FLORIDA DAIRY FACTS

• Most of the dairy cows living in Florida are Holsteins (the black and white cows).

• Lafayette and Okeechobee are Florida’s leading dairy counties.

• Most Florida dairy herds range in size from 150 cows to 5,000 cows.

• Florida’s dairy farms are primarily owned and operated by second and third-generation farmers.

• 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.

• There are about 125,000 dairy cows in Florida that collectively produce about 300 million gallons of milk a year.

• Each Florida dairy cow produces about 6-8 gallons of milk each day and is milked 2-3 times per day.

• Milk has played an important role in America’s history since 1611 when the first cows were brought to Jamestown, Virginia.

• The average dairy cow weighs 1,400 pounds, which is about the same size of a mature male polar bear.

• Cows chew their cud at least 50 times per minute.

• Cows can go up stairs, but not down stairs.

• According to ancient records passed down through the centuries, the making of cheese dates back more than 4,000 years.

• One gallon of milk is approximately 345 squirts of a cow’s udder.

Play a pretend instrument, engage in a modeling show, or get you to do any number of zany things alongside a group of strangers. Hypnosis is his art and when he gets you to relax, Benjamin Jackson goes to work.

“I believe everyone can be hypnotized because we all fall into a state every day just like hypnosis and that’s daydreaming where your mind wanders for no reason. The difference is I try to relax you and put you into that same state with my deep soothing voice and soft music. (For example, most of us have listened to someone speak for a long period of time, and their voice just relaxed you enough to fall asleep or start daydreaming about something else while still hearing their voice, but the mind was somewhere else.) Once I get you into that state of hypnosis I offer suggestions to your subconscious mind to follow and your mind will only follow my suggestions if they agree with your present values which means I can’t make a person do anything that I want them to do against their will. Hypnosis is brought on by your will not mines”

Benjamin Jackson has been in the fair business for nearly 3 decades. He started as a ride manager for one of the largest amusement companies in the county, then he went on to become a circus ringmaster for various circuses, then he owned and operated a variety of carnival concessions selling fair novelties, drinks and candy, and most of all he owned the Fool The Guesser game where he guessed fair goers age, weight, and birth month and if he guessed wrong they won a selection of various prizes.

Benjamin has always been an entertainer most of his life so after being close friends with a hypnotist he met at a fair in South Carolina and later worked for he decided that was what he wanted to do in the future. So when his friend/boss announced his retirement Benjamin went through training to become the master hypnotist he is today. Since, he’s established a reputation as the Golden Voice, combining music, audience participation, and comedy for an unforgettable laughout-loud hypnotic experience. “Being a hypnotist also allowed me to help people with different vices and habits such as stopping smoking, losing weight, or having better memory through the power of hypnosis which are some of the audio programs I offer after each show or even on my website ay www.hypnotistbenjamin.com.

Pat Neilson Wins First Virginia’s Ribbon at the 2023 St. Lucie County Fair

Members of the Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair attended the 2022 IAFE Convention & Trade Show

November 27-30 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Shown above with Jimmy Strates and below with Dan West & Terry Atchley

Clay County Agricultural Fair

There’s never been a better time to become an IAFE member! Whether you are a new or long there is always a new opportunity to learn or connect with other members.

Fairs will RISE in Salt Lake City for the IAFE’s 132nd Annual Convention & Trade Show, taking place November 26 -29, 2023. Registration opens in June 2023. Don your IAFE fix, networking and educational experiences happen year round. Visit the new and approved IAFE website to see everything IAFE offers: fairsandexpos.com

Jan 16, 2023

CONTACT: btroutman@laborsolutions.com / 863-528-7068

Baxter Troutman, owner, F1 Meat Co.

F1meatco.com

F1 Meat Co. Welcomes Community to New, USDA-Inspected Facility

FORT MEADE, Fla The F1 Meat Co. officially known as Florida First Meats LLC welcomed more than 125 guests during a field day for the new USDA-inspected meat-processing facility in Fort Meade on Jan. 13. Guests toured the facility from the pens where livestock are dropped off to where the cuts are wrapped and stored in the cooling facility.

“It has taken 12 years to get to this point and we couldn’t have done it without many of you,” F1 Meat Co. owner Baxter Troutman told the audience. “I had a crazy idea to sell my steers by finding individual buyers and locally processing them. That idea grew into purchasing a mobile facility to process animals for local youth fairs around the state. Now, it has become this, and I’m very excited to see how we can grow.”

Troutman’s vision has generated excitement in the Florida cattle industry.

“Baxter has developed something that brings a new energy into the industry,” said Jim Handley, president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association. “This is going to have a positive impact for years to come.”

Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation, has known Troutman for about 30 years and was happy to see this day come.

“He is a genius, an entrepreneur who can make things happen,” he said. “He has developed something here that is going to help the ranchers and landowners.”

Julio Robaina of Miami served with Troutman in the Florida House of Representatives. He sees F1 Meat Co. as a way to expand Florida’s cattle industry into the Hispanic market.

“A lot of Floridians around the I-4 corridor forget that Hispanics eat a lot of beef and pork. We see this as a big opportunity for the Hispanic market. It’s very exciting to see.”

David McCullers, manager of Crooked Lake Ranch, said F1 Meats is a timely development for the cattle industry.

“Why should we pay the freight to send our cattle 3,000 miles to get processed, only to have it shipped back to the state?” he said. “This is a much-needed, Florida-first deal, and it will feed a lot of people.”

“Our business model is simple,” Troutman said. “Help our local fair community. Help our local cattleman. Help our local farmers.”

AboutFloridaFirstMeatsLLC

F1 Meat Co. is a professional, USDA-inspected meat processing operation in Fort Meade, Fla., that serves Central Florida and adjoining communities. A proud member of the FloridaFederationofFairsandLivestockShows, F1 Meat Co. strives to offer Florida farmers and ranchers a local and more affordable option for meat production.

Spring 2023/70