Heartland's In The Field Magazine - May 2011

May 2011

Jim Strickland

Florida Cattlemen’s Association President

Covering What’s Growing

HARDEE • HIGHLANDS • DESOTO • GLADES CHARLOTTE • OKEECHOBEE • HENDRY May 2011 www.InTheFieldMagazine.com

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 1

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 3

From the Managing Editor

Sarah Holt

May

VOL. 3 • ISSUE 8

Heartland’s AGRICULTURE Magazine

Cover Story

Tel: 813-708-3661 Office: 813-759-6909 Fax: 813-754-4690

May 2011

Happy Mothers Day to all the mom’s reading Heartland In The Field magazine! On Mother’s Day we celebrate our mothers who nurtured us and influenced us as we grew into the people we are today.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read the opinion article written by Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlon, please take the time to do so. It is a breath of fresh air to have someone in her position talking about agriculture. It certainly will help bring it to light to those who are generations removed from the family farm.

A few excerpts from the article are: “Increased U.S. production would also help ease the political instability and tensions aided by food shortages in other parts of the world. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Congress a few weeks ago that farming and ranching will take the crown in record exports this year if things go as planned.”

“Can we feed a growing world population, fuel our economy, and still offer wholesome food choices to Americans? Sure, just as long as we avoid weakening the very infrastructure that makes it all possible.”

“The rest of us must reconnect with our rural roots and understand that we all have a stake in the success of farmers and ranchers. Urban and rural America need to come together, and I plan to spend my time as Miss America to make that happen.”

How can you help spread the word about agriculture? Join Farm Bureau. Get involved with a unified voice, a voice that can be heard across the state and the country when issues arise that involve agriculture. The benefits of Farm Bureau membership are bountiful and you don’t have to be a farmer or rancher to belong.

Take the time this Memorial Day, May 30, to remember those who served our country. Many lost their lives fighting to protect our freedom. They died for us and for the traditions they cherished and a future they believed in.

“To live in the hearts of those you leave behind is never to die.” —Robert Orr Thank you so much for picking up this issue of Heartland In The Field. We appreciate each and every one of you.

Until Next Month, The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

Sarah Holt

Jim Strickland

Publisher

Florida Cattlemen’s Association President

HARDEE • HIGHLANDS • DESOTO • GLADES CHARLOTTE • OKEECHOBEE • HENDRY April 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

Jim Strickland Pg. 32

Senior Managing Editor

6 Farm Bureau Letter

Operations Manager

10 Grub Station

Office Manager

12 US Sugar Celebrates 80th Anniversary 14 Whipping Bowl 20 Rocking Chair Chatter

Lizzette Sarria Bob Hughens

Sales Manager

Danny Crampton

Sales

Karen Berry Chass Bronson Ron Brown

38 Captain Citrus

Creative Director

41 Citrus Update: Is Your Grove Ready for a Hurricane?

Juan Carlos Alvarez

53 Farm Bureau Field Agent Report 56 Hunting

Amey Celoria

Designer

Staff Writers

Al Berry James Frankowiak Robbi Sumner Tanner Huysman

Contributing Writers Lindsey Sebring Joanna Glisson-Lamarra Ginny Mink

Photography Jim Davis Karen Berry

In The Field® Magazine is published monthly and is available through local businesses, restaurants and other local venues within Hardee, Highlands, Charlotte, DeSoto, Okeechobee, Glades and Hendry counties. It is also distributed by U.S. mail to a target market, which includes members of the Farm Bureau and those with ag classification on their land. Letters, comments and questions can be sent to Heartland in the Field, P.O. Box 3183, Plant City, Florida 33563 or you are welcome to email them to rhonda@inthefieldmagazine.com or call 813-708-3661.

Advertisers warrant & represent the descriptions of their products advertised are true in all respects. 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 Berry Publications, Inc. Any use or duplication of material used in In The Field® magazine is prohibited without written consent from Berry Publications, Inc. Published by Berry Publications, Inc.

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 5

HARDEE COUNTY FARM BUREAU 1017 US HWY. 17 N., WAUCHULA, FL 33873 (863) 773-3117

Greetings, I believe we have met our summer already with temperatures the way they are, but we are still facing cool evenings, so the growing season is being affected in many crops. I am going to beg you to please stay on top of what is happening in Tallahassee.

This past week the E-Verify was discussed in the House and the Senate.

As farmers and ranchers, we are out working and if not for notification from Florida Farm Bureau and other Agricultural Organizations, they might have just slipped this by and no one would have known until it became a law. I personally want to thank all the Grassroots efforts to get this information to us. As a manager of a company that has to have hand labor to pick their crops - without this labor we would be out of business.

If I hear one more time that these people are taking our jobs - I’m going to scream. They are doing the work that others will not and we need them. They are hard working people that want to make a better life for themselves. You know only a little common sense needs to be used. So please stay in up on all that is going on.

There is still the Numeric Nutrient Water Quality Criteria by the EPA that is out there. I know it has some set backs right now, but we’ve got to stay on top of it.

To me personally, one bill I am excited about is the School Nutrition Programs being turned over to the Department of Agriculture. I can remember many years ago, when my oldest son came home from school one day and told me, “Daddy I know why kids don’t drink Orange Juice, because it taste yuk!!!!” Well this sent me on a mission. My boys know what good O.J. tastes like, as we go through several gallons a week at our house. The orange juice in the schools

was barely meeting the minimum standards and it truly did taste “yuk!!!!” I served it to a small group of growers and I wish you could have seen their faces. They were ready to shoot me, but I explained this is what we are serving in our schools. With the efforts of many the standards did get raised by the USDA and the packaging company was visited with recommendations of how to do a better job. My biggest problem is, we turned two generations of kids off from drinking O.J. and they are your future buyers. There are so many products and produce that if the right ones that taste good are in the school system our young people will like them and continue to buy them in the future. Providing a quality product will sell more than any advertisement will ever market in my view.

I strongly urge you to make sure your neighbor and friends are members of Farm Bureau and other agricultural organizations of your industry. We must stay alert of what is happening in our industry so we can all survive.

On May 21, 2011 Friday Night Live in Wauchula is sponsored by our ag industry of our county. It’s an opportunity for us to get our story out to the public. I encourage you to come and see what is happening downtown Wauchula and it is free.

May God Bless and be with you,

David Phil 4:13

Hardee County Farm Bureau President David Royal

HARDEE COUNTY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David B. Royal, President; Greg Shackelford, Vice President; Bo Rich, Secretary/Treasurer; Joseph Cherry, John Platt, Corey Lambert, Daniel Smith, Steve Johnson, Bill Hodge.

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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HARDEE COUNTY FARM BUREAU

CHARLOTTE/DESOTO COUNTY FARM BUREAU

HIGHLANDS COUNTY FARM BUREAU

1017 US Highway 17 N Wauchula, FL 33873

1278 SE US Highway 31 Arcadia, FL 34266

6419 US Highway 27 S. Sebring, FL 33876

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone: 863.494.3636

Phone: 863. 773.3117

Charlotte Line: 941.624.3981 Fax: 863.494.4332

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone: 863. 385.5141 Fax: 863.385.5356 Web site:

Fax: 863.773.2369

OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President............... David B. Royal Vice President ..... Greg L. Shackelford Sec./Treasurer ..... Bo Rich

DIRECTORS FOR 2009-2010 Joseph B. Cherry • John Platt Corey Lambert • Daniel H. Smith Steve A. Johnson • Bill Hodge David B. Royal • Greg L. Shackelford Bo Rich Susan Chapman County Secretary

FARM BUREAU INSURANCE SPECIAL AGENTS Agency Manager N. Jay Bryan Agent George L. Wadsworth, Jr. 1017 US Hwy 17 N. Wauchula, FL 33873 (863) 773-3117 www.InTheFieldMagazine.com

OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President............... Jim Selph Vice President ..... Jeffrey Adams Sec./Treasurer ..... Bryan K. Beswick

DIRECTORS FOR 2009-2010 Jim Brewer • John Burtscher Mike Carter • Steve Fussell Richard E. Harvin John Pfeil • Ann H. Ryals Mac Turner • Matt Harrison Ken Harrison County Secretary Summer Chavarria

FARM BUREAU INSURANCE SPECIAL AGENTS Agency Manager Cameron N. Jolly Agents Dawn A. Hines 1278 SE US Highway 31 Arcadia, FL 34266 (863) 494-3636 May 2011

www.highlandsfarmbureau.com

OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President..............................Marty Wohl Vice President ................ Scott Kirouac Secretary ......................... Drew Phypers Treasurer ............................. Doug Miller

DIRECTORS FOR 2010-2011 Sam Bronson • Steve Farr Carey Howerton • Charles Lanfier Mike Milicevic • Lindsey Sebring Mike Waldron • Jim Wood Jeff Williams • Frank Youngman County Secretary Janet Menges

FARM BUREAU INSURANCE SPECIAL AGENTS Agency Manager Chad D. McWaters Agents Joseph W. Bullington 6419 US Highway 27 S. Sebring, FL 33876 (863) 385-5141 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 7

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Index of

Advertisers

Arcadia Stockyard............................... 15 Barn Raiser’s Tailgate Party................ 45 Bartow Ford.......................................... 3 Big “T” Tire....................................... 17 Bill Jarrett Ford................................... 47 Blinds ASAP of Sebring....................... 51 Camper Corral................................... 60 Cattlemens Livestock Market.............. 29 Central States Enterprises................... 11 CF Industries...................................... 63 Cowboy Way Agriculture Services....... 60 Creech Construction........................... 60 Dennis Crews - Bill Jarrett Ford........... 60 DeSoto Machine Shop......................... 58 DeSoto/Charlotte Farm Bureau............. 7 Edgewood Landscape.......................... 61 Florida Fence Post Co.......................... 43 Friends of NRA Banquet..................... 45 Gilbert Chevrolet................................ 17 Glade & Grove Supply Co................... 23 Glisson’s Animal Supply...................... 61

Goin’ Postal........................................ 60 Griffin’s Carpet Mart.......................... 25 Hardee County Farm Bureau................. 7 Heartland Gold.................................. 53 Helena Chemical................................ 15 Hicks Oil Co....................................... 43 Higginbotham’s Benefit Dance............ 45 Highlands Farm Bureau........................ 7 James Webb - Morgan Stanley Smith Barney................................................ 51 Landig Tractor.................................... 55 Landston’s Commercial Property.......... 5 Laye’s Tire Service................................. 9 Lehman Auto Body Service Center...... 43 Mana Crop Protection.......................... 2 Michael Kirsch - Heartland Perio........ 60 Miller’s Central Air............................. 29 Mosaic............................................... 27 Musselman’s Appliance & TV............ 19 Peace River Citrus Products................. 51 Platinum Bank.................................... 31

Precision Citrus Hedging & Topping, Precision Pump Service........................ 27 Prestige Home Center......................... 19 Quail Creek Plantation....................... 19 Rhizogen............................................ 64 River Pasture/Metal Art...................... 37 Sherco Surveying Services.................... 58 Southern Excavation............................. 9 Sunshine Family Dentistry................... 61 Superior Muffler................................. 61 The American Shed Co....................... 25 The Andersons................................... 51 Tree T-Pee........................................... 39 Triangle Hardware.............................. 61 Trinkle, Redman, Swanson, Cotón, Davis & Smith, P.A. ........................... 31 Wauchula State Bank.......................... 51 Wert’s Welding & Tank Service........... 23 Wicks, Brown, Williams & Co. ........... 47 Wild Turkey Tavern............................. 61 Wish Farms......................................... 21

•

The United States has an estimated 211,600 beekeepers.

•

Honey bees are not native to the USA. They are European in origin and were brought to North American by the early settlers.

•

American Indians called honey bees the “White Man’s Fly” because they were brought to North America by colonists.

•

The ancient Greeks minted coins with bees on them.

•

There are about nine different known species of bees that make honey.

•

Honey has been used for millennia as a topical dressing for wounds since microbes cannot live in it. It also produces hydrogen peroxide. Honey has even been used to embalm bodies such as that of Alexander the Great.

•

Propolis is a sticky resin mixed with wax to make a sticky glue. The bees use this to seal cracks, glue things so they don’t vibrate and repair their hive.

