmbureau.org
June 2015
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DESOTO/CHARLOTTE COUNTY
HARDEE COUNTY
1278 SE US HIGHWAY 31 • ARCADIA, FL 34266
1017 US HIGHWAY 17 N • WAUCHULA, FL. 33873
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 863.494.3636 Charlotte Line: 941.624.3981 • Fax: 863.494.4332
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 863. 773. 3117 Fax: 863. 773. 2369
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
FARM BUREAU
President…………....Jim Selph Vice President……….Matt Harrison Sec./Treasurer...... Bryan Beswick
DIRECTORS FOR 2013-2014 John Burtscher Mike Carter Steve Fussell Brandon Gorsuch
Lindsay Harrington Richard E. Harvin Ann H. Ryals J Ryals
Mac Turner Bryan K. Beswick Ken Harrison
FARM BUREAU
President……David Royal Vice President…Greg Shackelford Sec./Treasurer……..Bo Rich Representative………..Bill Hodge
DIRECTORS FOR 2014-2015 Barney Cherry Scott Henderson Steve Johnson
Corey Lambert Dan Smith Tommy Watkins
Federation Secretary Leona Nickerson
Federation Secretary Mary Jo Spicer
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE.SPECIAL AGENTS Agency Manager: Cameron N. Jolly Agents: Clint Brown
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE.SPECIAL AGENTS Agency Manager: N. Jay Bryan Agents: George L. Wadsworth, Jr.
HIGHLANDS COUNTY
MANATEE COUNTY
6419 US HIGHWAY 27 S. • SEBRING, FL 33876
5620 TARA BLVD, STE 101 • BRADENTON, FL 34203
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 863. 385. 5141 • Fax: 863. 385. 5356 Website: www.highlandsfarmbureau.com
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 941-746-6161 • Fax: 941-739-7846 Website: www.manateecountyfarmbureau.org
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
FARM BUREAU
President………Doug Miller Vice President…Carey Howerton Secretary………..Frank Youngman Treasurer……..Jeff Williams
DIRECTORS FOR 2014-2015 Sam Bronson Danielle Daum Steve Farr
Charles Guerndt Justin Hood Scott Kirouac Mike Milicevic
Trevor Murph Emma Ezell Trey Whitehurst
FARM BUREAU
President……Gary Reeder Vice President…Jim Parks Secretary……..Ben King Treasurer……..Robert Zeliff
DIRECTORS FOR 2013-2014 Carlos Blanco Gary Bradshaw Jerry Dakin Ralph Garrison
Ken Hawkins Alan Jones Vick Keen Bruce Shackelford
Jim Strickland Hugh Taylor Dan West
Federation Secretary Janet Menges
Federation Secretary Christie Hinson
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE.SPECIAL AGENTS
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE.SPECIAL AGENTS
Agency Manager: Chad D. McWaters Agents: Joseph W. Bullington
June 2015
Agency Manager: Branden Bunch Agents: Doug Dierdorf, Jeff Hamer and Clint Bailey
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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SW FLORIDA GULF COAST
FISHING REPORT
By Captain Chris O’Neill
TARPON SEASON is in full swing here in the silver king capital of the world. Lately, the bite has been excellent throughout the day with both live and artificial bait. The new, legal and improved Boca Grande tarpon jig is doing very well with hookups when drifting the pass. When using a jig, the new law requires the hook be lower than the weight and it allows the deployment of both circle and j-style hooks. When fishing live bait, live blue crab and larger threadfin herring take the prize. It’s always a good idea to have both and random local’s favorites like pinfish and squirrelfish are an added bonus. Thousands of tarpon are scattered throughout the Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island estuaries, as well as the entire beach. We have an amazing team of professional guides, so give us a call today if you want to hook up with the silver king before the primary season ends late July. INSHORE ANGLERS are enjoying
waters far less traveled by guides and recreational anglers. This time of year most guides are targeting tarpon and other larger coastal species, affording you a less disturbed fishing situation. For me it’s hard to beat heading through the back bays to toss a topwater bait on my way to the beach or Boca Grande pass. Just as the sun rises, working a Bomber Saltwater Grade Badonkadonk topwater plug across schooling mullet will always create excitement. Redfish and Snook are away from the mangroves during the early morning hours working amongst the mullet as they forage through the grass. Mullet stir up crab and shrimp while schooling which provides a
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food source and additional protection from the dolphin and sharks.
NEARSHORE AND OFFSHORE reef and
bottom fishing is exceptional during the summer months. Permit, shark, grouper and many others hang around natural and artificial reef structure. Chumming with cut bait or frozen chum blocks will really help add variety to your catch. Expect all of the local snapper species to appear in your chum slick, as well as shark and other predator fish. Be prepared for school bus sized goliath grouper to be lurking around your catch. Many times, the goliaths attach hooked fish as you bring them up. A great tip is to reel your catch up very fast when hooking fish around the bottom. Most of the time goliaths won’t expend the energy to swim very far from the reef. Great bait to use when bottom fishing along the SW Florida coast is smaller tarpon crab, cut bait, shrimp, squid, etc.
BOOKING A CHARTER this time of year is a great opportunity to spend the day “catching”. My company offers inshore and offshore charters with a hand-picked team of world-class guides to satisfy your private or corporate fishing needs. All of my guests receive complementary Tail Chaser t-shirts as well as the best service in the business.
Captain Chris O’Neill
is a full time fishing guide and host of The Reel Saltwater Outdoors radio show. Captain Chris is regularly seen on TV shows like Big Water Adventures, Florida Sportsman, Mark Sosin’s Saltwater Journal and others. As a retired U.S. Army hovercraft pilot, he has accrued over 25 years of saltwater experience and has targeted gamefish around the globe. His Reel Saltwater Outdoors Seminar Series has become the largest in the state and he speaks to thousands of anglers annually. His passion for fishing is contagious and you can always expect to have a great adventure when fishing onboard the Tail Chaser. To book a charter visit www.tailchasercharters. com or www.bocagrandetarpon.com for more information. You can listen to his FISH ON FRIDAY radio show via www.wengradio. com or the WENG app from 4-6pm weekly. Capt. Chris operates out of the world-class Gasparilla Marina in Placida, FL, just minutes from Boca Grande Pass (the tarpon capital of the world) and Charlotte Harbor.
June 2015
Thank You... To Highlands County Farm Bureau’s Heritage Sponsors
Please support these businesses! June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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Women in the Outdoors, Quail Creek would like to thank all of those who donated to make our 2015 event such a success!
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June 2015
Quail Creek Plantation
Seminole Tribe of Florida
Cowboys BBQ & Steak Co. of Okeechobee Southern Eagle Distributing
Everglades Farm Equipment - Fort Pierce Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co Peace River Citrus
Okeechobee Tourist Development Council Joey Berardinelli
Eli’s Western Wear Carter’s Grocery
Bass Pro Shops - Orlando Nelson Family Farms Southeast Milk
CenterState Bank - Fort Pierce Lotus Gunworks PepsiCo
Hooked Carpe Diem
Melville Wealth Management Bang 57 Ranch
Heartland Magazine Kraft Gardens
S.R. Smith & Sons Construction Rafter T Ranch
St Lucie Battery & Tire - Fort Pierce MN Worldwide
Whitten Gun Cases Flying Fisherman
Reliable Septic & Services Everglades Seasoning
Diamond R Fertilizer - Fort Pierce TM Ranch Calls
Springfield Armory Outlaw Outdoors
Burns Creekside Farms, Buck Wear Thomas Feed & Hay, Decot Hy-wyd Camo Turkey Outdoors
Scott Woodward - Florida Landscape Artist Spent Rounds Designs Ronald Lambert
Linda Beaty, Dive Odyssea
Danielle Mohan - CAbi Clothing Consultant Lisa Kauffman Jewelry Designs
June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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DESOTO COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S 6TH ANNUAL
TATER HILL FUN SHOOT
Folks from several surrounding counties enjoyed the DeSoto County Chamber of Commerce’s 6th annual Tater Hill Fun Shoot on May 2nd at Square One Sporting Clays Club in Lake Placid.
The Tater Hill Fun Shoot is The DeSoto County Chamber of Commerce’s largest fundraiser of the year, providing funds that are essential to the operation of the Chamber’s office. These funds give the Chamber the ability to serve our local businesses with referrals and prospects, and to offer opportunity to the business leaders and business owners of DeSoto County in assisting them to succeed and grow. The event Chair for the Tater Hill Fun Shoot is Jan Schmitz, with Allyson Christ co-chairing. Their dedicated committee included Sheriff Will Wise, Robert Womack, Debby Snyder and Jennifer Trace - the Director of Chamber Programs & Services - all working hard to secure the sponsors, teams, raffle items and additional volunteers to make the event successful. The lunch was sponsored Steve Owens, the owner of S.O.A.R., Inc. and K& J Produce, providing the chicken and extra fixin’s along with Mosaic providing the pulled pork and sausages. Brian & Mary Kay Burns did an excellent job of barbequing all of the meat. Mandy Hines prepared the awesome cheesy potatoes, Heather Nedley supplied the Texas Sheet cakes and Seacoast Bank donated the bottled water. Nobody went home hungry that’s for sure!
The DeSoto County Chamber of Commerce would like to thank the following sponsors of the Tater Hill Fun Shoot: Title Sponsors: Mosaic Seacoast Bank
Gold Sponsors: MoreTrench Summit Roofing MidFl WCA Waste Corp
Team Sponsors: Arcadia Computer First State Bank Gun Powder & Lace 18 Heartland InTheField Magazine
June 2015
Island Ag Grove Products Heartland In The Field Magazine (Ranch & Ag) City of Arcadia Peace River Camp Ground Ponger-Kays-Grady Funeral Home S.O.A.R. Inc. Sears Sheriff Will Wise Womack Sanitation
Traveling Industry Awards for Top Sponsored Teams: Business Services: Seacoast Bank with an overall score of 234 Manufacturing: MoreTrench with an overall score of 335
Tater Hill Fun Shoot Winners:
Grand Champion (HOA): Nick Morgan with MoreTrench with an overall score of 90 Team Champions (4): MoreTrench With an overall score of 335
Individual Team Champion: Norman Powe with an overall score of 92
High Female Shooter: Yvette Singletary with an overall score of 72 High Youth Shooter: Dalton Tubbs with an overall score of 70
Public Safety: City of Arcadia with an overall score of 180 Ranch & Agriculture: Mosaic with an overall score of 289
Retail Sales: Arcadia Computer with an overall score of 309 Construction: S.O.A.R. Inc. with an overall score of 200
Many thanks to all who participated in the success of the 6th Annual Tater Hill Fun Shoot!!
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Heartland InTheField Magazine
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by Justin Smith CITRUS UPDATE By Justin Smith
What Is Working, Is Working Together Every single day there is another challenge to be faced for Citrus growers in the State of Florida. These challenges have begun to take their toll and many have succumbed to them. However, there are still a few who are hanging on just a little longer. For those the war will rage on every day. Much like the learning curve of World War I, the greening battle is like nothing that has ever been seen before. No two places seem to have the same outcome from the same tactics. Every new strategy also arises a new problem. Weaknesses are shown
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on all fronts and over time the numbers are diminished to unimaginably small proportions. But in the face of these seemingly insurmountable odds there are always those who are able to push forward. It is vitally important for those few to come to a consensus as to what basics are of absolute necessity.
Recently the Peace River Valley Citrus Growers association hosted a panel. All were invited to listen and ask questions of the panels participants, which consisted of some of the largest growers in the Heartland of Florida. This group freely and openly shared what they have come to believe to be the absolute essentials. Not too surprisingly this group was in almost absolute harmony on these fundamentals. As each grower outlined various practices and different approaches, these were the steady, underlying and unchanging portions. The absolute number one priority which was not only agreed upon but also supported by data is psyllid management. Without controlling psyllids everything else is a complete waste. This is built off the practice of less inoculum being introduced to the tree. Just as a sick person does not need to be exposed repeatedly to the same illness as they are healing, a sick tree is the same way. Psyllid management has a few key parts which must be factored into the plan. One is maintaining a timely application. The population must be continually suppressed, not only when they get very high. The applications must be in as large of an area as possible. In this case bigger is definitely better. The more acreage that can be covered with every application increases the effectiveness of the entire management plan. The next part is a continual rotation of the mode of action of the pesticide, which will not allow a resistance to be built up. The next essentials were all deemed to be of equal importance and not considered to have a specific place of importance of one over the other. If these were not all followed then the likeliness of marching on with the battle is highly unlikely. June 2015
Water management, was a large theme. Knowing exactly what your pH and bi-carbonate levels are, is essential for the Florida grower today. This is not a result of greening but rather that of increased water usage in the State and prolonged drought conditions. These combined factors have caused the water to be of much lower quality. So for a plant with a compromised immune system anything which is inferior must be corrected. This is not only important for irrigation purposes but also for spraying. Each tank should be monitored for pH changes as well. The next two proponents both deal with the unseen root system, as it is essential to encourage root growth, continually. It was agreed that slow and steady root growth was most likely attained by slow and steady feeding of the root system. This is primarily attained by regular injections of liquid fertilizer, in addition to specifically timed dry fertilizer application. This “spoon feeding�, as it was referred to, is what causes the root system to constantly grow without long dormant periods.
Also, an important part of root health is keeping the underground system in proportionate size to the tree canopy. Most agree that the aggressive topping of the trees in order to bring this balance into account has not given the best results. They all advocated maintenance of the current
June 2015
canopy, possibly going slightly smaller at first, but putting more concentration into growing the roots to meet the desired proportion rather than artificially cutting the canopy to meet it.