•

A honey bee can only sting a person once and then it dies because its stinger is ripped out during the stinging process.

•

Mead is a wine made from honey.

•

A honey bee can fly up to 15 miles per hour.

•

Due to the high level of fructose, honey is 25% sweeter than table sugar.

•

One antioxidant called “pinocembrin” is only found in honey.

•

Honey has the ability to attract and absorb moisture, which makes it remarkably soothing for minor burns and helps to prevent scarring.

•

Honey contains vitamins and antioxidants, but is fat free, cholesterol free and sodium free.

•

The brain of a worker honey bee is about a cubic millimeter but has the densest neuropile tissue of any animal.

•

Honey bees collect approximately 66 lbs of pollen per year, per hive.

YOU, TOO, CAN BE A WINNER HEY READERS, hidden somewhere in the magazine is a No Farmers, No Food logo. Hunt for the logo and once you find the hidden logo you will be eligible for a drawing to win a FREE InTheField® T-Shirt. Send us your business card or an index card with your name and telephone number, the page on which you found the logo and where on that page you located the logo to:

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InTheField® Magazine P.O. Box 5377, Plant City, FL 33563-0042 All Entries must be received by May 15, 2011.

Winner will be notified by phone.

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May 2011

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 9

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Chicanes Restaurant Bar & Grill Chicanes Restaurant Bar and Grill is in the Inn on the Lakes and is nestled between Big Lake Jackson and Little Lake Jackson.

Our restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Come enjoy our lakeview tables, which offer a host of beautiful views and natural wildlife.

Our garden consists of over one hundred varieties of plants and flowers. Within our garden we also grow our own herbs and tomatoes that are used in our dishes daily. All of our sauces and dressings are homemade with the finest ingredients. We serve the freshest seafood around and hand-cut Certified Angus Beef BrandÂŽ steaks.

Our guests enjoy fresh orange juice from a local farm each morning and are invited back to enjoy our lunch and dinner menus as well as our early bird specials that are offered seven days a week. Our culinary team prepares daily specials for our guests to give them a variety of choices throughout the week for their dining pleasure.

Catering is also provided to anyone upon request, whether in one of our private rooms or at a location of your choice.

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Chicanes is a part of a well-known landmark in Sebring, The Inn on the Lakes. The Inn is very inviting and hosts over one hundred-fifty spacious rooms, including suites overlooking the lake with a breathtaking view of the sunrise in the morning. The feel of the Inn is very European, with flower boxes on each balcony, as well as a sitting area for you to enjoy the beautiful weather. All the staff here at the Inn and Chicanes prides themselves on providing the best possible customer service to all of our guests.

We are located near many local attractions including Sebring International Raceway the home of The American Lemans Series 12 Hours of Sebring, historic downtown, state parks, museums, hunting, fishing, antique shops and horseback riding. We also offer Sebring’s best golf packages that include a variety of options to fit your needs.

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10 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 11

Clewiston Museum

Clewiston Museum

US Sugar Celebrates 80th Anniversary Industry Pioneer Maintains Lead in Production and Innovation Early Clewiston Mil

Current “C” Tandem (one of the largest in the world)

U.S. Sugar Corporation, celebrating its 80th Anniversary, once again led the Florida sugar industry in production and efficiency despite devastating freeze damage to the sugarcane crop for the second consecutive year. In 2010-2011, the company harvested 5.63 million tons of sugarcane which yielded approximately 620,000 tons of raw sugar and 38 million gallons of molasses.

“While we have lost production, it is satisfying to note that all the investments and improvements implemented over the last few years have resulted in our taking far less of a hit due to weather impacts than others in the industry,” said Judy Sanchez, senior director of corporate communications and public affairs.

Sanchez said Florida’s sugarcane crop suffered 12 different freeze events below 28 degrees between January and December 2010, reducing both sugarcane tonnage and sugar yield. Even though U.S. Sugar started harvesting weeks earlier and ran later than everyone else, the Company harvested 100% of its crop and reported an estimated 8.3% decrease in sugar production compared to last year while the rest of the Florida industry reported 13%-20% decreases.

“U.S. Sugar’s investments in superior infrastructure and technology, its 24-hour harvest program, efficient private railroad transportation system and state-of-the-art sugar manufacturing facility, along with the best people in the industry, enable our business to succeed even under difficult conditions,” Sanchez said.

12 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

Current Clewiston Sugar Factory

Sanchez said the Clewiston Sugar Factory ran extremely well all year and its refinery, currently undergoing a 10% expansion, again is on a potentially recordbreaking pace. In addition to refining 100% of the Company’s raw sugar production, the Clewiston Refinery can import foreign raw sugar and refine it profitably.

Over the past 80 years of operation, U.S. Sugar has produced 250 million tons of sugarcane, milled/processed 245 million tons of sugarcane, produced 25.6 million tons (51.3 billion lbs) of raw cane sugar, produced 6.3 million tons of refined granulated sugar and 4.2 million cwt of liquid sugar (since 1998).

HISTORY

The United States Sugar Corporation came into being during the Great Depression, at a time when the little southern town of Clewiston was little more than a dot on the map near the southern tip of Lake Okeechobee in South Florida.

On April 29, 1931, automotive pioneer, industrialist, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott transformed the bankrupt old Southern Sugar Company into United States Sugar Corporation, acquiring all its lands, sugar mill, and other assets. The Southern Sugar Company had purchased the mill and remnant equipment of the defunct Pennsylvania Sugar Company (Pennsuco) constructed in Hialeah, Florida and operated by Ernest “Cap” Graham, father of former Governor and Senator Bob Graham.

Investing much of his own capital,

May 2011

Mott revived the company and convinced other investors and creditors that the dream of growing sugar in the rich muck soils around Lake Okeechobee was not only possible, but profitable.

Mott had already earned a reputation as one of the top industrial executives and most astute businessmen in the United States. He had taken a small family business that produced wire bicycle wheels and parlayed it into major stock ownership of General Motors. Although a successful businessman, he maintained a keen interest in the land and farming, a throwback to his farming ancestors who came to this country in 1645 and settled on the soil.

Charles Stewart Mott, with a unique blend of experience, knowledge, and drive, was to lead U.S. Sugar Corporation to its position as one of the country’s most successful agricultural operations.

Overcoming drainage problems and developing suitable varieties of sugarcane for Florida were the top priorities. The Company brought in experts in cane growing and production from Louisiana, Cuba, and the West Indies. Sugar production increased, the Company grew, and by 1941, there was indeed a profitable Florida sugar industry.

The key to the continued growth and future of the company was the Clewiston Sugar House. When Southern Sugar opened it in 1929, it could process 1500 tons of cane per day -- with future expansion built into the design. Over the years, it was altered, adapted and enlarged. Time and time again, it established records as

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the most efficient single-tandem mill in the world, far superior to many newer mills.

And although there were many changes, the fundamental process remained the same.

In 1959, the Company increased its milling operations with the construction of an additional raw factory on the southeastern rim of Lake Okeechobee. The Bryant Sugar House, opened in 1962, would be the world’s most modern. Like its sister mill at Clewiston, Bryant was built with expansion in mind. Its 5,000 tons per day capacity would be increased again and again.

As others recognized the potential of the Lake area, new sugarcane operations began to arrive. The industry pioneered

by Charles Stewart Mott was on the verge of dramatic growth. As Florida’s sugar industry expanded in order to replace sugar once imported from Cuba, the company’s research and technology helped make this greatly increased production and milling possible.

By the early 80’s, Florida had become the largest sugar-producing state in the country. U.S. Sugar Corporation was the largest sugar producer in the state. Setting the company apart from other area sugar operations were its internal transportation system, a railroad with over 120 miles of track and 1100 railcars linking the sugarcane fields with the mills, and its extensive research facility that bred more than 125,000 new varieties each year. Company funded research ranks among industry leaders in integrated pest management, global positioning technology, and cellular biology research.

As the company grew, it diversified into cattle, vegetables, and other crops (South Bay Growers, including 13,000 acres of land and an existing Corrulite container business was acquired in 1980), but sugar would remain the heart of the company’s current and future plans.

Another new and exciting era for U.S. Sugar was beginning. In the mid 80’s, em-

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Original “A” Tandem (cane milling equipment)

ployees became the largest shareholders in the company through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Today the company is primarily owned by its employees and charitable foundations set up by Mr. Mott -- The C.S. Mott Foundation and The Mott Children’s Health Center.

In 1985, the decision was made to convert the company’s cattle operation into citrus groves. Over 29,000 acres were planted in orange trees and designs for the first new citrus processing plant built in Florida in over two decades were drawn. In 2002, Southern Gardens purchased the 3762-acre Alcoma Groves adjacent to its own Dunwody Grove, bringing total citrus acreage to over 32,000 grove acres.

Through the dedication and hard work of management and its employeeowners, U.S. Sugar Corporation continued to expand and progress. In January 1994, Southern Gardens Citrus Processing began operations. The $100+ million facility is one of the most efficient and environmentally-friendly juice processing plants in the world. Following company tradition, the plant was built with the infrastructure to triple its capacity. In fact, Phase II construction was completed in 1996 and enabled the plant to process more than 19 million boxes of fruit per season. The citrus plant now has 56 one-million-gallon aseptic storage tanks for not-from-concentrate orange juice. Ultimately, the plant will process over 30 million boxes of fruit, producing 180 million gallons of juice annually.

In October 1998, U.S. Sugar Corporation officially opened its new cane sugar refinery. This facility is the first fully-integrated cane sugar refinery in the nation.

The refinery had an initial capacity to produce 540,000 tons per year. As tradition dictates, the refinery was built with the infrastructure to expand rapidly and efficiently. The first incremental expansion was completed in 2002, taking capacity to over 600,000 tons a year. Also, the decision was made to add liquid sugar production to the refinery, and this $2.5 million addi-

May 2011

US Sugar’s steam locomotive

tion was completed in November, 2002.

Additional expansion the following years allowed U.S. Sugar to refine its total sugar production with another 10% expansion underway today. The 5.5-acre, 300,000 sq. ft. facility includes processing, packaging, and warehousing, servicing both consumer /retail markets and bulk industrial customers. The refinery enables U.S. Sugar to take the sugar process full circle, from cane field to consumer.

Today, U.S. Sugar Corporation is one of the country’s largest privately held agricultural firms. The company farms 180,000 acres of the most productive farmland in the United States. In 2008, its newly consolidated and automated milling and refining facility at Clewiston became the world’s largest vertically integrated sugar cane milling and refining operation capable of processing up to 42,000 tons of sugarcane per day and producing ~700,000 tons of sugar per year. In addition to sugar and citrus, the company also owns a short-line railroad – the South Central Florida Express.

As stewards of this land, U.S. Sugar has pioneered and encouraged the implementation of special land and water management systems, called Best Management Practices, which help the environment. We are proud partners in ongoing Everglades restoration efforts.

In 2010, the State acquired ~27,000 acres of U.S. Sugar property (primarily citrus land) as part of its River of Grass restoration initiative to provide additional water treatment and water storage.

At U.S. Sugar, the traditional farming values are successfully combined with modern technology so that the result is farming that is compatible with the environment and with the economic realities of the next century. As the vision of Charles Stewart Mott continues to unfold, United States Sugar Corporation is positioned to meet the challenges of the future with the strength of the past.