Last on the basics is higher density planting. Although this was considered extremely important it was also recognized there are inherent difficulties with it as well. The best practice would be to push entire blocks and then replant on smaller settings. However, that is not a practice which many could do. So the alternative is to simply put in more trees. This too has its own set of problems, number one being what each blocks’ water capabilities are. The higher densities also include higher water needs, so precise calculations are essential. If need be, even the use of less acreage with more trees was more agreeable than to stay with the historical settings.
These tactics may not be what saves the industry, but for the time being they seem to be the basics of what is working across the board. For those who are sticking it out, the industry much like the allied forces, is sharing data and trying to work together to help each other. Each owner and manager who chooses not to work together is doing more damage than they realize. Everyone who chooses to stay in the business needs to think about the greater good and try to work together.
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Laurie Hurner received a Masters of Agriculture degree from the University of Florida in 1994. She is a graduate of the Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources and is currently a member of the Mason G. Smoak Foundation Board, the Highlands County Cattlewomen, the Florida Crop Advisor Advisory Committee, and a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Sebring.
UF/IFAS HIGHLANDS COUNTY EXTENSION
Announces New County Extension Director UF/IFAS Extension Highlands County is proud to announce the current Citrus Extension Agent, Laurie Hurner, has accepted the position of County Extension Director. As the County Extension Director (CED), she will be responsible for leading the county extension program while maintaining and building effective working relationships with county government, community leaders, private sector clientele, media, other government agencies, the general public, UF/IFAS faculty and staff, and extension administration. Hurner will supervise and evaluate county faculty members with primary assignments in horticulture, livestock, and 4-H youth development while continuing to serve citrus producers as a citrus agent. She will also be expected to maintain an overall advisory committee that reflects the demographics of the county and effectively advocates for Cooperative Extension within the community.
“I am looking forward to Laurie’s leadership of the office in her new role. She has done an excellent job as the interim director and expect that even greater things are on the horizon for the extension programs of Highlands County“-Ray Royce, Executive Director of Highlands County Citrus Growers, and member of the Overall Advisory Committee for Highlands County.
When asked about how she felt regarding her added position, Hurner stated, “The Highlands County Extension office has been through some difficult times. I am prepared to take on the role of cheerleader and chief to assure that this office continues to work together to become one of the premier extension offices in the state.” The faculty and staff of UF/IFAS Highlands County Extension welcomes Laurie into her new position with open arms and have no doubts that she’s the woman for the job. They have faith in her and trust she will be what Highlands County needs to continue to provide residents of Highlands County with the very best extension office Florida has to offer. To learn more about UF/IFAS Highlands County Extension and what they can do for you, visit their website at: http://highlands.ifas.ufl.edu/ , call their offices Monday through Friday from 8:00am – 5pm at: 863-402-6540, or direct your gardening questions to their Master Gardener volunteers Monday – Friday from 9:30am – 3:30pm at 863-402-7151.
Ms. Hurner is a fifth generation Floridian with deep ties to the Florida Citrus Industry and a long time extension supporter. She joined Extension in 2013 as the Citrus Extension Agent. After Les Baucum resigned in early 2015, she quickly adapted to a supervisory role as interim CED on top of her duties as the county’s citrus agent.
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Local decision making from people who understand the agriculture industry.
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Okeechobee Area President/SVP
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The Grass is Greener at
Other Side Sod BY DIXIE THOMAS
much thought to this simple, natural wonder, but grass plays an important role in our world by preventing soil erosion, helping to enrich soil and maintain moisture, providing food for wild animals and livestock, adding beauty to the landscape, and in some cases helping farmers make a living. According to the University of Florida, approximately 63,000 acres of sod are harvested each year in Florida. Over half of that acreage harvested is St. Augustine sod. A sod company based in Arcadia, Florida--Other Side Sod-- is one of Florida’s premier sod companies, growing St. Augustine, Argentine Bahia, Bermuda 419, and Ultimate Fora Zoysia sod. Sometimes we take for granted the simple things in life, like the verdant grass we see every day along road sides, pastures, subdivisions, and even in our own yards. We might not give
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Other Side Sod company got its start in 1989 with one man’s dream. Joel Deriso had worked as an accountant for two successful sod companies, and began to reflect on the possibility of starting a sod company of his own. “The entrepreneur spirit hit me,” says Joel, “so I got some equipment and got to work.” Joel started a sod harvesting operation with one Ryan sod June 2015
Augustine grass comes in several varieties including Floratam, Bitter Blue, and Palmetto, and is frequently used in upscale landscapes. Characteristics of St. Augustine include a wide blade and deep green color. Irrigation systems are necessary for St. Augustine and it requires medium to high maintenance. Bitter Blue is a more shade tolerant variety which has a deep blue color. Bermuda 419 is a grass with a fine blade width and a dense, aggressive growth pattern and deep root system. It’s a good grass for high traffic areas and requires irrigation. Ultimate Flora Zoysia is a turf of choice for many elite landscapes. This grass has a fine to medium blade width, handles wear in high traffic areas, has a fair shade tolerance, and drought tolerance once established. It does require irrigation and requires a medium level of maintenance.
cutter, a forklift, and a 1956 Ford tractor. “Within a few months, I would cut a few loads of Bahia, load a semi, then go to Port Charlotte with the forklift, unload the semi, and lay the yard of a new house,” Joel said. The first few years were difficult as not many new homes were being built and the market for sod wasn’t as expansive. But, the market and the business grew. In the year 2000, Other Side Sod (OSS) had $1 Million in gross sales. 2000-2006 proved to be growth years, and in that time Other Side Sod leased 500 acres to farm Floratam sod. OSS crews both harvested and installed Floratam and Bahia sod.
Currently, Other Side Sod has 250 acres of Floratam on leased land, and harvests Bahia grass from local cattle ranches. The mission of OSS is to deliver premium turf which is D.O.T certified and weed free. Other Side Sod’s product is marketed for residential and commercial uses and proves exceptional as a ground cover and soil stabilizer, while beautifying a landscape. A few years ago, OSS decided to cease installing sod and focus on growing and marketing wholesale turf. Bahia grass makes up about 70 percent of the sales volume now, followed by Floratam, which is a type of St. Augustine grass. Each variety of grass OSS grows has a particular purpose and market. Bahia grass proves to be appealing to both farmers and landowners as it is a hardy, drought tolerant turf. Irrigation for Bahia sod is not required, but recommended for better lawn quality. Bahia has a medium width blade, with a lighter green color than St. Augustine, and is a low maintenance grass. St. June 2015
Though grass grows naturally, growing beautiful green, weed free turf certainly takes work and input. All of the turf grasses are regularly mowed, weeded, sprayed, fertilized and irrigated. OSS strives to use best management practices (BMP’s) to care for the land and to farm more efficiently. These practices are focused primarily on the areas of proper watering, proper fertilizing, and responsible pesticide use. Michael Brucker, Other Side Sod’s general manager and production manager, explains that “knowing what the soil needs” will help guide most decisions of the operation.
Soil samples are taken from land that the company farms to determine if the soil has deficiencies and what needs to be added to the soil in terms of nutrients and fertilizer. Making sure the PH is at the proper level is also important, and can be determined by testing the soil as well. Pesticides are rarely used unless a bug infestation arises. Herbicides are used only as necessary. “I stay away from herbicides as much as I can,” says Michael, “because whenever you spray an herbicide, whatever it is, you’re going to see resistance.” Over time, Michael explains that most weeds develop some resistance to an herbicide if it is used repeatively. “Eighty to ninety percent Heartland InTheField Magazine
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of what we spray is nutritional—such as liquid fertilizer,” says Michael. To cut down on spraying herbicides, OSS also employs a number of people to actually walk through the fields together in a row and pull weeds by hand.
Weather, particularly rainfall, always plays a role in how OSS manages inputs and practices. Irrigation and controlling water levels can be costly. Water moisture sensors are used to help measure moisture in the soil and determine how much water is needed. Joel noted that the Florida water management district has a FARMS program that works with farmers and helps to share the cost of developing surface water usage for irrigation. Water is handled differently depending on the particular farm site and the lay of the land. At one farm, a nearby shell mine provides the source of water, and a center pivot which can irrigate 160 acres in 24 hours, is used for irrigation. At another farm site, the sod is grown on muck land which stays very moist and holds a lot of water when the rainfall is high. At this site, water is typically pumped off using a lift pump and a system of canals. OSS uses no deep wells for water currently. Michael Brucker shared that one of the greatest challenges to growing sod is maintaining a consistent product. “Keeping a good, even product that is marketable all the time,” is what Michael names as the biggest challenge. Even if the farm is not selling sod from a particular piece of land, the sod must be kept in tip top shape—healthy, free of weeds, moist, and consistent as product. Since the Bahia sod that OSS harvests is from land that other farmers own and operate, keeping a consistent product can be more challenging. “We see pastures that have been subject to little or no real management practice or inputs,” says Joel. As a result, OSS has begun a program to work with cattle ranchers and farmers who have Bahia grass, to help them use best management practices in order to make their grass more marketable as sod. OSS serves as a consultant,
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helping recommend proper herbicides and fertilizers. Some farmers and ranchers are concerned about removing top soil from their fields when sod is lifted. Michael explains that “So much of what you take is grass clippings and mowed grass.” Whenever grass dies it actually puts nutrients back in the soil. Michael noted that OSS has cut sod off of one field for thirty years and the soil level has not changed. Joel also commented that “about 60-70 percent of what is harvested is plant matter and humus.”
Other Side Sod is primarily a family run business with one of Joel’s and his wife Susie’s sons and two of their daughters involved. Their son Jordan is a full time mechanic, while the daughters, Jenna and Lauren take care of things in the office. Michael Brucker is Jenna’s husband. OSS employs a total of 26 full time employees, including family members. Over the next five years, OSS plans to continue as a premier sod company in Florida, while paying off debt and furthering a relationship with the ranching community. Is the grass greener on the other side? It just might be greener at Other Side Sod.
June 2015
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June 2015
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SPECIAL FEATURE
June is
DAIRY MONTH June Dairy Month started in 1937 as a way to help distribute extra milk when cows started on pasture in the warm summer months. Today the tradition continues with people from across the country celebrating the industry in a variety of ways. So, this month indulge your dairy craving with an extra glass, slice, or scoop of your favorite dairy product. Relax with a deliciously refreshing Orange Cream Chiller and enjoy the following dairy industry facts, provided by the Florida Dairy Farmers.
Dairy Industry Facts: •
Most of the dairy cows living in Florida are Holsteins (the black and white cows).
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Lafayette is Florida’s leading dairy county with 21 farms; Okeechobee is second with 19.
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Most Florida dairy herds range in size from 150 cows to 5,000 cows.
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The state’s more than 130 dairy farms are primarily owned and operated by second- and third-generation farmers.
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Florida dairy farmers recycle about 170,000 tons of byproducts such as citrus pulp, brewers’ grain and whole cottonseed that are consumed by the cows instead of ending up in landfills.
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There are about 118,000 dairy cows in Florida that collectively produce about 2.1 billion pounds of milk a year.
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The total represents 253 million gallons of Florida-produced milk in grocery stores.
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Each Florida dairy cow produces about 18,600 pounds of milk annually or about six to eight gallons of milk each day.
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Milk has played an important role in America’s history since 1611 when the first cows were brought to Jamestown, Virginia.
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The average dairy cow weighs 1,400 pounds, which is about the same size of a mature male polar bear.
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Cows drink 25-50 gallons of water a day. That’s enough to fill a bathtub!
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Cows chew their cud at least 50 times per minute.
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Cows can go up stairs, but not down stairs.
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Cows have ID tags on their ears to identify them and record how much milk they are producing, plus other important information about the animal’s health.
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According to ancient records passed down through the centuries, the making of cheese dates back more than 4,000 years.
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One gallon of milk is approximately 345 squirts of a cow’s udder.
Orange Cream Chiller Ingredients:
3 ounces orange juice concentrate 1 cup low-fat milk ½ cup nonfat Greek style plain yogurt 1 small frozen banana or 3 frozen strawberries 1 teaspoon honey ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator.
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Summer Nutrition Vital For Kids Who Depend On Schools For Healthy Foods More than 22 million children may miss out on milk’s nutrition in the summer months when school is out and they lose access to free or reduced-price meal programs. June is National Dairy Month and America’s dairy farmers and milk companies are on a mission to bring more nutritious milk to children in need with The Great American Milk Drive. In many cases, food insecure children depend on meals and milk provided in the school cafeteria for the bulk of their daily nutrition. Although the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) fund school breakfasts and for lunches kids in need, these federal programs do not reach children when school is out. Moreover, milk is one of the most requested items by food bank clients year-round, and that’s especially the case during the summer when kids aren’t getting nutritious meals provided through their schools. On average, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year. “Children who greatly depend on school breakfasts and lunches for nutritious foods may experience a significant nutrition gap in the summertime when school is out,” says Alyssa Greenstein, registered dietitian with Florida Dairy Farmers and president of the Florida Academy of Nutrition of Dietetics. “The Great American Milk Drive will get milk to local food banks so those kids can gain greater access to milk’s unique combination of nine essential nutrients, which they need for proper growth and development.”
June Dairy Month 100-Gallon Milk Giveaway June is National Dairy Month and the dairy industry is celebrating dairy foods and the farmers who produce them. Florida Dairy Farmers and Dean Foods are using this occasion to give back and deliver hundreds of gallons of free milk to Floridians. It all starts with an enter-to-win contest on FloridaMilk.com where a lucky contestant will win 100 gallons of milk to commemorate the National Dairy Council’s 100-year anniversary. The winner will then designate an additional 100 gallons, donated by Dean Foods, to a food bank of their choice to support The Great American Milk Drive, an industry initiative that gets milk to food banks for families in need. The contest ends June 30. http://www.floridamilk.com/junedairymonth
For as little as $5 and a simple click of a mouse at www. milklife.com/give, it is possible to donate much-needed milk to families and children who do not have regular access to milk through Feeding America’s nationwide network of food banks.
About Florida Dairy Farmers Florida Dairy Farmers is Florida’s milk promotion group, working to raise awareness of the dairy farming industry and the nutrient-rich foods it provides. FDF represents more than 130 dairy farming families throughout the state. For more information, call 407-647-8899 or visit www.floridamilk.com. June 2015
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CHEESE comes in many flavors! There are more than 600 different types of cheeses in the world. Find some favorites in the word search below. Taste one of the types you haven’t tried before—you might like it!
AMERICAN ASIAGO CHEDDAR COLBY GORGONZOLA GOUDA HAVARTI MOZZARELLA MUENSTER PARMESAN PROVOLONE SWISS
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G N P Z K E F L J G L C Z F O R L R A L
J O Q H J N R C G P Y H M S V N T F M N
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Z A R M F A Y S H A E X R W N K O Y E W
F U E G D L M A V H J K L I Z W D U R L
A B X D O B H Q G D S T S S M P S N I M
D X E U D N J L G A U G Y S C Q Q K C R
F H F E N H Z W V Z D L N X Z R U K A G
C E O S D H K O X H K O Q I F E X O N Z
Y L J Z D A Q B L Z G A H Z J I N Y H R
U Z S A E V L D E A F H G S A U G Y L V
M M O Z Z A R E L L A E Z M L Q O N C X
A U L T W R F K D J I P F O D S U C D C
D S E M M T E Z L W W R U O S B D Z M M
L Z I N Z I M Y L H S O G M V Y A I S E
U C F A S Z N S V I B V S D S K X I G N
R Z T G G T E A O B Z O D E O U R L D Q
C O L B Y O E H X V E L B K Z O I E H B
G K N B E M J R S E B O V I Q J Z K X B
B X I P G T W P I G M N B O R Q A F X J
K A S Z Q A S P A R M E S A N W D G R U
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Cow Puzzler 1 2
3 4
5
6 7 8
9
10 11 13
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15
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16 17 18
Across:
2. A cow stores her milk in this 4. Famous milk slogan
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5. A cow’s _________ has four compartments to digest food
9. A baby cow
Down:
11. Cold milk drink
3. Milk goes well with this snack
10. The most popular flavor of milk 12. This dairy food comes in a cup
14. About one-fifth of all U.S. cheese is used to make ______ 16. America’s favorite ice cream flavor 17. This month is Dairy Month 18. ‘Holey’ cheese 19. Cow talk
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1. Tastes great on corn
6. Milk mineral that keeps bones strong 7. Milk is approximately 97 percent this 8. Southeast’s largest dairy state
13. Get ____________ servings of dairy every day 15. Cows graze on ______________ 18. Non-fat milk is also called
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HUNDREDS OF AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY PARTNERS READ IN HONOR OF FLORIDA AGRICULTURE LITERACY DAY Hundreds of Florida agriculture industry partners including Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam H. Putnam read in honor of Florida Agriculture Literacy Day this year, reaching more than 58,000 elementary students statewide, according Agriculture Literacy Day sponsor Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc.
About 37 percent of this year’s nearly 900 Agriculture Literacy Day readers were FFA students, 16 percent were Florida Farm Bureau and county Farm Bureau members, 5 percent were Florida Cattlemen and Cattlewomen and 3 percent were University of Florida/IFAS extension and 4-H agents, master gardeners and students. The remaining number of readers identified themselves simply as educators or volunteers without an industry affiliation. They read to more than 58,000 Florida elementary students as part of Florida’s 12th annual Agriculture Literacy Day held April 21, which Florida Agriculture in the Classroom (FAITC) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) worked together to organize.
Commissioner Putnam applauded the agriculture industry’s participation in the event. “Florida Ag Literacy Day helps our next generation learn about the Floridians who provide everything from beef, pork and poultry to strawberries, oranges and corn to meet the needs of the world’s growing population,” he said.
Commissioner Putnam kicked off Agriculture Literacy Day on April 21 by holding a press conference and reading to fourth graders from Governor’s Charter School at the Old Capitol in Tallahassee. “Agriculture Literacy Day wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without the help of Commissioner Putnam and our industry volunteers,” said Tamara Wood, chairman of Florida Agriculture in the Classroom and representative of
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Florida Citrus Mutual. “We depend on our grass root network of volunteers, and appreciate everything they do for us.”
Volunteers read “Drive Through Florida: Livestock and Poultry,” a new non-fiction book about Florida’s livestock industry and the first in a new series of Florida Agriculture Literacy Day books that each year will feature a different segment of the industry. The book was written by Arlette Roberge and illustrated and designed by Ann Kinsey and Mark Cason of the FDACS’ Division of Marketing.
Florida Agriculture in the Classroom - a Gainesville-based, non-profit organization funded by the agriculture specialty license tag or the ‘Ag Tag’ - provided volunteer readers with a book and a resource disc with activities related to the book to give to teachers and bookmarks and stickers to give to students. Florida Agriculture in the Classroom is charged with educating kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and students about Florida agriculture. It does so by providing curricula, materials, grant money and programs to teachers to help them incorporate agricultural concepts into their language arts, math, science and social studies classes, among other activities. Its resource materials are correlated to Florida educational standards. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT LISA GASKALLA BY CALLING (352) 846-1391 OR EMAILING gaskalla@ufl.edu
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THE KINGS OF THE CRACKER COW BOYS BY BRADY VOGT
“I knew the wild riders and vacant land were about to vanish forever….and the more I considered the subject the bigger the forever loomed. Without knowing how to do it, I began to record some facts around me and the more I looked the more the panorama unfolded” - Frederic Remington
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Punta Rassa, where residents and visitors drive through a toll booth and begin the lovely drive across the water that takes them to Sanibel Island, has a unique place in Florida history. It is named so for the Spanish “Punta Rasca” which meant flat point, a natural beach where the land met the deeper water, where a ship might be loaded, or unloaded. It is an area according to the federal government’s center for population numbers of about four and one-half square miles, now composed of towering condominiums and all of the accompanying amenities. It is the place where the southernmost connection of what would become Western Union first received notice that the battleship MAINE had been sunk in the Havana harbor. It had been the home to two military forts, first to repel the Seminoles and later to inhibit the trade of supplies and goods and beef to the Army of The Confederacy. The first tarpon Heartland InTheField Magazine
to be caught by rod and reel were dragged back to its docks and as the sport of tarpon fishing flourished, Punta Rassa became known for its hotels that sat on the edge of the Pine Island Sound. The old army barracks had been converted, the upper floors where Yankee millionaires slept in between fishing excursions was aptly named “Murderers’ Row”. However, more than any other point of historical significance, Punta Rassa is known as the place from which thousands of head of rangy Florida cattle were driven from across the lower part of the state, held temporarily in corrals, and loaded onto sailing ships to be feasted upon in Key West and Cuba, over a period of twenty years.
In Charlotte County, a road that runs approximately north to south is named King’s Highway. According to entries June 2015
found at Wikepedia, it is so named for three of the four of the men most responsible for the success and historical importance of the cattle industry in south Florida: Ziba King, Jacob Summerlin, Captain Francis A. Hendry, and somewhat removed in status and wealth from the others, Bonaparte “Bone” Mizzell. The first three were all born in Georgia. They all became Rebels, by declaring in 1861 an allegiance to the habits of the place they lived, rather than to those of a place where somebody else lived. Those three men were cattle kings, rich in stock and land; powerful, influential men who controlled vast amounts of space and herds, who dabbled in war and politics, generous to the small communities where they lived, and memorialized throughout south Florida where their names are attached to schools, hospitals, banks and roads. The last man, although included with the others as to be thought of as a king, was only a cowboy. Bone Mizzell is remembered as extraordinary because of his behavior, his spunk. He is a legend like Acrefoot Johnson and Ed Watson, a carousing buckaroo who inspired the most famous of all the artists of the time to capture forever an image of what would become the poster of the Florida cowboy.
Ziba King (1838-1901) was a true baron in the sense of Rockefeller and Carnegie and Ford, his domain was over commerce and cattle in southwest Florida. He began with a simple homestead of 160 acres near Fort Ogden, and later became a resident of Arcadia. In 1900 he was said to own fifty-thousand head of cattle. He was a store keeper, a banker, a legislator, a judge, a philanthropist and a skilled poker player. His drovers scoured the open range for six weeks of a year above, below, and east of the Peace River. The more strays a crew could gather the more could be branded and turned out and the more could be driven to immediate market. Before sending his herds to Punta Rassa, he had been fond of Hickory Bluff on Charlotte Harbor, but to get to that flat point, that spit of beach south of the Caloosahatchee the herds would have had to cross far upriver, further up according to the season. It
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is possible they drove the cattle across the waterfall just above Lake Flirt, before Hamilton Disston blew it apart.
Jacob Summerlin (1820-1893) inherited twenty slaves when he was a young man. The poor people were valued at $1,000.00 each. He traded them for cattle, twenty thousand dollars worth at likely five dollars a head and so was immediately the owner of four thousand scrawny beeves. They were Spanish cattle, remnants of a living, moving, continuous food supply the conquistadores had brought with them two hundred years before. The cattle had been left to their own devices, and been fruitful and had multiplied, and ranged across the state, preferring the vast palmetto prairies to forage and hide. In that interim period, they had belonged to the Seminoles, displaced Creek Indians also from Georgia, who had begun the husbanding of cattle on the Alachua Prairie in the middle 1700’s before Andrew Jackson began his campaigns against them.
Summerlin, who at one point was said to own or to at least control, twenty thousand beeves, was not a gentleman farmer. He had learned his tracking and trailing skills as a boy in Alligator Town, what would become Lake City. He ranged with his troop of cow-hunters (called so instead of cow-boys because of the nature of the roundup) in Central Florida. He watered his herds near the Kissimmee and Peace Rivers and is said to have had a part in the founding of Orlando and Bartow. Summerlin allied himself with the Confederate Army during the Civil War and was a successful smuggler, shipping cattle through the blockades that surrounded the west coast. In 1863 he was living at Punta Rassa, and in fact owned most of the acres there. When Confederate script began to de-value, he sought out a new market, and began to load his cattle onto ships bound for Havana. The Spanish paid with gold, at twenty dollars a head rather than The South’s shaky six. Summerlin built corrals near Punta Rassa, called “scrub pens” which he rented to other cattlemen while they Heartland InTheField Magazine
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waited for buyers and schooners. He had a hand in everything that moved through the port. At the same time, logging camps were turning enormous cypress trunks into planks and boards, there was one on what was called the “cut-through” which would become Gladiolus Drive. The timbered wood was dragged by oxen to the wharves at Punta Rassa and shipped to Key West to build houses and barns and docks. Those were the days before every scrap of money a man had did not have to pass through a bank and leave a percentage behind. Jacob Summerlin was said to have piles of gold stashed in boxes and barrels throughout his Punta Rassa properties, in fact on all his Florida holdings, under beds, in closets, behind shelves. He had a small house built in Fort Myers for his drovers to rest and recover. The house was sold by his son Sam to Thomas Edison in 1885 when the “Wizard of Menlo Park” came to Florida. It is now designated by the Edison & Ford Winter Estates as the “caretaker’s cottage” and is the oldest surviving building in downtown Fort Myers. Jacob Summerlin did not confine his enterprise to cattle either. He partnered for a time with one James McKay, a notorious blockade runner, and traded cattle for commodities that were of significant value along the Florida frontier. He was an exporter, the cattle being nearly as valuable for leather as meat, and an importer, of as many items as could be found in Havana that would bring a pretty penny just a hundred miles across the water, otherwise unavailable to the pioneers. Captain Francis A. Hendry (1833-1917) bought the wharf that Jacob Summerlin had built at Punta Rassa. He was a scout during the Second Seminole War. Fort Thompson became the center of his ranging. He dominated the cattle business south of the Peace River, all the way to where the scrub prairie gave out and the Everglades began. During the Civil War he was in charge of up to one hundred and thirty men, a militia called “cow cavalry” because it was their responsibility to keep the beeves from being taken by Union soldiers, and to get them to a place where they might be shipped a little further north to feed the desperate Confederate troops. He was considered to be a benevolent politician. Perhaps his greatest legacy is his prodigious amount of descendants. Southwest Florida is full of Hendry’s. He named Labelle for his daughters, and upon his passing Hendry County was named for him. Captain Hendry also wrote about the history of Fort Myers as he remembered it. Although there is no date, it was likely written about 1900 and recounts very much in the main about the military, its purpose and deportment during the various Indian wars, the times between, and encounters between Union and Confederate troops. There is only one copy known of the delicate little pamphlet. Every year the Hendry clan gathers for a picnic. They are said to number in the hundreds. Upon each brochure printed for the event is copied a five page letter that Captain Francis A. Hendry wrote to his son in which he outlines the merits of a moral, sober, and industrious life.
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The cow-hunters were thin, their horses were thin, and the wild cattle were thin. The drovers drank incessant jars of black coffee. They ate dried beef and salt pork, venison, turkey, sweet potatoes, biscuits, corn mush and grits. They sweetened the biscuits and flapjacks with molasses and cane syrup. They slept under the stars or rain, wherever they rolled out a blanket. They sat upon Civil War surplus saddles called McClelland’s, cast-offs which were without a horn on which to fasten a rope to struggle with a thousand pound steer. Likely for this reason the cow-hunters did not use lariats or lassos but ranged the palmetto scrub with packs of thin dogs, curs, that behaved, although probably much more savagely, in the manner of sheep dogs, barking and snapping at the hooves of stubborn cattle, causing them to emerge from places of hiding and be persuaded to form into a manageable line. The men cooled off in creeks and ponds. They were as leathery as the saddles they rode, the boots they counted on to repel the bite of a rattler rising three feet from the ground to strike at that which had disturbed him. Disheveled, poor because of poor wages, and poor habits, they slouched on their horses, some said, as to resemble the Spanish moss that hung from every oak.