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 13

E ON NO SAL L DAY IA MEMOR DAY N MO TH MAY 30

Recipes Courtesy of The Florida Department of Agriculture

Blueberry-Lemon Corn Muffins Ingredients 6 1/2 stick 3/4 cup 1 1/2 teaspoons 1/2 cup 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon 1/2 cup 2 1/2 cup

Monday’s Sale - 12 noon

(Bring Your Cattle Sunday 10am - 7pm or Sale Day)

Wednesday’s Sale - 12 noon

(Bring Your Cattle Tuesday 8am - 9pm or Sale Day)

To Mark o G s ’ t et Le

paper muffin cup liners unsalted butter (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour baking powder yellow cornmeal sugar freshly grated lemon zest whole milk large egg yolks blueberries

Owned and Operated by: Carl McKettrick and Joe Hilliard II Located on Hwy. 17 (8 miles north of Arcadia, FL)

863-494-3737 863-494-1808 Fax: 863-494-5933 www.arcadiastockyard.com

Preparation Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line six 1/3-cup muffin cups with paper liners. Melt butter and cool. Into a large bowl sift together flour and baking powder and whisk in cornmeal, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon zest, and a generous pinch salt. In a bowl whisk together melted butter, milk, and yolks and add to flour mixture with half of blueberries, gently stirring until just combined. Divide batter evenly among cups (batter will fill cups) and press remaining blueberries into tops of muffins. Sprinkle tops of muffins evenly with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake muffins in middle of oven about 15 minutes, or until tops are golden and a tester comes out clean. Remove muffins from cups and cool on a rack. Muffins keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2 days.

Yield 6 muffins

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kosher salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil Preparation In a large glass or plastic bowl, combine all ingredients and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Serve over salad greens if desired. Try adding feta cheese and olives to this recipe.

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14 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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May 2011

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 15

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April was one of the best months for bass fishing here on Okeechobee that I have seen in years and May should be just as good. The lake level has been holding at around eleven and a half feet above sea level and the water has really cleaned up on the lake in most areas. It is nothing to idle out a couple of miles from the grass line and be able to see the bottom like you are looking through a water glass. The bass seem to be almost everywhere here on the south end of the lake, areas from Cochran’s Pass to Pelican Bay have all been producing tournament winning bags of bass. Bass from five to eight pounds have been real common and to win a tournament this past month on the lake you had better have a five bass limit weighing over 30 pounds or you won’t even get in the money. With the lake level being low and the lake being in such great shape the fishing here on Lake Okeechobee will only get better. We had such a great spawn with bass this, year starting in September and still going on strong, that the future looks so bright here on the lake everyone will want to come fish Lake Okeechobee for big bass.

16 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

I have still been fishing most of the same areas from Cochran’s Pass to Pelican Bay, mostly dependent on which direction the wind is blowing. As the bass move out of the spawning areas this month I will follow them out to offshore areas like the spoil islands, Cross Island, Clewiston Channel, and deeper areas in the reef. For the past couple of months I have been using the Gambler EZ Swimmer to catch almost all of the bass I have been catching, but as the bass move offshore I will be switching to a shakey head jig and crankbaits. My shakey head rig consists of a Gambler Giggy Head jig in ¼ ounce and a Gambler Sweebo worm in black or junebug color. For a rod I use my signature series Deep South Rods “Mark King Shakey Head” rod with 15 to 20 pound test Bass Pro Shops fluorocarbon line. For crankbaits I like to have two tied on a lipless Spro Aruka Shad and the Spro Little John crankbait that dives down to three feet. The other lures that work great during the summer are a Zara Super Spook topwater lure, a Strike King “King Shad” hard swimbait, and a Carolina rigged Gambler Ace worm. Live

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bait fishing this past month for bass was, for lack of words, awesome. You could use five dozen wild shiners in three hours and have some trophy class bass in the seven to nine pound range. I also offer fly fishing trips here on Lake Okeechobee for bass and bluegill and in the Keys for tarpon, bonefish, and permit. During the summer months, fly fishing on Lake Okeechobee can be a lot of fun as the wind doesn’t typically blow very much and makes for easier casting and some great topwater action.

It was also a great season for shell crackers and bluegill here

on the lake as the water was so clear you could see beds almost everywhere at the south end of the lake. I would suggest that if you ever wanted to fish Lake Okeechobee, now would be the time to come, as it has not been this good in many years. I will be guiding in the Keys (Marathon) for tarpon starting in May, as well as doing trips here on Lake Okeechobee, so if catching fish and having fun sounds like your kind of fishing trip just give me a call and we can get you a trip scheduled either on Okeechobee or in the Keys.

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Captain Mark King is a full time guide and tournament angler guiding out of the world famous Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida and in the Florida Keys. Mark is an IGFA Certified Captain, active member of the Florida Guide Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Captain Mark is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Roland Martin’s Marine Center, U.S. Reel, Deep South Rods, Power-Pole, Minn Kota trolling motors, Gambler Lures, AFTCO clothing, Smartshield Sun Protection Products, RMR Industries, Fuel Medic Ethanol Treatment, and Frigid Rigid coolers.

Mark can be contacted to book a guide trip, seminars, personal appearances, test rides in his Evinrude powered Ranger or to fish a tournament with him at 863-677-0983 or at www.markkingfishing.com.

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May 2011

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 19

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Come Grow With Us 100 Stearn Ave. Plant City, FL 33563 Tel: 813.752.5111 www.wishfarms.com Some months back I wrote about my wife’s open heart surgery.

She did very well with the new Cox-Maze Process. I was thinking about the numerous visits and time sitting in the waiting rooms waiting to see the doctor.

On our third visit to Dr. Dworkin, Patsy’s heart surgeon, we had a side-spitting time listening to two old fellas talking about getting old. Don’t remember their names, but we’ll call them Fred and Bill. Fred, talking rather loud for the sake of Bill’s hearing impairment said, “Bill, you know I am getting so old that I don’t buy green bananas! Another thing, that snap, crackle and pop in the morning ain’t my Rice Krispies.”

“You’re just wear’n out Fred,” Bill said. “If you think you’re having problems, I am so old that whenever I eat out, they ask me for money up front. You know when I was younger all I wanted was a nice BMW. Now, I don’t care about the W.” “And another thing, all last week my wife Mildred kept hounding me to take her someplace expensive like the good old days.”

“Where did you take her Bill?” Fred asked. “I took her to a gas station.”

Those two old roosters would make a good stand up comic team at Sun City.

On one of our visits before her operation we were escorted into the examining room. Before they shut the door I noticed an elderly women in the room across the hall. The doctor walked into her room and shut the door. Moments later she ran out of the room hollering at the top of her voice.

When the doctor came in to see Patsy she asked him what caused the woman to get so upset. Doc chuckled and said, “Well

20 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

I told her even though she was 77 years old she was pregnant.”

About that time a nurse stuck her head into the room and said, “What did you tell that poor old lady to get her so upset?”

“I told her she was pregnant.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself Doc, she is really upset.”

“Maybe so, but I’ll bet she doesn’t have the hiccups any more,” he replied.

One day while sitting in the waiting room I decided to strike up a conversation with a much over weight middle aged lady. I asked her how her day was going. She said, “Not so good. You see I am on a weight loss program and it is not working. The doctor told me to walk every day and it would add months to my life.

The way I see it I’ll be spending more time in a nursing home at $7,000.00 a month and frankly the only way I like a walk is when they are taken by people who bother me.” I asked her if she had tried to watch what she eats, and she said, “Oh yes, but I am addicted to chocolate. Here I am 68 years old, and really I have a lot to be thankful for. For instances my wrinkles don’t hurt, and the older I get the tougher it is to lose weight, because by now my body and fat have gotten to be really good friends.” As she slowly walked into the doctor’s office Patsy turned to me and said, “I’ll bet at communion she goes back for seconds.”

In a few minutes a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the waiting room. As she went to the receptionist’s desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. About the time I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother’s lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man’s knee, he said, “I know how you feel, my mom makes me ride in the stroller, too.”

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Have you heard the story about the 88-year-old man that pulled up next to a doctor at a street light on his moped? The old man looked over at the sleek shiny car and asks, “What kind of car ya got there, sonny?”

The doctor replies, “a Ferrari GTO. It cost a half a million dollars!”

“That’s a lot of money,” says the old man, “Why does it cost so much?”

“Because this car can do up to 220 miles an hour,” the doctor said with pride.

The old man on the moped asks, “Mind if I take a look inside?”

“No problem,” replied the doctor.

The old man proceeds to poke his head in the window and looks around. Then, sitting back on his moped, the old man says, “That’s a pretty nice car, all right….but I’ll stick with my moped!”

Just then the light changes, so the doctor decides to show the old man just what his car can do. He floors it, and within 30 seconds the speedometer reads 150 mph. Suddenly, he notices a dot in his rear view mirror. It seems to be getting closer! He slows down to see what it could be and suddenly WHOOOOSSSHHH! Something whips by him going much faster!

“What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari?” the doctor asks himself. He presses harder on the accelerator and takes the Ferrari up to 180 mph. Then up ahead of him, he sees that it’s the old man on the moped.

Amazed that the moped could pass his Ferrari, he gives it more gas and passes the moped at 200 mph. Now he’s feeling pretty

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good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him AGAIN! Astounded by the speed of this old guy, he floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way up to 220 mph. Not five seconds later, he sees the moped bearing down on him again! The Ferrari is flat out, and there is nothing he can do.

Suddenly, the moped plows into the back of his Ferrari, demolishing the rear end. The doctor stops and jumps out and unbelievably the old man is still alive.

He runs up to the banged-up old fella and says, “Is there anything I can do for you?” The old man whispers, “Unhook my suspenders from your side view mirror!”

After we left the doctor’s office we went to a local drive through restaurant to get my wife a salad with light ranch dressing. I got a chicken salad sandwich and a couple of side items. I then gave the young lady a ten and a five dollar bill, plus a quarter. The total was $14.25. She said, “You gave me too much money.” I said, “Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back.” She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did, and he handed me back the quarter, and said, “We’re sorry but we cannot do that kind of thing.” The clerk then proceeded to give me back seventyfive cents in change. DUH!!!!

Last month I went to Dr. Salvato for my yearly physical. My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was high, I had gained some weight and I didn’t feel so hot. Doc said eating right doesn’t have to be complicated and it would solve my physical problems.

He said I should think in colors. Fill my plate with bright colors.

Greens, yellows, reds, etc! So I went home and ate some M&M’s.

May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 21

2011 FFA Land Judging Results Members of Charlotte Sr. FFA, Punta Gorda, placed fifth in the Florida State Land Judging Contest held in Santa Rosa County on March 25. Members of the team were James Nolan, Cassi Moore, Sarah Slater, and Sierra Soto, and coaches Ted Lynn (retired Ag teacher) and Cindy Webb (current Ag teacher and advisor). The team left Punta Gorda on Tuesday after school and traveled to Gainesville where they met up with the teams from Southeast High School, Durant High School, and Ft. White High School, and on Wednesday they practiced slopes on the UF campus before traveling to Bonifay, where Mrs. Webb grew up. The teams spent a few hours in that area of the state looking at different soil types and slopes, before traveling on to Milton on Wednesday night. The teams traveled the Santa Rosa County area on Thursday, looking at the local soils and slopes, and enjoying

sharing the knowledge of the combined years of experience of Mr. Lynn, Mr. Combs, Mr. Buckley, Mrs. Heusman, and Mrs. Webb.

Mr. Lynn retired two years ago from Charlotte High School, but prior to retiring he coached many first place state and national teams. When asked why he shares his knowledge with other teams and coaches, he replied that teaching kids is why we all do what we do, and it isn’t just limited to your own team. The students enjoyed getting to know one another while learning more about land judging. Once the contest results were announced on Friday afternoon, Ft. White was the overall state winner, with Durant in fourth place, Charlotte Sr. in fifth place, and Southeast in tenth.

“I’m so proud of our Charlotte Sr. team for placing fifth in the state,” said Mrs. Webb. “This was the first year for three of the four team members, and those three students were new to agriculture and FFA, so I count it as a win for them.” The team members are excited to be able to compete again next year, and vowed to get the top spot so that they can compete in the national contest held each year in Oklahoma City, OK.

2011 FFA Land Judging—High School—Teams Ranked by Score Rank 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

Team # 13 2 17 15 4 12 10 1 18 14 11 8 7 3 16 5 6 9

Club/Chapter Ft White Sr FFA Williston Sr FFA East Ridge HS FFA Durant HS FFA Charlotte Sr FFA Lecanto Sr FFA Okeechobee Jr FFA Bethlehem HS FFA Jay HS FFA SE Manatee FFA Bell Sr FFA Palatka HS FFA Marianna HS FFA J M Tate HS FFA South Sumter Sr FFA Frostproof HS FFA Madison Co FFA Branford HS FFA

Coach Jill Huesman Jack Halabrin Danny Garner Chuck Combs T Lynn / C Webb Steve Richardson Brian Dryden Dannice Williams Ed Kelley C Swartzfager/M Buck Bill Martin David Brown Brian Solger Melissa Gibbs Tim Edwards Wm Paul Webb Ed Sapp Jimmy Wilkerson

County Columbia Levy Lake Hillsborough Charlotte Citrus Okeechobee Holmes Santa Rosa Manatee Gilchrist Putnam Jackson Escambia Sumter Polk Madison Suwannee

2011 FFA Land Judging—High School—Individuals Ranked by Score Rank Team-M 14.

4-4 16.