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They were paid for most part with Spanish doubloons, paid off at the wharf at Punta Rassa, the heavy coins jammed into saddlebags for the leisurely ride back to the cow town that was Fort Myers to the stores for canned peaches, the saloons for peach brandies. The trail had been used for years; it was called Riverside Drive before it became McGregor Boulevard. It had likely been used first by Calusa, walking from the village at Punta Rassa to the village that would become the fort. It was possibly the trail along which Hernando De Soto moved his army into the forest. Seminoles and Spanish Indians broadened the path with carts and skids pulled by beasts of burden. Back and forth over two hundred years, men and animals treading in the space between land and water, until the cattle were brought and thousands of hooves hammered the path into a trail that would become a road.
compared him to Ichabod Crane, a sharp nose, a long frame, an object of some derision. Where Bone reflected the cow-hunter in his appearance, it was his demeanor that set him apart. Instead of being shy to the point of unapproachable, quiet to the point of mute, and colorless as the dust that the cattle raised in the scrub pens around Punta Rassa, Bone was wild and wooly, engaging, especially when drunk, and able to talk his way out of everything short of a hanging. When Frederick Remington came to Arcadia it was apparent that the cracker cowboys did not resemble the more virile, predictable types he had found in the great west. But the artist painted what he saw and so immortalized Bone Mizzell as the embodiment of the Florida cowboy.
In 1895 the most famous of the western artists was sent on assignment to draw the Florida cowboy. Frederick Remington was sent by Harper’s magazine to Arcadia; there he met one Morgan Bonaparte “Bone” Mizzell (1863-1921). Bone was no baron, no statesmen or officer or high-roller. He was however, a wag, a prairie pundit, a cowboy humorist and merry prankster. He was hard driving hard drinking drover who never amounted to much except in the eyes of his peers, that is his cowboy friends. Unlike the other “kings” Bone was born in Florida, at a place called, appropriately as it turned out, Horse Creek. He was a master horseman who sat astride his lank pony with his long legs dangling in loose stirrups. Some have
FREDERIC SACKRIDER REMINGTON Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th-century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S. Cavalry.
They were called “cracker cowboys” as though they were crackers first and cow- boys second. The term is most commonly meant that they snapped bullwhips over the heads of horses and mules and oxen and beeves especially, creating such a pop that the sound crackled through the air such as a shot had been fired from a pistol or rifle. Even more commonly, and perhaps that which gives the term a broader application, is that the cowboys, like all of their southern cousins, ate substantial amounts of cracked corn, the dried stuff ground into nearly a powder to use for mush, and gruel, and grits. It is not a dismissive term to a southern boy, rather it identifies him with his ancestors, tough as nails, plain as cotton, and as cagey as those wild steers that ruled the palmetto scrub and wire grass prairies.
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“FLORIDA BECAME FIRST HOME FOR BEEF CATTLE IN U.S. AND MAINTAINS ITS RANCHING TRADITION” There are 18,433 beef cattle ranches, a quantity that ranks 12th in the nation as well as 12th in beef cow inventory with 877,000 beef cows as of January 1st 2014 according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Access to nearly year-round grass gives Florida a significant advantage in profitable beef cattle production. Florida is a cow-calf state with the primary cattle “crop” being calves. A majority of ranchers raise calves to about 500 pounds and transport them to feedlots in the Midwest where grain is prevalent and then are finished and processed into beef. Florida is home to eight of the twenty largest beef-cow calf operations in the U.S., with many owned by families some fifth and sixth generations. Despite all of this, the state’s beef cattle production proves a quiet, yet highly impactful industry. Total economic effects of cattle ranching total $2.1 billion annually, and employment exceeds 17,000, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Far more Florida farms raise beef cattle than grow oranges. “I think we are guilty of staying on ranches to maintain the way of life we enjoy,” says Jim Handley, Executive Vice President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association.
Florida cattle producers are good “stewards of the land” as owners and caretakers of thousands of acres of pristine native range and pasture land. In recognition of their efforts, Florida has had several regional winners and one national winner of the National Cattlemen’s Environmental Stewardship Award. Lands used for cattle production provide important “green space” for wildlife and native plant habitat, aquifer recharge,
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and carbon recovery. Florida’s cattle industry was a leader in the formulation and adoption of agricultural industry Water Quality Best Management Practices and other standards. “In a state with a population of 19 million, we need the water recharge areas that ranchlands represent,” Handley says. INTERESTING FACTS Cattle were first introduced to North America in Florida in 1521 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon
The largest single brood cow herd in the US is located in Florida
Nearly one-half of all Florida Agricultural land is involved in cattle production
Florida has 3.2 million acres of pastureland and 1.3 million acres of grazed woodland Much of “Natural Florida” remains in the working landscape of Florida’s cattle industry.
Wildlife and native plant system populations thrive on Florida’s ranchlands
Healthy “green spaces” filter and recharge underground water supplies
June 2015
Quality Assurance Florida’s cattle producers continue to work diligently to provide the public with safe, healthy products from a wholesome, natural environment. Beef Quality Assurance is a daily component of livestock management programs. Animal identification leads to better health records, tracking, and monitoring for effective disease detection and eradication. Ranchers are working cooperatively with the USDA, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to protect animal health and public safety.
To Learn More Contact:
Florida Cattlemen’s Association 800 Shakerag Road Kissimmee, Florida 34744 407-846-6221 www.floridacattlemen.org For general information or to have a local cattle producer to speak to your organization. Florida Association of Livestock Markets P.O. Box 421929 Kissimmee, Florida 34742 407-846-4557 To find a market in your area. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry 407 South Calhoun Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399 850-410-0900, www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai For assistance with animal health programs or the National Animal Identification System.
Month2015 June 2014
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Seminole Pride™ Beef BY ROBBI SUMNER
Seminole Pride™ Beef is a boxed beef brand owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. While the brand was first launched just two years ago, in June of 2013, the story of Seminole cattle began over 500 years ago. I recently had the opportunity to visit with Alex Johns, Natural Resources Director for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. to learn more about this exciting endeavor, and what opportunities it holds for Florida cattle ranchers.
Born and raised on the Brighton Reservation, Alex has worked for the Tribe for 17 years, starting as a day worker and working his way through the ranks to his current position which he has held for 4 years now. In his role as Natural Resources Director, Alex coordinates not only the beef cattle operation, but citrus, sugar cane, and mining operations as well. Alex is also
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operation, so we built a small feed yard and began doing some of our own slaughtering. The next step was to market our product. At the time we were not big enough for many of the large retailers so we developed a partnership with Cheney Brothers who has been successful with getting Seminole Pride™ Beef into over 180 restaurants in Florida alone.” As the business grew, the Tribe began shipping calves at a weight of 750 pounds to Don Quincy in Chiefland who finishes them to a slaughter weight of 1,350. Facilities in north Florida and Georgia are utilized for the slaughtering process.
active in the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, having served as Treasurer this past year and anticipating the move to 2nd Vice President after this month’s annual convention.
“The Seminole Tribe of Florida is proud of its strong roots and cattle heritage. While we’ve done a great job with casinos, that does not reflect who we are,” says Alex. Their heritage goes back over 500 years raising cattle in our state and those operations presently cover a land area of 105,000 acres from Okeechobee to Collier and Broward counties.
In explaining the current business plan of the cattle operation, Alex shared “Several years ago we had a lot of BrafordBeefmaster cross cattle that were not producing the carcass quality that we wanted, so we brought in Brangus bulls to improve our carcass merit. That decision worked for us and as the carcass quality continued to improve we decided to integrate the business and focus not just on the cow-calf June 2015
Because genetics play such a vital role in carcass quality, the Tribe purchased Salacoa Valley Farms, a premier Brangus operation in Fairmount, Georgia to increase their production capability. According to Alex, 70%of sales from that herd come to Florida due to recognition of the superior genetics. To encourage participation in the growth of the Seminole Pride™ brand, the Tribe offers a program where they will bid to purchase calves from other Florida ranchers who purchase Salacoa bulls. If purchased, those calves are electronically tagged to record growth and slaughter data with that data then being made available to the rancher. Says Alex, “We already have a demand greater than what we can supply on our own and this provides a type of cooperative market for ranchers who follow our Seminole Pride protocol. We want to help provide an outlet for other Florida ranchers who are producing high quality beef.” As for the future of Seminole Pride™, packers and feed lots out west have already been contacted in anticipation of growing the brand nationally. “We’d like to develop a hybrid model where a portion of the beef is kept local and the rest gets shipped. This will provide even more options for producers,” shares Alex.
“Cattle have carried us through three Seminole wars and 500 years of history. We’re good at beef production, and we want to do our part in helping feed the world.” Heartland InTheField Magazine
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in 1948 and is a historical landmark in Okeechobee County. Strategically constructed and positioned by the railway, the preferred method of shipping in that era, cattlemen would drive cattle to market and ship them out on boxcars. Today, the market has an unmistakable feeling of nostalgia, as well as regular cattle auctions on Mondays and Tuesdays at noon, plus an Internet auction through PCA twice a month on Thursdays.
An Introduction to
Florida’s Sale Barns BY AUDRA CLEMONS
Florida’s cattle industry is one of the oldest and largest in the nation, and it is vital to the state’s well being. Ranching is essential to economic activity that preserves many aspects of the natural landscape, protects water resources and maintains areas used by wildlife as well as recreation. Florida is currently home to nine livestock markets, or ‘sale barns’ as they are affectionately known as. These sale barns are a necessary part of the cattle industry, from buying and selling cattle to culling a herd. Here is a look at sale barns across the state of Florida.
OKEECHOBEE LIVESTOCK MARKET OKEECHOBEE, FL Family owned and operated for over 50 years, the Okeechobee Livestock Market was co-founded by longtime cattlemen Oscar and Pete Clemons, who purchased the building from the Cattlemen’s Association in 1961. The building was constructed
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NORTH FLORIDA LIVESTOCK MARKET ELLISVILLE, FL Located in Ellisville, Florida, just outside Lake City and off Interstate 75, the North Florida Livestock Market is also owned by the Clemons family. Managed and operated by fourth generation, Casey Clemons, the North Florida Livestock Market is a 1908s newer build, offering cattle auctions every Wednesday and goat auctions the last Saturday of every month. Stop by for a down home meal in the cafeteria, and listen to Auctioneer Aubrey Bailey sell cow/calf pairs, individual cattle, and occasionally goats.
THE CATTLEMEN’S LIVESTOCK AUCTION MARKET LAKELAND, FL The Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction Market opened for business in 1950 by Jim Robertson, Harry C. McCollum, Jr. and H. B. McCollum, who previously owned the Wauchula sale barn. It has been auctioning livestock ever since its inception. Currently the business is owned and operated by another pair of brothers, Dave and Mike Tomkow, and holds auctions every Tuesday at noon. June 2015
SUMTER COUNTY FARMER’S MARKET WEBSTER, FL Established in 1937, Sumter County Farmer’s Market started out as a place for local farmers to sell vegetables and cattle. Not only a vegetable and livestock barn, but also the oldest and largest flea market in Florida - even listed by a few media sources as one of the ‘Top Ten Tourist Attractions’ in the state of Florida. The market covers over 40 acres and charges no admission fee. ARCADIA STOCKYARD ARCADIA, FL The Arcadia Stockyard is the newest of all the Florida sale barns, constructed in 2005. Owned and operated by Joe Hillard of Hillard Brothers Ranch and former Thomas Cattle Order Buyer Carl McKettrick. Arcadia Stockyard is a state-ofthe-art sale barn, with easy drive thru cattle unloading and an on-site diner. Cattle sales are every Monday and Wednesday.
COLUMBIA LIVESTOCK MARKET COLUMBIA, FL Columbia Livestock Market is another family owned and operated business, which was founded in 1964. Located just south of Lake City, cattle sales are held every Monday at 1:00 pm. Goats and sheep are also auctioned at the beginning of each sale if they’re available. Owners, John, Beth and Jeff Willis are often spotted on-sight before during and after the sale.
June 2015
TOWNSEND LIVESTOCK MARKET Madison Stockyard was founded by the Townsend family in 1945; in 1968 the sale barn relocated closer to I-10, and again in 1994 it was moved to its current location near state road 53 south. In 1999 the Townsend family began their third generation of ownership. The market holds cattle auctions ever Tuesday at 1:00pm, alongside swine and goat sales the fourth Friday of every month.
OCALA STOCKYARD OCALA, FL Owned and operated by Burton Bellamy, who comes from a long line of cattlemen. Cattle sales are every Monday, and goat and hog sales are the first Friday of each month.
TRI-STATE CATTLEMEN CO-OP GRACEVILLE, FL The Tri-State Cattlemen Co-Op is owned and operated by the Edwards family. Charles, John and Kyra Edwards. The auction has been operating for ten years.
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HEARTBEAT OF THE HEARTLAND
KELLY DURRANCE BY KYNDALL ROBERTSON
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When I think of the heartbeat of the Heartland, I see a man in work clothes, hat pulled down tight. A man whose day starts long before the sun comes up and ends well after the sun has mades its Western descent. A man who has worked hard for the things he has, he is surrounded by a family he has worked hard to build, the admiration his family has for him is clear when they look at him. He has a devoted faith and has spent many years teaching Sunday School beside his wife. He supports his community and they flourish under his compassion. When I think of the heartbeat of the Heartland I think of someone like Kelly Durrance.
Kelly is the 5th generation Durrance to run cattle on the same piece of land right here in the Heartland, the cattle industry runs deep in his veins and its clear when you see the passion he has for his industry. Kelly has taken a very diversified approach to the cattle industry. He operates D3 farms which is a preconditioning yard for yearlings, he runs cow calf pairs, he sells and trades cattle, and he also hauls cattle. With a diversified approach like this; if one of his operations is not doing so well, say cattle prices are down then you can make up for that loss with another operation like the hauling business. Kelly says the best recommendation he has for someone starting out in the cattle industry or wanting to improve their program is to get diversified and stay that way.