10-3 18.

4-1 19.

10-2 26.

4-3 28.

10-1 34.

4-2

Name Sarah Slater Jaymee Johnson James Nolan Mary Baker Cassandra Moore Brandon McKee Sierra Soto

22 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

Club/Chapter Charlotte Sr FFA Okeechobee Jr FFA Charlotte Sr FFA Okeechobee Jr FFA Charlotte Sr FFA Okeechobee Jr FFA Charlotte Sr FFA

County Charlotte Okeechobee Charlotte Okeechobee Charlotte Okeechobee Charlotte www.InTheFieldMagazine.com

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 23

A Shed is NOT Just A Shed

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That’s what announcer Jimmy Carter had to say about the Florida that we all know and love at the Okeechobee Livestock Market Day Workers’ Invitational Rodeo held at the Cattlemen’s Arena in Okeechobee on Saturday, April 9. This was the third year for the event, which began as way to celebrate and thank those day workers, ranchers, and haulers who keep cattle coming through the market on a weekly basis. The Okeechobee Livestock Market is the largest cattle auction in the state, and is owned and operated by the Clemons family, who generously sponsor the event. With no entry fees for contestants, no admission fee for spectators, and BBQ lunch for all, it was a fun day for everyone as 29 teams went head-to-head in competition for valuable prizes and braggin’ rights.

With names like Pie, Junior, and PeeWee, they may sound sweet and cuddly, but a well trained, hard-working dog can be a cowboy’s best friend when gathering cattle. The Cowdog competition involves a horseback cowboy and his two dogs, given three minutes and starting with 100 points. About 10-12 head of cattle are turned out in the arena, and the rider and his dogs must stay in the starting circle for 20 seconds or be penalized a point for each second not held. Dogs are then expected to ring the cattle (get and keep them gathered in a circle) for at least 45 seconds, and work them from one end of the arena to the other moving through panels that have been set up to avoid a 20 point penalty. Finally, the rider opens an exit gate for the dogs to drive the cattle through, all within the three minute limit or face a 25

24 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

point penalty. The belt buckle in this event went to Caleb Pearce and his dogs Blue and Rufus.

Crowds lined the approximately quarter-mile long stretch of grass behind the arena for the Cowpony Races, which were run in initial two-horse heats. After five thundering rounds, the winners of those heats were brought back for the final race. In some cases it wasn’t running, but rather stopping, that provided the greatest challenge. In the end, Cesar Sanchez and his horse outran the pack to win the belt buckle.

After lunch, the team events started with the introductory Grand Entry, which included all participants, as well as the Okeechobee Cattlemen’s Miss Rodeo Court, with Megan Mullin, Miss Rodeo Okeechobee 2011, presenting the American flag.

For the Wild Steer Riding, each team had a designated rider who hoped to make the eight second whistle. While riders were allowed to hold on with both hands, most chose to use one and instead pop a bull whip with their free hand. While this provided great amusement for the crowd, it sometimes resulted in a shortened ride!

Patience and good eyesight were needed for Riding Out. The goal of this event is for each mounted four-person team to separate two specific heifers from a larger herd within the twominute time limit. The cows were marked with numbers that weren’t always easy to read among a moving herd. One rider locates and rides out the cow while the other three guard the line.

Disqualification occurs if any other cows cross the line, and it’s

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 25

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up to the other team members to make sure the first cow doesn’t re-enter the herd while the second one is being parted.

Buddy Pickup is a relay race against the clock, with each team having two riders and two barrel men. The first rider runs to the opposite end of the arena to pick up the buddy who is standing on a barrel. When they return, the next rider goes to pick up the final team member from atop the barrel. It may sound easy, but some horses spook at a fella trying to jump on it from a barrel! With extra points being offered to those buddies who stood rather than sat on back of the horse, it was impressive that more didn’t fall off.

Cowkids got to join the excitement with the Chicken Scramble held during intermission. An interesting spin on the more common Calf Scramble, dozens of chickens and ducks were set free in the arena and kids got to take home whatever they could catch. Surprisingly it didn’t take long to clear out the poultry!

Wild Cow Marking begins with four mounted team members and combines several skills, as a specified cow must first be cut-out from the herd, then roped around the neck. The rest of the team is responsible for dismounting, removing a tag from her hip, removing the rope from her neck and one member racing on foot back to the judge for a fast time. Failure to accomplish these tasks within two minutes or rope the cow with no more than two loops thrown causes disqualification.

Ribbons were used to simulate Calf Cutting, as each four

person team entered a pen of numbered calves. For the competition, time begins when the judge drops his flag and a number is called to designate which calf to flank and then tie a ribbon on its right front leg. The clock stops when the “cutter” waives his hat, then the ribbon is removed.

If you’re not familiar with the Cowhide Race, think of it as kneeboarding, only with a horse instead of a boat, dirt instead of water, and a cured cowhide used as the kneeboard. For added entertainment and excitement, there’s always a chance of the cowhide rider getting pulled into (instead of around) the barrel, and if teams are neck-and-neck, there’s at least a chance they’ll collide when making that turn. Thankfully no one was seriously injured during the event, but let’s face it, there were bound to be some aches and pains the next day!

When the dust settled at the end of the day, the Palmetto Pimps, including Keith Lewis, Heath Crum, Nat Stratton, and Jake Anuez, captured this year’s braggin’ rights and the Championship belt buckles with 124 points. In close second with 121 points was the Ace Ranch with team members Wesley Markham, Josh Jennings, Auburn Hiers, and Chance Carlisle, each winning a new saddle pad. The Coffey Road Cattle Co. team of Doug Bronson, Melmo Quintero, Joey Drake, and Troy Tomlinson came in third with 117 points and were each awarded embroidered vests.

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May 2011

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 27

Okeechobee County Fair and Youth Livestock Show & Sale

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by Robbi Sumner Hometown Heroes were celebrated March 11 - 20 during the Okeechobee County Fair held at the Agri-Civic Center. The gates opened with Support Our Troops Night including free gate admission with three donated items from forgottensoldiers.org.

According to Linda Syfrett, President of the Okeechobee County Fair Association (OCFA), “Blessed with ten days of sunny, seasonable Florida weather, the 2011 Okeechobee County Fair drew a vast number of people to its ten day event. Our Fair team worked very hard to provide a fantastic county fair that created special experiences for our fairgoers. Our hometown county fair is pleased to be able to offer a variety of events including The Cattlemen’s Spring Rodeo, the Livestock Show and Sale, horse shows, competitive events, rides, a beauty pageant, talent shows, entertainment, great food, and lots of fun… all at an outstanding value. The theme for this year’s fair, Hometown Heroes, was celebrated with a student hero essay contest and a fun competition between the local firemen and deputy sheriffs.”

There was fun for all ages with pig races, midway rides, monster truck shows, karaoke, and guitar hero contests. Competitive exhibits including photography, baking, canned goods, horticulture and other categories provided opportunities for kids and adults alike to show off their talents and be rewarded with ribbons and premium checks.

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including an Extreme Trail Challenge, 4D Barrel Races, and Reining, Hunter/Jumper and Driving demonstrations. According to the Extreme Trail Challenge coordinator Renee Mims, “The event is modeled after the American Quarter Horse Association Versatility Ranch Horse class. The obstacles are intended to be similar to challenges that a ranch horse might experience while working. The purpose of the competition is to demonstrate the performance and versatility of the horses, along with the riders’ leadership and communication abilities. This year’s event had over 20 entries and went extremely well.”

Okeechobee Feed sponsored the inaugural hay bale decorating contest by donating round bales and first place prize money of $300. The activity was open to Okeechobee 4-H clubs. Chobee Round-up took home the bragging rights with their bale decorated as a pot of gold in honor of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, which fell during the Fair.

As part of its commitment to the youth of Okeechobee, the OCFA funds scholarships to graduating seniors and this year also waived admission for students from Everglades Elementary on Hay Bale Decorating Contest

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 29

a school field trip. Participants in the Youth Livestock Show are also given family passes for free Fair admission.

Rabbit, poultry and lamb exhibitors kicked off the Youth Livestock Show March 12. 4-H members between the ages of five and seven show as “participants,” earning ribbons and trophies for their experience. Those 4-Hers and FFA members eight years and over compete for championship honors and premium money.

The Grand Champion Rabbit, an English Lop doe, was shown by Haley Burkhalter and Reserve Champion went to David Daniel’s English Lop buck. Rabbit Showmanship buckles were earned by Junior Joshua Lawrence, Intermediate Rebecca Corby, and Senior Kaylie Corby.

Grand Champion Poultry honors went to Rebecca Coffey’s Dutch Bantam hen. The Grand Champion rooster was an Astrolorpe shown by Joshua May. Tyfanni Zeller showed the first place duck, with Amanda Sparkman showing the first place turkey and Joallynn Kelley showing the first place goose.

In the Lamb category, the Grand Champion was shown

by Tyfanni Zeller, with Showmanship honors going to Junior Will Conner, Intermediate Tyfanni Zeller, and Senior Kaitlynn Lawrence.

The Grand Champion hog was shown by Trenton Hickman and sold for $18.00 a pound. Hannah Collier showed the Reserve Grand Champion hog. Herdsman honors went to Cody Phillips and Cheyenne Thibodeau. Showmanship winners included Junior Kasey Durand, Intermediate Aladin Sherwood, and Senior Kristen Barnes.

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In Showmanship, Junior Shelby Kirton, Intermediate Sarah Davis, and Senior Jessica Humphrey each won their class. Herdsman honors went to Gavin Beal.

The annual Kiss the Pig contest raised almost $1,500 for local FFA chapters. Robbie Johnson earned over 450 votes at $1 each giving him the honor of kissing the pig after the Livestock Sale had finished. The pig was then auctioned for an additional $500.

Be sure to join us for the 2012 fun, scheduled for March 9 – 18!

In the Beef Breeding category, the Overall Grand Champion Female was a Simmental Cross shown by Jessica Humphrey and the Overall Grand Champion Bull was a Shorthorn shown by William Campbell. Showmanship winners included Junior Shelby Kirton, Intermediate Sarah Davis and Senior Shiloh Anuez. The Herdsman award went to Carolanne Lundy.

The Overall Grand Champion Dairy cow was a Jersey shown by Cady McGeehee, who also took home the Junior Showmanship and Herdsman awards. Megan Perona and William Curren won the Intermediate and Senior Showmanship classes, respectively.

Shelby Lynn Kirton showed the Grand Champion Steer, a Maine Cross, which sold for $6.00 a pound. The Reserve Champion steer was a Maine Anjou Cross Angus shown by Sarah Davis. The Grand Champion County Bred steer was shown by Jessica Humphrey, with Reserve honors going to Raylee Holmes.

30 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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FLORIDA CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION

Devoted People Making it Happen

F

by Jim Frankowiak lorida Cattlemen’s Association President Jim Strickland will tell you straightaway, “the association is what it is not because of who is president, but because of the many devoted and smart people who have, are and will work hard to make it happen.”

A fourth generation cattle rancher, “Strick” as he is well known to many, and his wife, Renee’ Toussaint Strickland, call Myakka home, but their business interests and personal likes find them at home at many different locations around the world. Jim’s son, JJ, an alumnus of Texas A & M, is a Captain in the 3rd Special Forces Group, currently stationed in Afghanistan.