D3 Farms is Kelly’s preconditioning operation. He spends every Monday and Tuesday at the livestock sale buying yearlings to add to his herd. Once they make it to the feed yard in Zolfo he feeds them out and corrects any health issues a calf may have. Along with grass Kelly feeds byproducts from other industries to his calves, such as cottonseed hulls and distiller grains. Kelly also works with a company that gets leftover produce from grocery stores and brings it to the feedlot where it is then grind down and fed to the calves. Currently at D3 they are working to add on to the facility to make it run more like a feedlot would out west, which is where the cattle will eventually end up. After the calves are finished in Zolfo they are shipped to Georgia in livestock trailers that Kelly owns. In Georgia the cattle are fed on winter type grazing grasses. When finished in Georgia the cattle are sent to either Eastern Kentucky or the panhandle of Texas to feedlots to be finished for slaughter. Kelly maintains 90% of the cattle from the time he buys them at the Livestock sale until they are slaughtered and the beef is sold.
When Kelly is at the livestock market he is not only buying calves for D3 but also for D&S Cattle. D&S is an order buying business, they buy calves to resale to other people. When asked about when his career in the cattle industry started Kelly said “in 1977 my dad told me they needed some help at the barn, I went that day and I have been there ever since�.
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Kelly spends a couple days a week sorting cattle, preparing them for shipping and shipping at D&S.
As with any industry the cattle industry also has its difficulties. Kelly says one of the most difficult things he deals with regularly is the market. Right now we are in a good period in the market, but that is something that is always changing. A few years ago there was severe drought, that reduced corn production skyrocketing the price of cattle feeds, making it hard for producers to continue feeding out their livestock. Currently the United States is in a state of herd building, where producers are trying to build back up herds they had to get rid of years ago. As a result of herd building eventually there will have to be a dip in the market. Sometime market changes happen fast and are unpredictable and other times they seem evident, but either way the market is constantly changing and is a key factor in Kelly’s business. Kelly says one of his favorite things about what he does is that he is being challenged regularly. Watching cattle get healthy and grow as a direct result of his blood, sweat, and tears makes all the hardships along the way worth it. If that does not sound like the heartbeat of the Heartland I’m not sure what does.
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THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IFAS EXTENSION
South Florida Beef-Forage Program
BY ROBBI SUMNER
faculty representing Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee,
Okeechobee, and Polk counties, in addition to research faculty and extension specialists located at various research centers and departments at the University of Florida. The program utilizes a goal oriented multi-disciplinary approach to integrate people and technology to solve producer problems and improve profitability - not just transfer information - through an organized team effort. Researchers, veterinarians, producers, industry representatives, cattlemen’s associations, and others have joined to help bring positive change to the South Florida beef cattle industry. The South Florida Beef-Forage Program (SFBFP) got its start in 1981, with Extension representatives from the five-county area of Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Polk and Sarasota counties taking an integrated approach to beef cattle and pasture and forage programming. That first year, Program activities included a tour of Fertibull Farms (an Extension research project), a forage tour in Manatee County, and a multi-county field day held in Polk County. Field day topics included creep grazing, growth stimulant implanting, bull breeding soundness, and silage production, handling and storage. Today the SFBFP has grown to include UF/ IFAS extension
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Current Extension members include: Courtney Davis, Pat Hogue, Tycee Prevatt, Sonja Crawford, Lindsey Wiggins, James McWhorter, Christa Carlson-Kirby, Ashley Fluke, and Bridget Carlisle.
The team coordinates a variety of educational programs for ranchers. The very first Beef Cattle Reproductive Management School was initiated in 1984 because of specific problems in reproductive management that were identified by individual cattlemen and County Extension Advisory committees. The purpose of this now annual event has been to strengthen managerial capabilities of owners and operators of beef ranches by utilizing technical seminars and laboratories dealing with reproductive management of the cow herd.
June 2015
Other “schools” held have included Forage and Pasture Management; Land and Resource Management; Forage Demonstrations, Tours and Field Days; Water Quality Best Management Practices Seminars; Grazing Management; Wildlife Management; Performance Horse Short Course; and a Livestock Education for Law Enforcement Program.
In March, members of the Program held a Herd Health program in Okeechobee and in April had the Ona Field Day. As Courtney Davis explains, “We work closely with the UF/ IFAS Ona Research & Education Center with their events. We are treated like staff and do whatever is needed to contribute to the success of their programs.” In May there was a Pre-Harvest Silage Seminar covering the topics of silage management and safety, as well as why producers should consider using silage inoculants.
Feed, Animal Health, Tack, Fencing Supplies, Archery, Guns & Ammo, Hardware and more... Upcoming events include a Cattle AgriBusiness Workshop being held June 2nd at the Highlands County Extension Office in Sebring and the 8th Annual Youth Field Day at the Ona REC on June 25th. The goal of the Youth event is to excite students ages 8 to 18 about agriculture and science, reveal future opportunities in those areas, and foster a love of learning which promotes agriculture and good stewardship in future generations. For more information on the South Florida Beef Forage Program, visit their website http://sfbfp.ifas.ufl.edu/
June 2015
Tel: 863.675.4240 Fax: 863.675.4278 Brad Murray Manager
281 South Bridge Street Labelle, FL 33935
LabelleRanchSupply.com
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The purpose of the Florida CattleWomen’s Association is to foster the well-being of the beef industry through educational and promotional activities. Originally founded in 1961 as the Florida CowBelles, Inc., Florida CattleWomen, Inc. (FCW) works in cooperation with the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and the Florida Beef Council.
According to current FCW President Reyna Hallworth, “By joining the FCW, you become part of a professional networking group that is actively involved in issues that impact the state’s cattle industry, including promotion, education, and legislation. Members benefit from various leadership, training, and development opportunities.” The membership of FCW includes women of all ages who come from various backgrounds. One common thread among them is their love for, and dedication to, the beef industry.
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The group maintains a busy schedule, with the following activities on their 2015 calendar:
• Hired Jessica Roberts as Social Media Marketing Intern to coordinate contests and distribute information electronically, shifting many communication efforts to social media in order to reach the millennial generation
• Served 2,300 beef samples and spoke with 3,000 consumers about beef at the Florida State Fair • Continue to support the Beef Ambassador Program for youth development. Jeffrey Mitchell and Kaylee Stallard are the current Ambassadors. • Working with a public relations firm to accomplish a Beef for the Holidays campaign.
• Working with the University of Florida Center for Public Issues Education to survey the FCW membership and enhance the benefits of membership. • Working to achieve 5 cooking demonstrations during 2015: (2) at athletic events in Southwest Florida, (2) Confident Cooking themed demos in the Tampa area, and (1) demonstration that addresses the environmental impacts of producing beef, possibly in the Orlando area. • Provide fact sheets, recipes, and promotional items to county CattleWomen’s groups upon request. • Provide educational materials and programming to culinary schools and individual students. • Participate in Ag Literacy Day
• Participate in the Great American Teach-In
• Provide fact sheets, recipes, etc., to school health professionals and family/consumer teachers. • Support the Hope Children’s Home through the purchase of beef and Christmas gifts.
In addition to Reyna, the other officers serving FCW in 2015 include President Elect Beth Hunt; Treasurer Michelle Grimmer; Secretary Kim Cravey; Parliamentarian Rhonda Waters; Chaplain Debbie Gill; and Past Presidents Denise Colgan, Sarabeth Barthle-Simmons, and Melissa Montes DeOca. For more information on FCW, visit www.floridacattlemen.org/fcw June 2015
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FLORIDA CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION BY ROBBI SUMNER
Sweethearts
Since 1965, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association has annually crowned a “Sweetheart” – that is, a young lady between the ages of 17 and 23 who will favorably represent the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, the Florida Beef Council, and the Florida CattleWomen at all approved events and activities for the coming year. The FCA Sweetheart’s purpose is to promote and educate consumers about beef and the Florida beef industry.
Kim Strickland coordinates the Sweetheart contest, and shared that the first Sweetheart crowned 50 years ago was from St. Lucie County, Cyndi Padrick Watkins. The Florida Cattlemen’s Sweetheart Contest provides opportunities for County representatives to gain professional experience, industry knowledge, enhanced communication skills, and relationships that will last a lifetime. The contest offers scholarship opportunities as well. Judging of contestants is based on their knowledge of the Beef industry; communication skills; personality, poise, and appearance; as well as their overall impression. The Florida Cattlemen’s Association pays the FCA Sweetheart’s travel expenses for preapproved functions up to $1,500.00 during her year of service. Other prizes include: • • • •
$250 cash with the potential to earn an additional $1,500 in scholarship money The First Runner-Up will receive $150 cash with the potential to earn an additional $500 in scholarship money Miss Congeniality (Julia Parrish Spirit Award) will receive prizes and gifts All contestants receive gifts, per donations
Best wishes to all of this year’s contestants!
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CYNDI PADRICK WATKINS 1965
Cyndi Padrick Watkins was the first FCA Sweetheart (1965) from St. Lucie County
BAILEY LYONS DESOTO
As the DeSoto County Cattlemen’s Sweetheart, Bailey Lyons says she has been “blessed” to exercise her passion for beef in many ways. From conducting promotions in grocery stores to participating in Ag Literacy Days and Ag Venture tours, she has shared her knowledge and passion with many others. Bailey believes that most consumers choose to believe fictitious conceptions about the beef industry due to the fact that the only information they hear is fed to them by adversaries of our organization. Her goal is to inform consumers of the benefits of beef. Through doing so, she hopes to eradicate the misconceptions by “combating them with the facts”.
Agriculture greatly impacted Bailey’s life from an early age. She has a great passion for the beef industry which has grown from her involvement and leadership roles in organizations such as Junior Cattlemen’s, FFA, 4-H, and Young Farmers and Ranchers. With involvement in these organizations, she’s had the privilege of raising and showing cattle and other livestock on both local and state levels. Bailey says that her parents, Milton and Shawn Murphy, have always encouraged her in all that she does. They are both very knowledgeable about our industry and support her agriculture endeavors significantly.
June 2015
FLORIDA CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION
Sweethearts
ALLISON FARR
CHRISSY GRIMMER
ALEX LUCAS
Allison Farr is proud to represent Hardee County as their Cattlemen’s Sweetheart. She has lived in Hardee County all her life with parents Scott and Julie Farr. She has a younger sister, Darby, an older sister, Paige and a nephew, Aaden.
Representing Hillsborough County, Chrissy Grimmer lives in Plant City and has been involved with the cattle industry all of her life. A recent graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Agricultural Education & Communications, she is excited to be able to educate individuals of the importance that agriculture has on Florida’s economy. Chrissy is a past President of the Junior Florida Cattlemen’s Association and past 2nd Runner-Up FCA Sweetheart. Chrissy looks forward to the competition this June and is excited to be competing with a great group of girls!
Alex Lucas is the 2015 Lake County Cattlemen’s Association Sweetheart. Alex is a senior at the University of Florida, where she is studying Agricultural Education and Communication. Alex grew up in Umatilla, Florida where her family has a small commercial cattle operation. Alex has a special interest in the beef industry and hopes to positively impact the industry with her and the Florida Cattlemen’s beef story.
HARDEE
Graduating from Hardee Senior High with Summa Cum Laude honors, Allison was President of her FFA Chapter, secretary of the Senior class, a member of Lionette’s, National Honor Society, and the Alpha Zeta Pi STEM Club. She is also a member of the Junior Florida Cattlemen’s Association, Heart of Hardee 4-H Club, and attends New Hope Baptist Church with her family.
Allison raised and showed cattle the past seven years both at the local county fair and at prospect shows around the state. As a member of her FFA Livestock Judging team, she developed her judging skills, ranking both individually and as a team in the top 10 at the Preliminary and State Livestock judging events. Her future plans are to attend Florida State University’s Biological Sciences department, study abroad at some point and after finishing her bachelor’s degree, continue her education in the field of medicine.
June 2015
HILLSBOROUGH
LAKE
Alex is a member of the Florida CattleWomen’s Association, Gator Collegiate CattleWomen, and Block and Bridle. She has experience in communicating the Florida beef story by serving as the 2012 Florida Beef Ambassador. Alex has a true passion for the beef community and sharing its story and says she hopes to be able to serve and continue to get to know the Florida Cattlemen and CattleWomen as the 2015 State Sweetheart.
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FLORIDA CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION
Sweethearts
JENNIFER GREENE
PAYTON BYRD
BAILEY BUCHANON
Jennifer Greene is 19 years old and proudly represents Manatee County as the Cattlemen’s Sweetheart. She attends State College of Florida in her hometown of Bradenton pursuing her associate’s degree. After completion she plans on transferring to the University of Florida to major in agriculture communications and political science. While furthering her education she will continue her employment at Publix where she has been working for five years.
Payton Byrd is a 17 year-old graduate of Okeechobee High School, and represents the Okeechobee County’s Cattlemen’s Association. Being passionate about agriculture, Payton has been involved in various activities, such as raising her own small herd of show cattle, working cows with her family, participating in events associated with FFA, 4-H and other educational Ag programs.
The 2015 Polk County Cattlemen’s Sweetheart is Bailey Buchanon. Bailey has been involved in the cattle industry her entire life. Graduating with honors in May 2015 from Lake Gibson High School, she served as Vice-President of their FFA chapter, and Secretary for the Polk FFA Federation. Bailey shows beef cattle and has been exhibiting cattle since she was 8 years-old winning multiple prized “purple ribbons” and trophies along the journey. None have meant more to her than the Reserve Grand Champion Open Steer trophy she received in the 2014 Polk County Youth Fair. Bailey has established a herd of her own cattle that she breeds each year and continues to show the offspring.