Rene owns TNT Title Searching, providing a range of services to a number of governmental entities within Florida. She also manages Strickland Ranch and Exports, which specializes in the exportation of livestock and agricultural products worldwide. Most recently, Renee was named manager of the Parrish Equestrian Center, an equestrian facility recently acquired on 200 acres just east of Parrish. The property has a clubhouse, 100 horse stalls, several show rings and other amenities. The Strickland’s are finalizing specific plans for the future of the operation, “but it will have an equestrian focus since Renee has long been involved in a variety of horse-related pursuits from rodeoing and polo to fox hunting,” said Jim, who in addition to his cattle ranch expertise is also an agricultural appraiser.

Jim grew up “in the saddle” and enjoyed his upbringing as a cowboy since it gave him a deep appreciation and understanding for the industry from a very early age. He and his father ran cattle on leased land stretching over five counties.

Tragedy struck Jim and his mother, Eleanor, when he was 18.

His father, Hiram, passed away and Jim took over the operation of his family’s cattle and citrus business.

Renee’s father was the manager of Babcock Ranch, one of the largest ranches in Florida, containing over 90,000 acres that, at that time, had thousands of mama cows. She grew up riding and working on the ranch with her father.

Today, Renee and Jim have a commercial Brangus herd and a small herd of “cracker cattle” on their ranch in southwest Florida.

Strickland has a long and distinguished career of service to agriculture, cattle ranching and the community. In addition to his current position with FCA, he is the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Board member for Florida, a Farm Bureau board member, Farm Bureau Beef Advisory Committee member and member of the Farm Bureau international trade task force. Jim also sits on the Manatee Agriculture Museum board and he is a member of the advisory board of the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Ona Range Cattle Research facility. He is a Baptist and is an emeritus director of the Manatee River Fair Board.

Renee is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the Livestock Exporters association of the U.S. and also chairman of the Florida Cattlemen’ Association Foreign Trade subcommittee.

Strickland notes that the accomplishments and direction of any FCA president relies “a lot on planning and determining your appointments well before your year in office begins.”

In that regard he sat down very early on with his vice president and FCA’s president-elect Don Quincey of Chiefland and “together we outlined what we wanted to achieve over the next

two years and this was manifest in our appointments. Don, who is smarter than me, endorsed and supported all of this. I must emphasize that much, if not all, of these ideas came from many people to help assure our association will meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Recognizing the benefit of continuity in programming, Strickland sought and received two year commitments from his executive board and committee chairs. “This type of succession planning is in the best interest of the association and its members. I am fortunate that Don and I have worked as a team,” said Strickland.

Continuing with his commitment to collaboration, Jim enlisted the help of the UF/IFAS Public Information and Education Center (PIE) to foster continuation of the association’s legacy. “I sincerely appreciate and applaud the hard work and achievement of past association leaders,” said Strickland. “I wanted to be sure that our next steps reflected what our leadership and members wanted from us.” He is particularly grateful to PIE’s Dr. Tracy Irani and Christy Chiaralli. Strickland also involved the FCA Membership and Public Relations committees, as well as the Florida Cattlewomen to help determine association assets, problems and member needs.

“With PIE’s help we did a survey through our magazine and online. I am pleased with the level of participation we had since the survey findings had to reflect levels of participation that we could project over the entire membership so our efforts would be on target.” It was during the process that Strickland realized “cowboys and computers do mix” when he determined the FCA website has on average 5,000 new visitors each month, not counting member visits.

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“This told me our members and others keep abreast of the association via our website, and we had to recognize that in our outreach,” he said. This led to a revamping of the website, a bi-weekly email for quick updating of members on important news and important information they should have in both words and pictures, as well as video. “I am also the first FCA president with my own Facebook page and I owe my thanks for this to both Hillary Webb, a past Florida FFA president and Erin Best.

Hillary is an invaluable help with my Facebook presence and Erin has made our website enhancements possible.” In case you are wondering, Strick has over 2,000 Facebook “friends” and that number is growing.

“Keeping website information fresh and continually updating our members via email is critical,” said Strickland. “Our team is doing this and that is precisely what we need as we leverage the strong history of FCA into the future.”

Case in point would be Strickland’s recent testimony on behalf of the FCA and NCBA with respect to the state of the beef industry before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. His remarks reflected national issues, including conservation and the environment, trade, research, energy, taxes, transportation and marketing as they relate to the industry and its future.

“Shortly after my testimony was given, the FCA social media team had content available on the FCA website and others were offering feeds of video via YouTube and Facebook. That is amazing, but precisely what we need to have our message communicated effectively to those we represent and those who can assist us as we plan for the future.”

Strickland also takes pride in the achievements of FCA with

34 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

respect to youth. “We have the proven best youth organization.

It is vibrant, encouraging and successful thanks to the hard work of its leadership. We swept the awards at Denver,” he noted.

“And that’s because we have the best, most devoted people in whatever committee or program we have taken on.”

“I am like any other FCA president. We have all taken what is good and tried to make it better. And that is all of us, FCA, our youth and the women of our association. Working together we are building upon the legacy of those who have come before us.”

“Let us never forget that cattle ranching had its beginnings in Florida and through all of our efforts at FCA, the industry will continue with a strong and vibrant future.”

For more information on the Florida Cattlemen’s Association visit www.floridacattlemen.org.

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Gov. Affairs, Tallahassee; Florida Beef Council Report, Roger Butler; NCBA President Report; ANCW President Report; FCA Sweetheart Report, Kelly Davis 9:00-11:30 a.m. FCW Board of Directors/ General Membership Meeting 10:00 a.m. Junior Team Marketing Contest 12:00 noon Youth Appreciation Luncheon Invocation Presentation of Outstanding CattleWoman Florida Cattleman & Livestock Journal Premier Awards Florida State Fair Awards JFCA Awards Introduction of Sweethearts: Sweetheart Chairman: Kim Strickland 1:30-4 p.m. Trade Show Open 4:00 p.m. Youth Leadership Seminar 5:00 p.m. Cattlemen’s Reception 6:00 p.m. Cattlemen's Supper 7:00 p.m. Presentation of Sweethearts: Kim Strickland 7:30 p.m. Sweetheart Coronation: Commissioner of Agriculture, Adam Putnam 7:45 p.m. Honorary Directors / CowMan / CowWoman; Presentations: FCA President Jim Strickland and Commissioner of Agriculture, Adam Putnam 8:00 p.m. Bull Auction - Tommy Barnes, Auctioneer 9:00 p.m. Junior Dance 9:00 p.m. Dance THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011 7:00 a.m. FCA Past Presidents/Executive Committee Breakfast 7:00 a.m. FCW Membership Breakfast 8:00-12:00pm Registration (Registration Closes at Noon) 8:00-10 a.m. Silent Auction (Bids Close 10am) 8:30 a.m. General Membership Meeting Call to Order: Jim Strickland, Myakka City; Invocation/ Pledge of Allegiance: Don Quincey, President-Elect, Chiefland Election of FCA Officers for 2011-2012 Speakers: TBA Researcher of the Year Report 11:00-3 p.m. Silent Auction Item Pickup 11:45 a.m. Golf Departures for Tournament 11:30am FCW Officers, Past Presidents and Chairs Luncheon 1:00 p.m. Volleyball Tournament 6:00 p.m. President's Reception 7:00 p.m. Banquet (Dress: Evening Attire) Special Drawings & Awards; President’s and President Elect's Remarks; Guest Speaker - TBA 9:00 p.m. Dance 9:00 p.m. Junior Dance

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2011 8a.m-10:00p.m Trade Show Exhibitor Move In 1:00 p.m. Sweetheart Contestant Meeting/Media Training 6p.m.-8p.m YCC Tour Participation Reception TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011 8:00 a.m.-4:00p.m. Registration 8:00-12 p.m. Trade Show Exhibitors Move In 8:00 a.m.

Sweetheart Power Point Presentations Open to everyone 8:30-12:30 p.m. FCA Executive Committee Meeting & Luncheon 9:00 a.m.

FCW Executive Committee Meeting & Luncheon 8:00 a.m.

Sweetheart Power Point Presentations 10:00 a.m. Florida Grazing Lands Coalition Meeting 10:00 a.m. Seedstock Meeting 11:00 a.m. State Fair Committee Meeting 12:00 p.m Jr. Member Photography Entries Due 1:00 p.m. SILENT AUCTION OPENS 1:00 p.m.

Opening General Session/ Committee Meetings (OPEN TO ALL FCA, FCW, & JFCA MEMBERS) Call to Order: Jim Strickland, President, Myakka City; Invocation/Pledge Allegiance to the Flag: Don Quincey, President-Elect, Chiefland 1:45 -5 p.m. Committee Meetings: Agricultural Research & Education Animal Health & Inspection Environmental, Private Lands Mgmt.

Marketing, Grading & Food Policy Public Relations 1:45-2:45 p.m. Youth Committee Meeting (County adult and Junior member delegates) 2:00 p..m. FCW Welcoming Reception 2:00 p.m. Allied Meeting (Mandatory - All Trade Show Exhibitors) 2:30 p.m.

Historical Board 3:00 p.m.

Membership Committee Mtg 3:00 p.m.

Jr. FCA's Educational Seminar (Beef Ambassadors & Junior Members) 4:30 p.m.

Allied Members' Trade Show Opening Reception Courtesy of Allied Trade Show Exhibitors Host: Brent Lawrence Allied Chairman 5:30-8:00 p.m. Trade Show Opens - Cash Bars in Show Area 7:30 p..m. Youth Quiz Bowl WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2011 7:00 a.m.

FCA Exec. Board, County Presidents & State Directors Breakfast 7:00 a.m. Youth Contests Finals 8:00 a.m. - 4:00pm Registration 8:00am-5pm Silent Auction 8:30 a.m. FCA Board of Directors' Meeting Call to Order: Jim Strickland, President, Myakka City; Invocation/Pledge Allegiance to the flag: Don Quincey, President-Elect, Chiefland; FCW Report: Wendy Petteway, President, Florida CattleWomen, Inc., Zolfo Springs; Tallahassee Report: Sam Ard, Dir. Of

Not all sponsors and events were available at press time.

Schedule and meeting times subject to change

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May 2011 11

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 35

Florida Citrus History

by Ron Lambert Greetings to all of you located in the Florida Heartland. I intend to conclude my segment on citrus with this month’s edition.

I began this series on what I termed wild citrus. That is, various types of citrus that occurred more or less naturally in a wide spread area throughout Florida.

This includes round oranges, both sweet and sour, tangerines, rough lemons, and grapefruit. All of these can be found growing almost anywhere in Florida that man has visited.

As I researched and read books on the origins of citrus and the subsequent development of plantings of orange groves, I gained a great deal of knowledge that I have found to be very interesting.

I should like to take time to share some background on the varieties of grapefruit that have been grown here throughout the years. First of all, the grapefruit was originally called a Pomelo.

The term grapefruit was given because of the manner in which the fruit hung in clusters much like a bunch of grapes. The fruit that we know as Pummelo was once known as a Shaddock, named for a Captain Shaddock, who brought seeds to the West Indies.

In the year 1809, Don Phillipe, a Spanish nobleman came to what is now Pinellas County where he planted a grapefruit grove.

At the time “The Cultivation of Citrus Fruits” book was written in 1925, at least one tree planted by him was still living. This was believed to be the earliest planting of grapefruit in Florida. At least two trees in the vicinity are known to be seedlings from this surviving tree. One of them is known as the largest grapefruit tree in Florida. The crown of this tree spreads to 60 feet. The other is the original Duncan grapefruit. The Duncan grapefruit was very widely grown and sold fresh, as well as packed in sections. Many people had jobs in canning plants sectioning grapefruit. I have included a photo of a canning plant. In addition to the Duncan,

Sectionizers preparing grapefruit hearts for canning.

36 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

Harvesting the orange crop.

another variety grown was a type named Desoto, which was found on the banks of the Peace River near Zolfo Springs. This was described by John Thompson of Clearwater Florida, who wrote that this fruit attracted his attention in the year 1892.

In 1906, a man named I.B. Foster located a branch on a Walter’s Grapefruit which had sported and produced pink fleshed grapefruit. It was named Foster Pink, and introduced by the Royal Palm Nursery of Oneco, Florida in 1914.

The Marsh grapefruit was introduced by a C.M. Marsh of Lakeland, Florida in 1895-96. It was known as Marsh Seedless. A pink fleshed type, which was also found near Oneco, Florida, was introduced by Reasoner Brother’s Nurseries in 1924.