MANATEE
Jennifer is a 2014 American FFA degree recipient. This is awarded to members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the FFA. In high school Jennifer became Agritechnolgy certified. She spent seven years in the FFA competing in CDE’s, being an officer including President of her chapter, showing cattle through Junior Florida Cattlemen’s Association. In JFCA she competed in quiz bowl and team marketing. In her free time she traveled around the state of Florida showing her horses.
With her love of public speaking, Jennifer uses her passion to be an advocate for agriculture and the beef industry. Her goal is to inspire others to follow their dreams and to educate others about our industry in hopes of creating a better tomorrow for our consumers and producers.
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OKEECHOBEE
Growing up in Florida’s agricultural industry, specifically the beef industry, Payton has learned to appreciate the hard work and dedication of many cattlemen and women. Throughout her childhood she sought out ways to explore opportunities in agriculture and has made the decision to major in Agricultural Communications at the University of Florida. “I feel that I will be able to make connections and network with people of all kinds, while maintaining a strong relation to the cattlemen and women in Florida. Communication skills acquired through my education and my journey as a Cattlemen’s Sweetheart, will allow me to represent the beef industry to the public in the most positive light. Through my studies I can only hope to gain more respect for the industry that raised me,” she says. Payton is excited to compete and mingle with everyone at FCA’s Convention.
POLK
Bailey raises cattle, works cows, gets out on the tractor, and helps with the hay baling on her family’s cattle operation. She has helped with her fair share of fence repairs, spraying soda apples, and even putting out hay and is as comfortable working in the cow pens as she is in the show ring. Bailey plans on attending college to obtain a degree in agriculture education and communication, with hopes to one day work within the cattle industry.
June 2015
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RODEO FEATURE
MANATEE CATTLEMEN HOLD ANNUAL RANCH RODEO
ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHY GREGG It’s that time of year again, and here comes the Manatee County Cattlemen’s annual ranch rodeo at the Palmetto Fairgrounds! This year it was held on April 18th, and it was HOT enough to wear bathing suits (unlike last year when we were all scrambling to put on our jackets!). But the cowboys and cowgirls were all in dress code, while the judges wore hot pink shirts – and they were Jason McKendree and Steve John.
It has become tradition for their Cattlemen’s Sweetheart to lead the Grand Entry, and this year that was the lovely Jennifer Greene, carrying Old Glory as she circled the arena and the thirteen teams of four cowboys and one cowgirl. This Sweetheart also got out there in the thick of the action, helping settle the cattle between teams and between events. The first event was the team sorting. In addition to being herd animals, the cattle don’t know how to count, so crossing that line in proper numerical order is not something easily done! Only five teams completed the event, with the quickest time being recorded by the Fly By Night Ranch team in 41.00 seconds, with the sorting being done by teammate Justin Peebles. Next came Bar W Ranch in 47.80 seconds (under the
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lead of LeeAnn White), then Raney Cattle in 52.93 seconds (being done by Kenny Raney), Parks Cattle in 59.53 seconds (with Joel Beverly showing off his sorting skills), and Arrow G/Bar Diamond in 1:12 (while Kyle Miller usually does this event, this time it was Joe Choban).
Team doctoring was up next – this is the event where the heading and heeling talents of the cowboys (and cowgirls) are displayed. And this event proved even more difficult for
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the teams – only two times were recorded. Fly By Night did it again, with Chance Wright, Brandon Dieter, Justin Feagle, and Justin and Kelly Peebles completing it in an astounding 14.29 seconds, under the roping skills of Justin Peebles and Chance Wright. The Sum Timers team were the others to complete the event, in 26.21 seconds (but they also incurred a 5-second penalty for only roping one hind leg). The whole family usually comes along to the ranch rodeos, so they held two events for the youngsters – the boot scramble, and this year they added the calf scramble. All the kids had a lot of fun, and Brian Jones was the one who received all the smiles when he handed the winners cash!
The third event was the calf branding. This is the event where the cowgirls hope that their team ropes the calf near to the branding circle, but it’s catch-as-catch-can out there! And the Raney Cattle team of Kenny Raney, Cole Corson, Jeremy Hester, and Clint and Jessica Lightsey had the cleanest run of 41.0 seconds. Nice footwork for a mother of five (or is it six, I’ve lost count!). But I have to mention Kyle Miller of the Arrow G/Bar Diamond team – one of the oldest guys out there, and he tackled that calf, flew over it, and landed on his back underneath its rearend, holding on tight all the time! And leave it to Jimmy Carter, who was the announcer, to bring up the fact that there was a risk of the calf deciding to do its business while Kyle was in that precarious position!
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The wild double muggin’ was up next – with teams running out of time, steers crossing back over the line before being roped or coming untied, it was pandemonium at times. But the Trinity Ranch/Syfrett Feed team of CJ Carter, Dalton Boney, Ty Bennett, Jed Grey, and Amanda Scarborough (stepping in for regular Frankie Syfrett) won with a time of 1:04 (plus a 5-second penalty for one extra steer crossing the line). Close on their heels was the Stockyard Feed and Western Wear team with a time of 1:12. If there was a most entertaining award, it would have gone to the Fly By Night Ranch – with Brandon Dieter, Justin Peebles and Justin Feagle chasing the steer, getting all tangled up in the rope and falling over each other, then Dieter getting smooshed under the steer, then Feagle leaping over it – thanks for the great photos, guys! The final event is always the woods-tying. I don’t know why this is the only ranch rodeo that uses this event, because it sure is fun to watch! And it was Raney Cattle again who took the win, in 34.0 seconds, but Fly By Night was close behind in 36.0 seconds. With two wins each, Fly By Night Ranch took first place (being the only team receiving a time in EVERY event), and Raney Cattle second place. That left third place to the Arrow G/Bar Diamond team of Kyle and Kerwin Miller, Yaker Broche, Joe Choban and Katy Thomas. And that means we’ll see Fly By Night Ranch at the Finals in Kissimmee. (See accompanying article for some special awards at this ranch rodeo.)
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THE WALTER MANN SPECIAL AWARDS ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHY GREGG
Every year there is a special buckle given at the Manatee County Cattlemen’s Ranch Rodeo – the Walter Mann Top Hand Award. This is an award that is given by Walter’s widow, Mrs. Faye Mann of Myakka City, to honor Walter, and his love of the sport of rodeo.
Faye does all the judging (with the help of a friend or two). And believe me, that is no easy job, trying to see what every competitor is doing in each event, with backtags getting torn off, horses in the way, and sometimes just sheer bedlam taking place out in the arena! The ability to cut a cow out of the herd, and then rope it, are two of the major components that go into winning this buckle. This is a perfect remembrance of Walter, as cutting was something he excelled at.
This year the winner was Kenny Raney, of the Raney Cattle team. He joins the ranks of other deserving winners – Donnie Crawford in 2014, Peck Harris in 2013,
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Brandon Dieter in 2012 (who was a member of this year’s winning team of Fly By Night Ranch), and Charles W. “Trae” Adams III in 2011. Kenny was edged out last year for the title when Donnie Crawford exceeded him in the herd work, so this was a well-deserved award for him.
And this year there was an additional award with the name “Walter Mann” attached to it. At its annual convention this month, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association is naming Honorary Cowmen/CowWomen from nominations submitted by the various county associations. Good friends Jason McKendree, Cliff Coddington and Steve John nominated Walter Mann. While many of those being honored will first be revealed at the awards ceremony, McKendree cajoled the information out of them about Walter winning, so that it could be announced by fellow Manatee County Cattlemen. June 2015
After the sorting event, they called Faye into the arena, where she was joined by Steve John, Sweetheart Jennifer Greene, and fellow cattleman Richard Kersey (who is receiving the title of Honorary Director for his long-time service to the Cattlemen’s Association). McKendree’s voice even cracked at one time as he read the announcement. Faye is a member of the Board of Directors of their Cattlemen’s Association, and there were times when she was infuriated with McKendree and the others because they had to keep her in the dark, and she thought she was being ignored on valid association business!
A little bit about this man – Walter was born in Bradley Junction, Florida. Work on the Kiebler and Singletary Ranches in Manatee County caused the family to move there. At the age of 15, Walter struck out on his own, and still managed to graduate high school in 1955 while supporting himself. While working at the Livestock Market in Sarasota, he began breaking horses, and rodeoing, competing in steer wrestling, bareback riding and bullriding.
He married Faye in 1970, and they established a training facility on land they had purchased in Sarasota. Walter schooled Faye to the 1974 Ladies Gold Coast Cutting Champion win. And he trained Faye’s two sons, Ernie and Grant, with wins in cutting, reining, and western pleasure, even qualifying one for the World Cutting event. In 1972, he purchased and trained the young stallion “Ima Eternal Dell”, where, after only 45 days of showing, he won the title of Florida State Champion Stallion, and qualified for the First World Championship Show in Kentucky. Walter was a Charter Director of the Gold Coast Cutting Horse Association, and served as a Director in the Florida Quarter Horse Association, the Sarasota County Farm Bureau, and the Manatee County Cattlemen’s Association. He was awarded the Sportsmanship Awards from both the Florida Cutting Horse Association and the Gold Coast Cutting Horse Association. Rapid development of Sarasota County led to the Mann’s moving to Myakka City, where they decided to get into the cattle business, as well as Fanci Foliage, Inc. Walter would also work at various “local” ranches, including Schroeder Manatee (where he became friends with McKendree and Coddington), Albritton Ranch, Mabry Carlton’s Ranch, Ryals Cattle, Bob Paul’s Ranch, Hudson Ranch, and Durrance Ranch, where he met and became a lifelong friend of Glenn Harris. (The 2013 winner of the Top Hand buckle, Peck Harris, is Glenn’s son.)
According to Faye, “Walter loved the cattle industry and all the friends he made along the way. He most enjoyed the way of life it provided his family.” And this is carried on by her today.
His skill training horses lead to his next step in life – running Oscar Babcock’s Chain Link Ranch training facility in Sarasota. While there, Walter qualified “Artep”, an Arabian stallion, for the Arabian National Cutting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The next year it was an Appaloosa stallion that he qualified for the National Cutting Finals. And then several years saw Walter and the stallion “Poco Pine Cody” competing in cutting events all over the Eastern United States.
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SUPPORT the NCBA PAC at the Convention Live Auction Wednesday evening June 17, 2015 Items to sell Include:
2016 TEXAS SPRING GOBBLER HUNT At the Gun Hill Ranch in Uvalde, Texas (owned by the Mazak Family)
Premier Rio Grande Turkey Hunt on a Beautiful 10,000 Acre+ West Texas Ranch. Retail value $5,000.00, 4 Day-3 night Hunt,1 or 2 Hunters 2 Gobblers each hunter, Buyer will be responsible for Travel to the ranch, License Fee, mounting and shipping. Located approximately 110 miles from the San Antonio Airport Meals & Lodging will be provided Hunt must be taken during the 2016 spring turkey season Book by December 1, 2015 Contact: Reba Mazak (352) 568-5382 or rebaym@mpinet.net **Hunt dates based on availability
FALL 2016 COLORADO ELK HUNT Track ‘Em Outfitters-Howard, CO
Five day/ Four night Rifle Elk Hunt valued at $4000 in the 2nd Season-October 22-30 OR 3rd Season-November 5-13, of 2016 Accommodations at picturesque, hand-hewn cabin, All meals provided by Outfitter. Transportation responsibility of hunter. Hunt area located in Howard, Colorado, 135 miles SW of Denver on Highway 285. Can also fly into Colorado Springs, then enjoy a scenic drive to 90 miles southwest of Colorado Springs. Hunter must already have Hunter Safety Card. Elk License available for purchase over-the-counter at any distributor such as Wal-Mart or a sporting goods store. For general information, visit Colorado Parks and Wildlife website at cpw.state.co.us
Track 'Em Outfitters 2005 County Road 4 For more Info Check out http://trackemoutfitters.weebly.com Howard, CO 81233 719-942-3207
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Find Us on
Heartland Growers Supply Come in and look at our Cajun Fryers, Yeti Coolers & Tumblers and the Big Green Egg.
541 S 6th Ave, Wauchula, FL 33873
863.773.5888
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Cutting Edge Ministries Receives Grant From The Mosaic Company
C
utting Edge Ministries, a hunger relief ministry of Hardee County, unveiled their new refrigerator food truck they received through a grant from The Mosaic Company. The 24 foot refrigerated truck will increase food distributions and help provide fresh produce and nutritious food for families in need around Hardee County.
Cutting Edge Ministries 3059 Elm Street Zolfo Springs, FL 33901
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“We are grateful that Mosaic is dedicated to supporting hunger relief efforts, enabling us to distribute more food to the families that are in need.” said Pastor Wendell Smith, Director of Cutting Edge Ministries. The truck was dedicated on Tuesday at a Cutting Edge food packing event in conjunction with Agape Food Bank for more than 200 families. The ministry plans to put the truck to good use by distributing to an average of 800 families per month. Cutting Edge also performs health screenings when available and distributes personal care products to families. They continue to distribute more fresh produce through a partnership with the Florida Association of Food Banks and Agape Food Bank to transport fresh fruits and vegetables. “We are pleased to align funding with organizations that provide food to those who need it most,” said David Huth, South Pasture Mine Manager with Mosaic. “We applaud Cutting Edge and their local partners for supporting hunger relief and making sure families have access to food in our community.”