Even though there are many other named varieties of grapefruit that were grown here, I will not attempt to list them all. I will mention a few words about a type named McCarty. This grapefruit appeared in Rockledge, Florida in about 1886. It was grown in the Indian River area as a forerunner to today’s famed Indian River fruit. The actual origin of this fruit is unknown. It is named after C.T. McCarty, who described it as being one of the best available grapefruit he had seen. He also noted that its fruits are borne singly on the branches rather than in clusters.

One other species of citrus worthy of mention is that of the kumquat. The kumquat was grown for fresh consumption. Kumquat preserves were also an added decorative addition to holiday shipments of citrus. The primary varieties were Nagami, the elongated kumquat, the Marumi, and the Meiwa, being both round fruits. The area surrounding Dade City is a primary growing area for kumquats even today.

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Several types of lemons and limes were also important commercially in Florida, but to a lesser degree than that of California.

The climate in California is more favorable to allow fruit to cure properly for a longer shelf life.

Prior to the freeze of 1894-95 lemon production, and its commercial importance, was considerable here with seasonal shipments of as many as 140,000 box leaving the state. The freeze dealt a severe blow to this type of citrus from which recovery seemed doubtful. The Eureka, Lisbon, Genoa, and Villafranca were all well known varieties prior to the turn of the Century. Limes were also grown to some degree commercially. These included the Mexican lime, that we know as a Key Lime today. In an effort to secure a

more cold tolerant lime, Walter Swingle, surely a familiar name to citrus men today, crossed Kumquat with the lime and produced a fruit named Eustis limequat. Two other types, named the Lakeland kumquat and the Tavares, were also developed.

The citrus industry has contributed a great deal to the growth of this great state. With the selection, and development of the vast number of types grown, it required careful observation and the attention to detail by very shrewd and patient men. I hope that I have been able to put this series together in such a way that it has been informative and enjoyable to those of you who have read it as it has been to me while writing it. Wait until you see what’s coming in June!

The street-corner fruit stand

Zigzag cultivation of a six year old orange grove. This method saves much hand labor and may be used until the trees grow so large that a team cannot pass between them.

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 37

Water Conservation = Energy $aving$ The Smart Choice Water Conservation Frost Protection treetpee.com 863-990-2095 Johnny Georges An Orange Guy in a Cape:

Leigh Killeen, Deputy Director of Domestic Marketing & Vanessa Hodak, Director of Foodservice and School Programs

by Ginny Mink Orange juice, Florida’s liquid gold, and the various species that produce it, has a new spokesperson. While commercials and ads portraying its healthy goodness in a tall chilled glass can still be seen, there is a new target audience. Citrus farmers from across the state banded together and asked the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) to help them reach the younger generation. Thusly, a new superhero emerged, Captain Citrus. This walking, talking orange in a cape was created with the help of By Kids For Kids, a company based out of Connecticut, and is their first food product design.

This year’s FDOC focus is on families with kids which ties into the general marketing they have been doing since 1921. The FDOC is tremendously dedicated to this concept and thusly they have invested in commercial advertisements featuring Captain Citrus, which are played on Nickelodeon and other family oriented TV channels.

“Citrus growers are pleased with the Captain Citrus design and program proposals,” says Vanessa Hodak, the manager of Away from Home Marketing for the FDOC. Vanessa has worked for the FDOC for the past ten years and has been doing school programs for the last five.

“When the growers asked that we do something for the kids,” Vanessa Hodak explained, “we brainstormed how to connect growers and students. Characters were something kids could see and relate to, something they could put a face to.” Apparently the plan is working because “the response has been very high,” and

38 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

they are anxious to have the character visit the schools, “to bring it to life at those schools.” Everyone is interested to see the reaction of the kids, because the FDOC and the growers believe “it’s a wholesome product with a fun character.”

This is Captains Citrus’ first year, the pilot program, and it kicked off in December 2010 and went live in January 2011 with Kit 1. The goal is to provide three counties, Polk, Highlands and Hardee, with a total of four kits that will help teachers expound on the general benefits of citrus, emphasize it as a healthy breakfast and initiate the Creative Juice Challenge. This year the program will reach, “100 schools, 3,000 kindergarten through fifth grade teachers and more than 50,000 students.” When the FDOC endeavors to do something new, they do it with gusto.

The Creative Juice Challenge seems to be one of the most intriguing aspects of the program. It requires an original art work submission made between February 1 and April 15. Art can be in any medium, from visual, to musical to written works as long as it includes one thing the child learned about orange juice through the program. There will be 15 finalists and then the top 3 submissions will be chosen.

The teacher with the most student submissions will receive an AMEX gift card, and the top 15 finalists’ schools will win a “grower planted citrus tree on Arbor Day, April 29.” The trees are being donated by nurseries and growers and are intended to tie into the increased focus on school based gardens. Clearly this is not just an FDOC initiative given the willingness of the growers

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The Grand Champion Tree Protector!

Pasco County Distributor Floyd’s Nursery 10548 Singletary Rd. | Dade City, FL 33525 (352) 521-3571 www.FloydCitrus.com and nurseries to provide trees and time to further its success rate.

In addition, a costumed character version of Captain Citrus, along with various growers from across the state, will visit 15-20 schools, based on teacher requests. Students will be provided with basic citrus knowledge, have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the growers, and receive “temporary tattoos, stickers and stuff to go into pencil pouches.” They will also get to sample fresh citrus and orange juice and then take pictures with Captain Citrus himself. These visits are scheduled to begin in mid-March and last through the end of April.

The kid oriented part of this endeavor centers around The Adventures of Captain Citrus. This creative storyline starts with his arrival from the Orange Planet in search of other superheroes.

He has chosen Florida as his landing site because, “the Sunshine State is home to many orange trees.” While on planet Earth, he will visit eight different growers, also known as superheroes, and will blog about the things he learns along the way on his website, www.CaptainCitrus.com. Students “will learn with him on his journey.”

To further emphasize the creativity of Florida’s citrus farmers and tie into the concept of the Creative Juice Challenge, the first grower Captain Citrus visits and blogs about is Ellis Hunt.

Mr. Hunt’s family has been growing and packing oranges for almost 90 years. He is also a musician and kids will have the opportunity to read all about him and what he does on the Captain Citrus website.

The website has been custom designed to provide teachers, students and parents with educational information about Florida citrus. It “includes kids space, parent universe and teacher galaxy.”

The site is designed to “house all program materials and serve as

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Polk County Distributor Frostproof Growers Supply 512 N Scenic Highway | Frostproof, FL 33843 (863) 635-3620 www.Frostproof.com a portal for teachers, students and parents to utilize.” In addition, teachers from other counties not included in the original pilot can access programs in downloadable pdf format for free. There is no reason why this program cannot infiltrate all Florida schools thanks to the benefits of the worldwide web.

“The program is evergreen to a certain extent,” Vanessa Hodak said, because the same kits can be used year after year as teachers receive new students. However, it is the FDOC’s goal to go to more counties. They hope to secure funding to continue the program and grow it to the point that they receive national exposure. Given the amount of advertising they have done and the feedback they have received, this doesn’t seem like a far-fetched goal at all.

To get an idea of the amount of advertising that has been dedicated to this program, it is important to note that an e-blast was sent to all teachers in Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties in order to announce the new website. Extensive foodservice advertising has happened in the School Nutrition magazine, as well as in the csi foodpro Gateway newsletter. These print ads have a circulation of roughly 61,000. Three full page ads are being run from April to June of 2011. This nine month (overall) advertising campaign is “expected to garner 1.5 million impressions.” That’s a lot of eyes on Captain Citrus.

In December 2010, Vanessa Hodak presented the program to the Florida Citrus Commission. While there she revealed the fact that Captain Citrus will be attending the Florida School Nutrition Conference in Orlando and the School Nutrition Association Annual Convention in Nashville this July. The Nashville visit is an important one as this is a national convention not just a Florida based one.

Florida’s Liquid Gold

May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 39

Citrus Update:

While meeting with “more than 200,000 school foodservice decision makers,” at these conferences, the FDOC will “promote Florida orange and grapefruit juices and the versatility of citrus,” as well as, “communicate the health and wellness benefits,” of these juices. They have utilized online and print advertising as well as enewsletters that will run from January through June of 2011 as a means to get food service managers, directors and dieticians on board.

School nutrition based gatherings aren’t the only ones on Captain Citrus’ agenda. The Florida Citrus Mutual, the largest grower organization in Florida, will be graced by the presence of Captain Citrus at their meeting in June. In fact, “different people in the industry have asked if he can make an appearance,” at their meetings and events. Obviously Captain Citrus has created quite a fan base.

Currently the FDOC is rotating through six different people in order to provide students with an up close and personal experience with the costumed version of Captain Citrus. However, if the demand continues to increase as planned, they will probably need to hire a parttime college student as their consistent performer. No matter how you look at it, Captain C, as he prefers to be called, is quite a busy orange guy.

40 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

Is Your Grove Ready for a Hurricane?

by Justin Smith The early oranges are gone and most of the mid-season varieties are off the trees. By now harvesting of the late seasons are well underway as well. The harvesting season is past the half way mark and the busy spring/summer season is in progress.

As with all agriculture cycles, by the time one ends another has already begun. One of the cycles we must be prepared for is hurricane season.

Yes, June first always marks the six month long survey for tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean. The nightly news will be watched just a little closer. We will all become more aware of the gulf streams location and what is happening between the Bahamian Islands and the coast of Africa. A diligent crew of meteorologist will be ready to detect even the slightest shift in the wind currents, which will turn a seemingly harmless group of clouds into a nightmare.

For the most part Florida, and particularly the Florida citrus industry, has been rather lucky in regards to hurricanes. For generations we had not seen anything above a heavy rain and some gusty wind. But in 2004 and 2005 things changed. As many of us watched what seemed to be the large target painted on the map named Florida, we wondered what was going on.

The storms traversed our state in all directions and each time the citrus industry was caught in the middle. As with just about every challenge faced by citrus growers we overcame the 04 and 05 devastations.

The 2011 hurricane season preliminary forecast has been released and is predicting above average storms this year. The estimate predicts 16 named storms, five of which are projected to be category 3-5. As we all are aware these predictions can be off by a large margin, as this is not a perfect science. However, this is our only guide and we should take it under consideration.

Since it has been a few years since we had to deal with a major hurricane we should check ourselves just to make sure we have not become complacent. It is all too easy to fall back into the trap of thinking we don’t have anything to worry about.

There is nothing that can be done to stop a hurricane. There have been some interesting concepts people have turned into the National Weather Service to stop them. Such as giant fans set up along the coast lines to blow them apart. Or there was even a

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suggestion to shoot a nuclear missile into the heart of a storm as an attempt to dissipate it. The list can keep going but it doesn’t change the fact that we have no viable way to halt one of these massive systems. So our best solution is to be proactive. Don’t wait until there is a storm bearing down on us to begin thinking of what to do.

Our homes are of the utmost importance if we are faced with a storm. There is a good chance most Floridians have a plan of action and maybe even a cache of supplies just for the season.

This is great but it means we should be all the more prepared in our groves. If a storm does get Florida in its cross hairs we will spend much of our preparation time with our homes and families. So we should take the time now to prepare our groves.

Preparing the grove is rather simple. Things such as keeping stuff picked up around the barn or pump houses, make sure all empty chemical containers have been properly disposed of.

Check the areas for loose metal such as bolts, nails or tools that may have been dropped or laid down and forgotten. A wrench moving at 75+mph could do some major damage but can be easily avoided. These are the kind of things we won’t have a lot of time to think about in the face of a storm. We have the tendency to think there is nothing that can be done for the grove except wait and see what happens, but that may not be the case.

Drainage is also a thought that could go into grove preparation. Tropical systems bring massive amounts of rain. No matter what kind of drought we may be in, there is only so much the ground can soak up at one time. So there will be plenty of run off. If there is insufficient drainage set up ahead of time some trees may be standing in water for a while. This is especially so if there is a lot of damage to clean up, as we may not get to the grove for a little bit. Once again our homes would take priority and the grove would be forced to wait.

Hurricanes are one of nature’s unpredictable yet inevitable events. Hopefully Florida will once again be spared the full furry of one this year. But as I grew up learning, an ounce of prevention has much more effect than a pound of cure. So keep in mind getting your grove ready for hurricane season before it actually gets here

May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 41

By Sandy Kaster, M.S. Clinical Medicine, B.S. Nutrition Science The Florida sweet onion is a juicy, delicious springtime treat. At its peak now, sweet onions have a limited season of a few months, so enjoy them now while you can. A member of the allium family, along with garlic and shallots, onions are high in vitamins, minerals, and a host of nutrition-boosting compounds, such as flavonoids and polyphenols. Some of these compounds may help combat heart disease, strokes, and cancer, as well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Compared with storage onions, sweet onions have a higher water content and a lower sulfur content, making them less pungent, less tear-producing, and more easily digestible. They are delicious eaten raw or cooked, unlike storage onions, which are mainly eaten cooked.

Sweet onions in Florida are sometimes grown around the perimeter of strawberry fields as a natural way to deter pests. Sometimes called “strawberry onions” these onions tend to exceptionally sweet and mild.

According to the USDA, U.S. farmers harvested 148,560 acres of onions in 2009, producing more than 7.4 billion pounds of onions.

Onions are one of the three largest crops in the country, along with lettuce and watermelon.

Nutritional Profile

Florida sweet onions are low in calories and have no fat, sodium or cholesterol. They contain a myriad of active compounds that may help ward off cancer, heart disease, high blood glucose, and strokes.

Onions may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol and support the immune system. Like garlic and other alliums, onions have antibacterial and antifungal properties.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, one cup of raw, chopped onion (160 g) contains 60 calories, 1.9 g protein, 0.3 g fat, 13.8 g carbohydrate, and 2.9 g of dietary fiber. It also provides 20.7 percent of the Daily Recommended Value (%DV) for chromium, 17 percent for vitamin C, 11.5 percent for dietary fiber, 11 percent for manganese, 10.7 percent for molybdenum, 9.5 percent for vitamin B6, 7.2 percent for potassium, and plentiful amounts of other B vitamins, as well as magnesium, calcium, iron, and iodine.

Phytonutrients Fight Disease

Onions contain high levels of different phytonutrients, organic compounds in plants that may boost health. Among the phytonutrients, flavonoids (especially quercetin), are plentiful in onions, and are mainly concentrated in the outer layers of the flesh. The quercetin in onions is better absorbed than that from other sources, such as apples.

Studies have shown that quercetin protects against cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Onions have very high levels of these disease-fighting compounds, putting it alongside other veggie superstars such as broccoli, parsley, and shallots. As with most other nutrients, eating whole vegetables yields more benefit than taking supplements.

Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant that acts to block the formation of cancer cells. Several servings per week of onions may lower the risk of colorectal, laryngeal, ovarian cancer. Oral and esophageal cancer may also be decreased by high onion consumption.

Healthy Heart

Onions are very flavorful, thanks to their sulfur compounds.

These compounds pack a big health punch as well. They may help prevent clumping of platelet cells in the blood because they possess substances with fibrinolytic activity. Additionally, these sulfur compounds may play a role in lowering blood pressure cholesterol and triglyceride levels. All of these benefits translate into a healthier heart.

42 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

Sweet Onions

Strong Bones

Some human research studies suggest that eating onions can help increase bone density, which is particularly important for postmenopausal women. This bone benefit may be related to the high sulfur content in onions, since many of the body’s connective tissue components require sulfur for their formation.

Lower Inflammation

Onions, along with other alliums, provide important anti-inflammatory benefits. Quercetin, an important anti-oxidant, provides anti-inflammatory benefits by preventing the oxidation of fatty acids in the body. Lower levels of oxidized fatty acids translates into fewer pro-inflammatory molecules, keeping the level of inflammation lower.

Other Health Benefits

Onions may help reduce asthma attacks and fight off bacteria and viruses. Quercetin, found in high levels in onions, may have antibacterial properties. Some studies have shown onions may help fight the effects of Streptococcus mutans, a type of bacteria commonly involved in the production of tooth cavities.

Onions also contain high levels of vitamin C and chromium. One serving of onions contains over 20 percent of your daily needs of chromium. This essential mineral helps cells respond to insulin, which is necessary for healthy blood glucose control and balance. Chromium is also used in the metabolism and storage of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates by the body. It may also help control fat and cholesterol levels in the blood.

How to Select and Store

Choose sweet onions that have light golden brown skin that is shiny and uniform and free of sprouts, soft spots, or bruises. Store in a cool dry place with good air circulation or in the refrigerator. Generally, sweet onions can be stored for up to four to six weeks. Once cut, onions should be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to a week. While sweet onions can also be frozen, their texture changes, so frozen onions are best used cooked.

Sweet onions cause fewer tears than most other types of onions.

You can still minimize tears by chilling onions prior to slicing or running cold water over the onion while slicing.

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There are countless ways to enjoy Florida sweet onions. They may be eaten raw, sliced, sautéed, fried, or even pickled. Although commonly used in sandwiches and salads, onions can be used in a variety of dishes in many different cuisines.

• More ways to enjoy onions: • Sauté in butter over low heat to make caramelized onions • Mince and mix with herbs to create a crust for roasted meats • Cut thick slices and grill for a smoky flavor • Mince and add to salad dressings, dips, or cream cheese • Make stuffed onions. Stuff whole onions with rice and spices and bake • Dice and add to egg omelets and stir-fries • Sauté with bell peppers, or with celery and carrots in a mirepoix to flavor dishes • Dice and add to salsas, pasta sauce, and other sauces Enjoy the crisp, juicy flavor of Florida sweet onions today.

Selected References

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/ http://www.onions-usa.org http://www.whfoods.com

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 43

Heartland Friends of NRA th 6 Annual Dinner & Auction

Catered by

Mae Jeanne Peppers

Dinners include Steak, Baked Potato, Salad, Roll, Dessert, Tea or Water

The Barn Raiser’s Appetizers at 6pm and Dinner at 7pm. Dinner includes Steak with all the fixings, drinks are included. ea

Saturday, May 14th

Instructions Combine the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan, cook on low heat until clear. Add small amount of mixture to beaten eggs. Gradually add all to eggs, being careful not to cook the eggs. Cook 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and blend in lemon juice and butter. Pour into pre-baked pie shell. The filling and shell should be the same temperature. Top with meringue.

Raising money for the Livestock Barn & Scholarships

Sponsored by: Musselman’s Appliances Heartland National Bank Glades Electric Bill jarrett Ford Denise Grimsley Senate Campaign

T

Highlands County Fair Convention Center 781 Magnolia Avenue, Sebring, Fl 33870

Friday, May 6th Benefit Dance for Tate Higginbotham’s Kidney Transplant Desoto County Fairgrounds Doors Open 7pm, Dance Starts at 8pm Silent Auction with Great Items including • 1 night stay at Oak Park Inn • $50 gift certificate Charlotte Cultural Center • Navagator Air Boat Ride • $50 gift certificate Coral Rock Cafe • $250 1/2 day fishing trip with Mark King and more to come

Instructions

3 egg whites ½t vanilla ¼t cream of tartar 6T sugar

382-2255

TAILGATE PARTY

Meringue Ingredients

Savage 114 Classic Bolt Action 30-06 1 for $10, 3 for $25, or 7 for $50 (250 Tickets)

For more information regarding tickets, please contact the Highlands County Fair Office at

Promoting Agriculture for Our Youth and Our Community

/ ts $50 Ticke e 21 or b Must attend. o t r e old

Orange Pie 1 9 inch ready-made pie crust baked as directed 1C orange juice 1C orange sections 2T grated orange rind 1C sugar 5T corn starch 3 egg yolks, beaten 2T lemon juice 2T butter

Judge Public Defender $5 each (200 Tickets)

To purchase tickets or for more information contact your local committee at: Shird 863-381-8540, Tony 863-214-4197, Barb 863-446-1969, Shad 863-287-0953, Chanea 863-381-1313, Crystal 863-451-6020, Jason 863-381-2906 www.friendsofnra.org/events

Mae Jeanne is a Florida native with deep roots. Her mother was born in Glade County where her grandparents homesteaded. They came from the Arcadia area to Lakeport in the early 1900’s, where they carved a living from the land.

Now residing in Highlands County, where the family moved in 1972, she has been employed in the medical field, served in the ministry and worked 12 years for the Highlands County Extension Office. She also worked with the Highlands County Fair Association and Sebring Raceway.

Mae Jeanne and her husband, Sam, have two daughters. One lives in Charlotte, NC and one in Highlands County.

This Orange Pie recipe has become a family favorite and is often requested for potluck dinners. Mae Jeanne won the Highlands County Fair 2011 Blue Ribbon for this recipe.

Ingredients

Saturday—May 21, 2011 Social Hour 6:00pm—Dinner 7:30pm Sebring Civic Center 355 West Center Avenue, Sebring, FL Tickets: Adult (11 & up) Single-$50 | Couples-$85 Children (10 & under) FREE

Pre-Event Raffles Include:

Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar to form soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, beat until stiff glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved. Spread over pie, sealing it around the edges.

Bake at 350° for about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Let cool, then refrigerate to set. Enjoy!

Music by Chris MacArthur and The Florida Cracker Boys more details and auction item updates @ www.jgbigstarproductions.com or call 863-494-0577 44 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 45

Certified Public Accountants

Wicks, Brown, Williams & Co. Serving Central Florida for Over 40 Years

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46 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

“Where You Never Pay A Dealer Fee!”

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Serving Highlands County For Over 30 Years

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Jody Sullivan

Born and raised in Arcadia, Jody Sullivan spent her childhood horseback around ranch work and rodeos. Her father, the late Donald Boyd, was a day-worker and successful rodeo cowboy who won the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo All-Around title several times. She learned many lessons on the road, as the family would also travel west to the large rodeos like Cheyenne Frontier Days.

As an adult, her knowledge of the diverse agriculture industry increased as she worked jobs in citrus, at a local veterinary clinic, Farm Credit and at a purebred Beefmaster cattle operation. Jody went to work for DeSoto County in 2007 and transferred to the Turner Center in 2008 and was appointed as Event Coordinator soon thereafter. The Center had just re-opened after extensive renovations and repairs that were required after the 2004 hurricane season and Jody was charged with developing the Center’s calendar of events.

The Turner Center is a climate controlled venue that can seat up to 3,000 people depending on the type of event. It offers tables and chairs, 40 X 60 foot stage, snack bars, restrooms and a house sound system, making it the perfect location for any number of different events from weddings to trade shows. There is a second, smaller building on site that is available for use by smaller groups. The facility also has 60 full RV hook ups and 15 partial hook ups.

140 South Commerce Avenue Sebring, Florida 33870

E R U T L U C I IN AGR

Given Jody’s strong background in agriculture, it was natural for her to focus on bringing in ag-related events. She enlisted the help of her good friend, Janet Harvin, to help raise money needed to purchase good footing (a dirt and clay mix) needed to cover the facility’s concrete floor. Once the funding was secured and footing delivered, the door was opened to pursue such bookings. Working with the local National Barrel Horse Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association directors, the facility hosted its first barrel race on Saturday, August 8, 2009, drawing 364 competitors. Since then, the Turner Center has hosted several ranch rodeos, Christian rodeos, 4-H clinics, and a hunter-jumper event.

In addition to the equestrian events, Jody works with other groups to host events such as the Harlem Globetrotters, the high school prom and graduation ceremonies, Quinceañeras (Hispanic 15th birthday celebrations), and professional trade groups.

She continues to work to develop a “well-rounded” calendar of events and hopes to soon contract for a professional boxing event and an outdoor exposition.

Jody and her husband Kevin owned a successful American Quarter Horse breeding operation for 15 years. They were the first people in the area to collect their studs and use artificial insemination to focus on a particular bloodline, beginning their endeavor with a son of Little Peppy named Little Hotshot

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Badger. Interest in the bloodline stemmed from Kevin’s desire for working cowboys to have affordable access to quality horses with strong conformation and level temperaments for ranch and rodeo use. The Sullivans also had a second stud, Dynamites Lite, who continued to carry on the Peppy bloodline. Jody speaks proudly of their studs’ offspring success in polo, cutting, reining, team roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, calf roping, goat tying and pole bending events. But they are especially proud of producing great ranch horses.