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Hardee County Cattlemen’s Association 7th Annual Ranch Rodeo* Friday, July 17th and Saturday, July 18th 7:00 PM Hardee County Cattlemen’s Arena Double Mugging, Team Branding, Team Sorting, Bronc Riding, Trailer Loading, Mutton Busting
All events both nights—Come watch all the fun! Payout: 1st Place $1,000 2nd Place $500 3rd Place $250 Buckles for All Around Team Winner and Mutton Busting Winner
Admission:
Adults $10 Seniors 65+ $5 Children 10 and under FREE
Concession and vendors available on grounds Mutton Busting—Age 6 and under (limited space) *A Florida Cattlemen’s Association Ranch Rodeo Qualifying Event
Note: No alcohol permitted on premises
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“WHAT’LL WE DO MISTER FAVOR?” “HEAD EM UP…..MOVE EM OUT” BY BRADY VOGT
It was a cold January night in Ohio. The family sat or lay in front of the black and white television. Its ears were adjusted perfectly. The youngest son was sent to turn the channel changing knob to CBS. There were two other choices, called stations. It was eight o’clock on the button. We watched and were pleased, everyone, that Friday night would become as entertaining as Saturday night, when The Lawrence Welk Show was followed by Gunsmoke. Great horned steers filled the screen; they looked to be stubborn and stupid. A powerful singing voice accompanied the panorama as the herd wound away in the distance, cowboys raced their ponies to circle and goad the runaways, and a tall, lean man stood up in his stirrups and looked things over. Across the television screen a word blazed in front of the cattle. It looked as if it were branded.
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Rawhide was a fine television series, a western. It ran from 1959 to 1966 to a total of 217 episodes. The theme song was sung by Frankie Laine and pretty much summed up a drover’s life… “ride em in…cut em out… ride em in…cut em out”. It is perhaps one of the very best of the theme songs to a western, right there with Tex Ritter’s “Do Not Forsake Me O My Darling” and “Have Gun Will Travel”.
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The vast gathering of cattle for market began in San Antonio, Texas where perhaps twenty or thirty ranchers brought their small herds to be joined to the others until some 3,000 ornery beeves were assembled for the long trail to Sedalia, Missouri, where the railroad began, or ended. The herd was pushed and prodded along by perhaps twenty cowboys who were paid a dollar a day and allowed to eat all the food they could swallow. They were dependant upon the remuda, the string of horses and ponies that were essential to doing the job and from which the cowboys could select their mounts. Along the trail they, the men and the cattle and the horses, encountered such events as could be imagined across Texas in 1866. Interestingly, many episodes were titled as “Incident…” such as “Incident Near The Promised Land” and “Incident With An Executioner”. Rawhide was considered to be the best written and directed western on television. Realize that 217 hour long episodes over a period of seven years calls for 217 short stories to be started, filled out, and concluded to the satisfaction of the audience.
Rawhide was the fifth longest running western series on television, Marshal Matt Dillon lasted twenty years. Each week a new challenge, whether from the weather or the land or the people encountered in the desert, across the plain, and in the small frontier towns generally along “The Sedalia Trail”. It was just after the Civil War was ended. The men had histories and nightmares. They rode in the dust for twelve hours a day and slept like corpses under the stars. They gathered in the evenings to sit about the campfire and drink hard coffee. They were subject to wildfires and blizzards, floods and droughts, and that thing that sent the herd into panic, one thousand pound beasts with six foot across sharp curved horns, charging, scattering to the four winds like runaway horses, lightning and thunder. Stampede. They encountered too, the feckless and the
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eccentric, the malicious and the oblivious, the good and the bad in people who would be passing through or would be pioneering on a land that looks it would be hard to give away.
Eric Fleming portrayed the role of Gil Favor, Trail Boss. His character and the idea for the series were adapted from the diary of George C. Duffield who had made the drive in 1866. Duffield started out with about one thousand steers and got two hundred to Sedalia. The men without exception called him Mister Favor. He was handsome, and well spoken. He had been a captain in The Confederacy. Mister Favor ran the herd as a master mariner runs his ship and crew. He was brave and fair. The herd was worth $60,000.00, a lot of ranchers’ futures riding along with it. He was responsible for men and ponies and cattle. The stories, the incidents, generally included Mister Favor; indeed he was the point on which the whole revolved, not only for the story line, but because of the consistently wise decision making and guts of “The Boss”.
Handsome, athletic, young Clint Eastwood was cast as Rowdy Yates, “Ramrod” who carried Mister Favor’s orders to the men and generally was as dusty and exhausted as his fellow riders. It is a compliment to his work ethic that he appeared in 216 episodes, continuing with a new trail boss after Eric Fleming left the program in 1966. He died shortly after at age forty-one, drowned in a river in South America. Clint Eastwood was not out of the saddle long after the series ended. He went to Italy to film “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and so a film legend arrived, as authentic to “The Western” as “The Duke”.
The others of the regular bunch included Paul Brinegar as “Wishbone” the irascible cook, his assistant “Mushie” played by James Murdock, and Sheb Wooley, a country Heartland InTheField Magazine
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singer and who played Frank Miller’s brother in “High Noon”. There are about one hundred fifty recognizable actors and actresses who appeared as guests on Rawhide. The list includes Charles Bronson (The White Buffalo), James Coburn (Pat Garret and Billy the Kid), and Rory Calhoun who always played a good guy in a hundred or so “Westerns”.
Rawhide was my most favorite show. It was accompanied on a darker shade by “The Untouchables” (on Thursdays). The trail to Sedalia was wrought with drama and the forces of an inhospitable land. It was a dependable story every time of assorted eccentrics and gunslingers, robbers and rustlers, and ladies down on their luck. Every Friday, in spite of opposition, Mister Favor figured it out.
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Warner University Receives
$1 Million Gift
Warner University has officially named the new agriculture building on their campus, The Ed and Myrtle Lou Swindle Agriculture Complex, after a $1 million donation was made to the private college.
Plant City natives, the Swindles are involved in agriculture including timber, strawberries and other produce, as well as the previous owners of the ESI Group, Inc. of Tampa, an industrial insulating company. The couple had originally given a half a million on February 20 at Warner’s Ag Complex groundbreaking, upon hearing about an anonymous $500,000 match challenge. On Saturday, May 16, the couple decided to double their initial gift to a total of $1 million.
In the Fall of 2013, Warner accepted its first Ag students to the campus. Currently, there are approximately 38 students in the Ag program, with six graduating this Spring of 2015. A student in the Ag program at Warner graduates with over 500 hours of hands-on experience.
The private, Christian college was founded in 1968 by the Church of God as Warner Southern College and became Warner University in 2008. There are 1,100 students enrolled and the school offers associate, bachelor, master’s degrees as well as online programs.
“The entire Warner University community is delighted to have our new Ag Complex associated with such a well-respected, Christian family,” said Leigh Ann Wynn, Asst. VP for Advancement at Warner. “This family epitomizes what our institution stands for.”
Warner University began their Agriculture Studies degree program in 2012 through the direction of the Ag industry task force that included Hill Griffin of Ben Hill Griffin, Inc, Tony DiMare of DiMare Fresh, Steve Maxwell of Highlands Corporation and Keith Mixon of Dole. With the recommendation of Commissioner Putnam to move forward, Warner created a diversified Agricultural Studies degree. June 2015
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Florida Farm Bureau Federation
Donates Towards Warner Agriculture Complex The Florida Farm Bureau Federation and its Board of Directors have voted to donate $25,000 towards Warner University’s new Agriculture Complex. This donation helps toward the funds needed for the $2.8 million complex, which will begin construction on the Lake Wales campus this September. The $25,000 sponsorship from the Florida Farm Bureau Federation will be designated to the Open Equipment Storage where the organization’s name will be displayed and places them at the “Innovator” giving level. This state of the art complex should be complete in the Fall of 2016.
Kaylee Norris
“Once I heard of the new Agriculture Studies program at Warner University, I knew that was where I belonged. This program allows students to develop their knowledge of agriculture and their relationship with Jesus Christ while helping them find out who they really are and what they want to be. This program is unlike any other program in the state of Florida. Our practicum opportunities provide students with hands on, practical experience which makes them not only more marketable, but more knowledgeable in their desired field. During our Ag classes, such as plant nutrition and animal production, we have the opportunity to complete soil testing labs, visit local ranches and study all aspects of Florida’s diverse agriculture industry.”
“The fact that our degree is a hands-on, production based degree is one of the main reasons I chose this program and Warner University over other schools. Being one of the first students enrolled in the agriculture studies program, I have had the opportunity to see how far the program has come in just its three years of existence. The community support we have received has been breathtaking and I know this program is only going to continue to grow. . I am certain that the agriculture program at Warner University is going to thrive and produce the new leaders of our country. A program like this is one of kind and I am glad to be a part of it. I am certain that upon graduation, myself as well as other students, will be highly qualified and ready to step into the agriculture industry.”
Tabitha Rowell
“When I heard about the new program there was no question in my mind, that Warner, was where I wanted to attend school. While in the agricultural program at Warner University, I have been able to see the program start from nothing, and mold into something fantastic. While in the Agricultural program, I have gotten to participate in traveling to Louisville, Kentucky to receive my American FFA degree, help recruit new potential students and participate in the ground breaking for the new agricultural complex.”
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“While in the agriculture program, students get exposed to every aspect of the agricultural field, and get actual work experience in the field by completing a practicum. I feel that this program better prepares students, so when they graduate, not only will they have the knowledge that they gain in the classroom, but I will have hands on experience, and real world knowledge of the agricultural field. Attending this college has not only exposed me to an abundance of opportunities in the agricultural industry, but has allowed me to interact with successful agricultural professionals. I truly feel that this is where God wants me to be, and I am truly blessed to have this opportunity.”
Caitlin Ryan
“If you ask anyone that goes to Warner University, everyone would agree it’s a one of a kind school. What makes Warner so special is the location and surroundings, the diverse group of student body we have, and its kind Christian nature. When looking for colleges, I had in mind a relatively small school, somewhere where I could play tennis, and a place I could major in agriculture. Around Florida your only options for Agricultural Studies are UF or FAMU. Not only was I keeping those requirements in mind, I also did not want to be far from home. Now I am in my second year of college here at Warner University.” “It took a year for it to dawn on me how awesome this agriculture program really is. At first I didn’t understand why everyone was making such a big deal about it. Then I realized we were making history. Polk County’s economy is heavily supported by agriculture, and we have several huge ranches and farms in the area. There is a need for students like us to not only help the Agricultural sector, but to feed the next generation.”
Danielle Sprague
Graduated Spring 2015 “My learning in the classroom has certainly given me a firm foundation of the knowledge I need in the field. Through my internships, I have been able to take that foundation and expand upon it. Attending a faith based institution such as Warner University has molded me into a stronger more spiritual individual.” “I can now say, thanks to Warner University, that I have a firm foundation of faith, knowledge, and experiences within the agricultural industry to obtain a career in the industry. I have more than enjoyed my experience in the Agricultural Studies program and have a vibrant and warm feeling in my soul as I embark on the new journey that lies before me.”
Warner University Agriculture Studies Program is looking for new students that are interested in a diversified agriculture degree. The Bachelors of Arts in Agriculture Studies provides over 500 hours of hands-on learning within the agriculture industry. Feel free to contact Scarlett Jackson, Director of Agriculture Development, at scarlett.jackson@warner.edu for more information or apply online for the Fall semester. June 2015
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TRAVEL FEATURE
GIRLS GETAWAY TO ALASKA By The Getaway Girl® Casey Wohl Hartt
by Amy, the lodge manager. With a bubbly personality and an excitement about the day, we couldn’t help but like her immediately. After some coffee and muffins in the lodge and a brief overview of the area and plans for the day, we boarded a pontoon boat with Amy and went in search of bears through the chain of Big River Lakes.
I have always wanted to go to Alaska, and when my friend Diana said that’s where she wanted to go for her 50th birthday, we booked our flights immediately. We arrived in Anchorage ready to see as much of The Last Frontier as we could fit in one week. On our first morning, we were picked up at our hotel, the Inlet Tower Hotel and Suites, by Rust’s Flying Service (www.flyrusts.com) who took us to our float plane. From there, we departed for Redoubt Bay Lodge, which is located 70 miles southwest of Anchorage. Redoubt Bay is home to one of the most concentrated and viewable bear populations in Alaska. Our float plane pilot, Curtis, set the mood for a great day by pointing out interesting sites during the flight. We even caught a glimpse of a Beluga Whale while over Cook Bay. We arrived at Redoubt and were greeted
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There were several fishing boats on the water and in action as this area is home to sockeye and coho salmon. While we were watching the salmon getting ready to make a run up the river (it was absolutely amazing and looked like a shark feeding frenzy), Amy spotted a black bear walking along the waters edge right next to us. It was incredible to see this bear in its natural environment in search of food (as long as we weren’t it). After seeing two more black bears, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. Redoubt has two chefs on staff and they did not disappoint with a beautiful lunch anchored by a delicious salmon burger.
Dinner that night was at Ginger Restaurant (www. GingerAlaska.com). Our favorite dish was the Baked Sea Scallops “Mac & Cheese,” which is seared, and the ovenfinished jumbo Alaskan scallops served over penne pasta with three-cheese cream sauce drizzled with truffle oil. Amazing! After dinner we went to the hotel’s Mixx Grill Bar (think Cheers but in Alaska) where we met locals and visitors and made new friends. If you are ever there, be sure to ask for Happy Harold.
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Bake Restaurant (www.DenaliParkSalmonBake.com) where Dani greeted us with pink heart-shaped sunglasses....we loved her right away! We feasted on elk sliders (my fave), halibut tacos and a yak-a-dilla (yes, yak meat). It was all great and my apricot beer was the perfect pairing!
And if all of these adventures were not enough, we woke up early the next morning for some fun on the water.....the white water of Nenana River. We checked in for Denali Raft Adventure (www.DenaliRaft.com) Canyon Run at 7:30 AM. With barely enough coffee in me, we were stuffed into dry suits and outfitted with rubber gloves and hats for the 11mile trip to Healy. After “worst case scenario� instructions from Peacock, we boarded our inflatable raft and braved the rapids. How bad was it? We got soaked! In fact, it was so rough I got water up my nose during one rapid. But it was a complete blast and we enjoyed making new friends with guides Peacock and Bacon, as well as our raftmates Dony, Ehli, Mark and Janice! What a great group!! After white water rafting, we went back to the railroad station and boarded the train back to Anchorage. The next morning we took the hotel shuttle to the railroad station and boarded the Alaska Railroad for Denali. The eight-hour train ride provides a fantastic view of the Alaskan countryside. Once we arrived at Denali, we were shuttled to our new home for the next two nights, the McKinley Chalet Resort (www.DenaliParkResorts.com). Located just across the street from shopping, stores and activities, the resort had everything you could want, including the Nenana View Grill & Bar that features a gorgeous view of the Nenana River (and a great place to enjoy a bottle of wine and a reindeer sausage, artichoke & mushroom pizza like we did).
The next morning we picked up our rental car at Avis and drove to Alyeska Resort (www.AlyeskaResort.com) in Girdwood. We checked in to the beautiful resort and met Molly at the Ascending Path yurt for departure on the Glacier Hike. The Spencer Glacier is located just south of Portage Valley and the Turnagain Arm in the Kenai Mountains and the Chugach
The next morning was an early one as we boarded the bus for the Tundra Wilderness Tour at 6:20 AM en route to Denali. Our guide for the day, Lisa Frederic, has been in Alaska for 30 years and is an active dog musher who has participated in the Iditarod Dog Sled competition. During the day, she shared so much fascinating information about Denali, Mt McKinley and Alaska....what an amazing tour guide! The 7.5 hour bus ride explored just a portion of the 6 million acre state park (bigger than the state of Massachusetts). We had a very lucky day as we saw about 10 Grizzley bears, Dall Sheep, falcons and the tallest point in North America....Mt McKinley that provided an incredible view the day we visited. After the bus ride, we went on an evening ATV ride with Denali ATV Adventures (www.DenaliATV.com) into an old coal mining area near the park border where we got an aerial view of Lake Otto and the town of Healy. After we worked up an appetite, we made our way to the famous Denali Salmon
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National Forest. It is entirely off the road system, so we rode a train from Girdwood to the Spencer Whistle Stop. From the Spencer Whistle Stop, our group of three, hiked to an overlook to enjoy outstanding views of the glacier and icebergs floating in the Spencer terminal lake. The total distance from the train to the edge of the glacier is more than three miles of flat Forest Service maintained trails. The last half mile is rugged moraine (think huge black dirt piles) walking. The five hours of hiking included tons of photos and stops to learn about interesting local wildlife, history and glaciology. At the glacier’s edge we geared up with helmets and crampons, ate lunch on a the glacier itself and then traveled out onto the glacier ice to explore the amazing ice features (blue ice, crevasses, ice caves, moulins, etc) with Molly as our guide. Words cannot describe how incredible this experience was...a “must do” in Alaska!
The next morning we checked out of the Alyeska Resort and continued driving south to Seward for the Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise (www.kenaifjords.com). We opted for the four-hour Resurrection Bay Cruise that included a lunch stop at Fox Island for a salmon and prime rib lunch. During the boat ride, we saw otters, sea lions (my favorite), horned puffins, bald eagles and tons of birds. As the boat arrived back at the dock, we saw fishermen unloading their daily fishing catch of silver salmon into wheelbarrows. We checked into the Seward Windsong Lodge (www.sewardwindsong.com), a charming lodge with several out buildings scattered around the property. It’s award-winning Resurrection Roadhouse Restaurant and the Goliath Bar & Grill was the perfect dining choice as they offered an ample list of local beer and had a great wine and cocktail selection....very important after a tough day of sightseeing :).
Our last morning in Alaska was spent with the Seavey family at their Ididaride Sled Dog Tour (www.ididaride.com). Mitch Seavey, 2004 Iditarod Champion, and his family have about 200 working sled dogs. The intrigue of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (www.iditarod.com), also known as Alaska’s Super Bowl, came alive as we met competitors and heard their stories. The Iditarod race covers over 1,150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer with jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. After a brief introduction to the family and business, we walked back to where the dog are kept. I was expecting covered kennels, and was shocked to find tons of dogs each equipped with their own, private kennel. As the staff started hooking up the sled, the dogs became more and more excited, almost saying “pick me; I want to go.” It was incredible to see
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how powerful, excited and smart these dogs are. Since we were there in the summer, we rode in a wheeled cart that they use to train the dogs with when there’s no snow on the ground. We rode behind 16 dogs for two miles mushing through the Alaskan wilderness to the base of Resurrection Mountain and along Box Canyon Creek. After our ride, we toured the kennel facilities, saw what the mushers wear during the Iditarod race, and met future sled dogs that were only a few months old. This tour was chosen as one of Alaska’s Top Twenty Attractions, and is certainly one I will never forget.
We had an unbelievable trip to The Last Frontier. Visiting Alaska should certainly be on everyone’s bucket list. This vast land is a reminder of just how magnificent nature really is. Thank you to the State of Alaska Tourism and Thompson & Co. for setting up this amazing and unforgettable Girls Getaway to Alaska!
Author Casey Wohl Hartt is known as The Getaway Girl, author of the Girls Getaway Guide travel books series and travel correspondent for many local and national TV shows. She resides in Sebring and owns Gray Dog Communications, a marketing and public relations firm serving clients in agriculture, real estate, tourism, government and non profit sectors. For more information, visit www.GirlsGetawayGuide. net. June 2015
Happenings
DE SOTO NATIONAL MEMORIAL RANGER LED KAYAK TOURS.
equipment rentals are free. RSVP is mandatory for space is limited please call 941-792-0458. All children between the ages of 8-16 must be accompanied by an adult. Due to life jacket restrictions children less than 50 lbs. are not allowed on tours. Free paddle is only allowed under supervision of a park ranger, all participants must stay with the tour. All gear will be checked and a safety briefing will be held before the tour begins. For experienced paddlers ask about our monthly advanced tour, attendance of one regular tour is mandatory for participation in advanced tours. All events and activities are free at De Soto National Memorial. Event hours are 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. All activities are subject to change due to weather. To RSVP call 941-792-0458.
O
941-792-0458
IN THE HEARTLAND
n Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from May through November, De Soto National Memorial offers free ranger led kayak tours. Explore the waters that Native American Indians and Spanish Conquistadors traveled hundreds of years ago. First time or experienced —For all skill levels, our trained rangers will ensure your first time will be safe and enjoyable. For kayakers with more experience, our tour will offer a different way for you to view the natural resources and vibrant history of the Manatee River.
DeSoto National Memorial is located at 8300 De Soto Memorial Hwy, Bradenton 34209. On I-75 take exit 220 SR-64 Manatee Ave. Go west to 75th street. Travel north, the park is located at the terminus of 75th street. De Soto National Memorial is open seven days a week. The Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. park grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. For more information go to: www.nps.gov/deso, or visit our Facebook page at De Soto National Memorial.
No Equipment, No Problem —We supply Kayak, paddles, personal flotation devices, and other safety equipment. This is an excellent way to try out a new hobby before spending all the money. A unique look at Florida’s coastal resources — Paddle through time as you explore the coastal estuaries. Learn how native peoples and European settlers used the water ways for transportation and food. Learn about several of Florida’s unique coastal ecosystems. Find out how you can help preserve and protect these fragile ecosystems for future generations Tour Information — Kayak tours will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sundays from May through November at 9:30 a.m. The kayak tours and all
Submit your photos and events for Heartland Happenings to rhonda@heartlanditf.com June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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“TRIPLE CROWN” SELECTED AS OFFICIAL PRINT FOR THE 49TH ANNUAL ART FESTIVAL
T
he Highlands Art League (HAL) is pleased to announce that the official Festival print for the 49th Annual Highlands Fine Arts & Crafts Festival has been selected. The Festival Committee chose ‘Triple Crown’ by coastal artist and Sebring native, Kelly Reark, who was HAL’s Yellow House Gallery & Gift Shop Artist of the Month for April. “Kelly’s painting ‘Triple Crown’ is a great representation of Florida’s outdoor wildlife and coastal beauty,” said Barb Hall, HAL President. “We are honored to feature her work as the official Festival print this year.”
Visual artists are invited to apply for the Festival, which will take place on Saturday, November 7, 2015 and offer more than $3,000 in cash awards to juried art. Original works and limited editions of fine art in all media, including ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood, and mixed media, will be considered. Only artists displaying their own work are eligible to participate. Fees apply. Submissions must be postmarked by Sept. 4. The Festival will also feature an Emerging Artist category for artists who have never exhibited at an Art Festival or who are 18 years of age and under. Details regarding Festival sponsorship, Festival volunteering or artist submissions that can be found online at www.HighlandsArtLeague.org or by calling the HAL office at (863) 385-6682
Festival sponsors and supporters of $500 or more will receive a complimentary giclee print of the official Festival print, ‘Triple Crown,’ in addition to a variety of promotional benefits.
Reark brings underwater worlds to life in her paintings. She creates art inspired by nature and her experiences as a Native Floridian. Her father, Sebring resident Mike Reark, taught her how to fish and hunt through his work as a Florida guide and captain, and she learned through immersion with a deep respect for wildlife and the cycles of nature grew into full-time studies in art and biology at the University of Miami. Reark has exhibited work in conjunction with fishing tournaments, galleries, and invitational or juried fine art festivals since 2002.
Submit your photos and events for Heartland Happenings to rhonda@heartlanditf.com June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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AG CALENDAR JUNE
June is National Dairy Month!! 5th Charlotte County Rain Barrel & Rain Garden Workshop, Eastport Environmental Campus, Port Charlotte 6th Dakin Dairy’s 3rd Annual Dairy Day Festival, Myakka City 12th – 14th Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival, Punta Gorda History Park
13th Okeechobee’s Centennial Bash, Sacred Heart Catholic Church 16th – 18th Florida Cattlemen’s Convention, Champions Gate Resort, Orlando 17th – 19th Citrus Industry Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa, Bonita Springs 20th Taste of Lee Tropical Fruit Fair, City Gate Ministries, Downtown Fort Myers
21st Happy Father’s Day 25th Ground Covers: Plants That Work, Manatee County Extension, Palmetto 25th Youth Field Day, UF/IFAS Ona Research & Education Center 29th-July 3rd 87th Florida FFA Convention & Expo, Caribe Royale, Orlando
Submit your events for the ag calendar to rhonda@heartlanditf.com
IN THE FIELD MAGAZINE Your Monthly Agricultural Magazine Since 2004, Serving the Heartland Since 2008
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Heartland’s Growing Businesses
Month2015 June 2014
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Father Daughter Dance
Items to be sold (Live Auction) at the end of the Wednesday Youth Luncheon June 17, 2015 The Omni At Champions Gate F-1BRANGUS HEIFER Donated by Pearce Cattle Co
Presented by: B.R.A.T. Club Inc.
Saturday, June 20th 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Out of an Angus Cow and a Rocking S Brahman Bull 10-11 Months Old, Pick up July 2015
Okeechobee Freshman Campus 610 SW 2nd Ave
1 CROSSBRED HEIFER Donated by Adena Ranch
Join us for a night filled with music and fun for daughters of all ages and fathers (or father figures.)
To be picked up in September 2015
Tickets: $20 per Father-Daughter couple $5 for addtional daughter $150 table sponsor (8 tickets)
$1,500 CREDIT Donated by Moreno Ranches
Admission includes: A “kids buffet” Dinner Dancing Fun and Games Keepsake photo and more! For tickets or more information call Tammi Kelly at 772-708-6764 or email okeebratclub@gmail.com
To be used at a future Moreno Ranches Brahman Sale If the winning bidder is willing to double his/her high bid the credit will be worth $3,000
Support the Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation by bidding on items in the Silent Auction. Many outstanding Items will be available. Including; • HOWA Houge Ranchland Compact Package Chambered in .308 • A Number of Henry Rifles
*Semi formal attire recommended
RSVP to email by June 12th!
Only 200 tickets available ! Tickets Sold at Chamber of Commerce or Mid Florida Credit Union
P.O. BOX 3183 PLANT CITY, FL 33563
PH. (813)708.3661 OR (863)381.8014
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June 2015
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CUSTOM GATES AND GATE OPERATOR SYSTEMS
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Find it at your favorite equine dealer
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June 2015
Fuel your growing season with propane. Irrigation Incentives Available Now
Florida Propane Gas Safety Education & Research Council For more information, visit www.oridapropane.org/peff-incentives/irrigation/ or email info@FloridaGas.org
June 2015
Heartland InTheField Magazine
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AN UPLAND BIRD HUNTER’S PARADISE in an Old Florida
setting at its finest!
Whether it’s just for fun or mixing a little business with pleasure, Quail Creek Plantation awards the prize when it comes to an outdoor paradise for hunting and fishing. Shoot some sporting clays to warm up before finding the covey on a guided hunt for upland birds. Finish the day with a pole and go angling for that big fish to talk about later. Kick back and enjoy the Quail Creek Lodge and dine on fried quail for lunch, or have our gourmet chefs help you plan a special dinner for a fundraiser or private event at Quail Creek Plantation. WEDDINGS || CONFERENCES || FUNDRAISERS/BANQUETS || SPORTING CLAYS 12399 Northeast 224th Street • Okeechobee, Florida 34972 • 863-763-2529 www.quailcreekplantation.com • reservations@quailcreekplantation.com
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June 2015
Challenger Certified Pre-Owned Equipment Every piece of Challenger Certified Pre-Owned Equipment goes through a rigid 100+ POINT INSPECTION and comes with an industry-leading, minimum 1-year/500-hour extended coverage plan.
See your dealer for complete program details and coverage plan options.
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877-330-6358 • KellyTractorCPO.challenger-ag.us