These days Jody’s spare time is focused on her family. Their son Dan and his wife Melissa are stationed at Fort Hood, Texas where Dan is a Sergeant in the Army. Dan recently received a Purple Heart for injuries received in Afghanistan. They have a

daughter, Rhylea, who is 2 years old and she spends as much time as possible with them. She also attends the Ft. Ogden Baptist Church. Her continued involvement in the American Quarter Horse Association and the Cattlemen and Cattlewomen Associations, just goes to show that when you are raised around cattle and horses, they’re always in your heart.

Florida CattleWomen

by Wendy Petteway The Florida CattleWomen were formed in 1961, known then as the Florida CowBelles. From the beginning, the cattlewomen were involved in beef promotion and education, both of the consumer and themselves.

Today, beef promotions and education are still at the forefront of our association. Each year we have a BEEF booth at the Southern Women’s Show in Orlando in October. Usually around 35,000 come through the convention center over four days and this past year we gave out 9,000 BEEF samples along with recipe brochures and handouts about the cattle industry in Florida. Our goal, especially in urban areas, is to educate the consumer that there is a cattle industry in Florida, that we are environmentally aware and we handle our cattle with the utmost care and respect.

Urban consumers sometimes cannot believe there are cattle in Florida, they have no idea our industry exists. I remember being at one women’s show and one patron asked me if we were from Texas, as we were cattlewomen. We said no, we were Florida CattleWomen and I don’t think she believed us!

Florida CattleWomen also fund scholarships. This year we’ve added two new ones. We already have a scholarship at the University of Florida for a female undergraduate student in Animal Science and a scholarship at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine for a third or fourth year student. This year we decided to implement a scholarship for a female undergraduate student in Ag Communications, as well as scholarships for students graduating high school who may be going to a trade school for certification in an ag mechanics type of training, which will benefit the ag industry in this state. We’re proud to be able to fund these scholarships.

One way we fund these is our $5,000 drawing each year at our annual convention in Marco Island in June. Another is our annual clay shoot at Quail Creek in Okeechobee.

Held the second weekend in January, this past year we had over 100 shooters and couldn’t have had better weather.

Each year the shoot has grown, and we have high expectations for the 2012 shoot. We have many sponsors from around the state, and couldn’t do the shoot without them, they are greatly appreciated.

Through the Florida Beef Council, the Florida CattleWomen work very hard at promoting BEEF throughout the

48 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

state. Whether it is an in-store demonstration, the Florida State Fair, or an educational conference, we work hard to let the consumer know about our industry and how beef can be included in a healthy diet. This takes a lot of time and commitment on our part and we appreciate the commitment the Florida Beef Council has shown in helping us to achieve our goals.

Another outlet we have for the education of our youth is our Beef Consumer Representative competition. We have a judged competition, both junior and senior, for a youth to represent the Beef industry in Florida. This year, the competition will be held in conjunction with the Florida Junior Cattlemen’s Show in August in Kissimmee.

We are very proud of our website (http://www.floridacattlemen.org/fcw.html). It is a great outlet of information for all of our members and potential ones as well. Membership can be paid online now, and there is all our contact information for officers and committee chairs.

One thing we are especially proud of is our charitable gifts to Hope Children’s Home in Tampa. Each December at our quarterly meeting, the CattleWomen bring Christmas gifts for all the children at the home. Our gifts to them are the only ones the children receive. Their names are given to us at the September quarterly and the shopping begins!

Our ladies have been overjoyed to help these children with Christmas presents. We fill up the straight truck the home brings every year, whether with bicycles, packages, clothes, etc. We also raise funds to purchase BEEF certificates. Last year we gave over $2,500 in BEEF certificates to the home to use throughout the year to purchase BEEF for the children.

There is not usually a dry eye in the house when we present the gifts for the children to the Hope Children’s Home representatives. It is truly a blessing for us to give to them.

It’s a great privilege to serve as President of the Florida CattleWomen in their 50th anniversary year. There are some great women throughout this state who have served in leadership positions in this association, whether as committee chairs or on the Executive Committee. We are a hard working group of women and I’m so glad to be a part of it. The industry has a lot of dedicated women working to promote our product and educate the consumer about the benefits of beef in a healthy diet.

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 49

You are invited to attend the Highlands County Ridgerunners Chapter of The National Wildlife Turkey Federation Banquet

Come for an evening of fun, food, games and prizes.

6pm Friday, May 20 at the Sebring International Raceway 113 Midway Dr. | Sebring, FL 33870

“It is our mission to produce the highest quality products, market them at competitve prices, provide superior customer service and maximize returns to Florida growers.”

Thanks to the continued efforts of the NWTF and concerned sportsmen like you, there are now over 7 million wild turkeys in the United States. The NWTF spent over $200,000 on wildlife conservation projects in Florida last year with nearly half being reinvested here in Central FL!

Please call Tres 381-7673, Austin 443-0621 or e-mail Michelle, mdelaney@sebringraceway.com for more information.

Six convenient locations throughout Hardee and Highlands Counties!

Mail this form and check made to NWTF to Michelle Delaney, 113 Midway Dr., Sebring, FL 33870. This is a family event. Proceeds benefit the Florida National Wild Turkey Federation.

Single Ticket

Includes one year membership, magazines & meal

$50

Couple’s Ticket

Includes two memberships, magazines & meals

$85

Sponsor

Includes admission for two, two memberships, magazines, two meals, limited edition sponsor print, lapel pin, NWTF camera bag and a 1 in 10 chance to win a gun with some worth of $1,000

$285

Sponsor Table

Includes one sponsor membership and all of the above sponsor benefits and gifts plus seven regular memberships, reserved seating for eight and special recognition at the banquet

$550

Jake’s Ticket*

Includes 1 year membership and meal (*under 17)

$20

Includes $400 in raffle tickets, four chances on the gun rack, exclusive gun drawing for players club only, discounts on other gun raffles, NWTF camo cap, limited edition NWTF filet knife! *only 40 available **if purchased before May 16 ($200 after May 16 or at the banquet)

$175**

Super-Saver Sponsor Pack

Save $50 on the Players Club Pack if purchased in advance with Sponsor tickets or a Sponsor Table

$150

Gun of the Year Tickets*

The 2011 NWTF Gun of the Year is a Kimber 1911 .45 semi-auto pistol with custom engraved grips. Only 100 tickets available! *while supplies last **If purchased before May 16 ($20 each at the banquet)

3 for $50**

 Mr.

 Mrs.

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Fran Becker Office: (863) 494-0440 • Mobile: (863) 990-8582

Serving Highlands County and the Peace River Basin area since 1994.

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James D. Webb, Jr. Senior Vice President Financial Advisor

Name Nutritionals

Mailing Address City

State Zip

Email

 Check*

Phone

 Visa  MC  AMEX  Discover

Please enclose a check made payable to NWTF. Credit Card # Expiration Date A portion of your contribution is tax-deductible. See your tax advisor for details. Regular and sponsor members will receive bi-monthly magazines. Jakes receive a quarterly magazine.

50 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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Lake Placid Office 800-775-5594

Barney Cherry 863-441-1482

Charlie Norris 863-634-2041

Skip Fricke 863-441-3003

Dick Harvin 863-441-3008

Dwight Meeker 863-673-3013

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611 US Hwy 27 South Sebring, FL 33870 direct 863 451 4035 fax 863 382 2212 toll free 800 962 2548 james.d.webb@mssb.com May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 51

Dis t r ict 6 Up da t e Fro m th e D esk o f Andy Neuh o fer

Matt Pearce

by Robbi Sumner

Fifth generation Floridian Matt Pearce knows a thing or two about cattle. Born and raised in Okeechobee, Matt grew up helping on his family’s ranch and continues his involvement today.

A full-time Sales Representative – Cattle Specialist with Purina, Matt works with both dealers and direct accounts and enjoys the relationships that have developed over the years. It’s a job that involves both personal contact and use of today’s technologies in order to stay on top of the latest nutrition and sales information.

Matt and one of his peers were among the first to develop a Facebook page to promote education and communication with users and potential users of Purina products. Purina recently revamped its Rewards program to utilize online delivery, saving the company postal dollars that can now be spent on research or put back into the pockets of its customers. According to Matt, “There was a time when business was all done face to face or over the phone.

Now there are multiple methods of communication including email, texting and social networks, and Purina is committed to meeting the needs of today’s customers.”

Matt also helps his father Roy and his brother Mark with approximately 2,000 head of commercial beef cattle under Pearce Cattle Company. Mark handles the day-to-day operations with help from Roy, and Matt takes care of most of the buying, selling, and involvement with industry-related organizations.

“Today’s ranchers need to be aware of what’s going on in the industry, not just focus on their own operation, in order to offer a superior product and stay in business,” said Matt. To that end, he currently serves as Chairman of the local Farm Service Agency Board, after serving two 2-year terms as a Board member. This Board allows producers to contribute input on various legislative issues such as livestock forage and disaster response programs.

Having previously served as President of the Okeechobee Cattle-

52 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

men’s Association, Matt now serves on the six-member Florida Cattlemen’s Association Executive Board, which is appointed by the FCA President. He enjoys attending Cattlemen’s Quarterly meetings in Tallahassee which allow additional face time with policy makers.

Matt also serves as the current President of the Okeechobee Youth Livestock Show Committee and has been active with the group for about 15 years. He previously served on the South Florida Fair Youth Beef Breeding Committee and is now on the Market Animal Committee. If you attend any of Purina’s jackpot beef cattle shows in Okeechobee, Kissimmee or North Florida, you’ve probably seen him there, too. Purina sponsors a points series in conjunction with the Florida Junior Cattlemen’s Association that culminates with awards given at the state convention in June. Matt understands and appreciates the importance of youth activities to keep them interested in agriculture.

Matt and Alicia, his wife of 17 years, have three children, 14-year old Taylor, 10-year old Chandler, and Aubrey, who just turned 9. All of their children are active in 4-H, having started by showing small animals, then moving on to show cattle. When the “County Bred” category was added to the Okeechobee Youth Livestock Show, Matt began to focus on a small herd of Simmental Angus Cross cattle for his kids to show. He also offers a select number of the cattle for purchase by other 4-H and FFA members.

Matt’s brand, the P1, is 90-100 years old and was passed down to him because he is his family’s first Pearce grandson. His kids each have their own brand and he hopes they will treasure them and the heritage they represent for years to come, as he continues to treasure his.

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At the Florida Farm Bureau Federation’s website, www.floridafarmbureau.org, you can find information about what is happening in the Farm Bureau. In the most recent postings, in the Issues and Public Policy section, you will find information about several ongoing issues.

The March 2011 postings include detailed information about the Environmental Protection Agency’s Numeric Nutrient Criteria. Estate Taxes are an ongoing issue and we continue to work to minimize those taxes and potentially eliminate them in the future.

Other matters include the EPA’s greenhouse regulations under the Clean Air Act. We oppose such regulations and believe the EPA is overstepping their authority.

Agricultural Labor and agricultural chemicals are on the list as is a comprehensive energy policy.

Proposed rules concerning the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration are an issue of fair competition.

The proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is basically a mixed bag to date and more work is needed before the rules are finalized.

Capital Gains taxes are important for those who wish to sell their land after a lifetime or generations of farming. Maybe a family wishes to sell part of the property to continue in agriculture or possibly expand elsewhere. These are issues that need to be resolved in order to solve the overall problem of too many taxes on hard working Americans.

I have given you a brief summary. Go to the website, www.floridafarmbureau.org, Issues and Public Policy to learn more details.

Andy Neuhofer

This Mother’s Day throw bunches.

Hours: Mon - Fri 9-5 Sat 9-2

www.HeartlandGold.com

Andy Neuhofer Field Representative District 6 Andy.neuhofer@ffbf.org 352.318.2506 www.floridafarmbureau.org www.InTheFieldMagazine.com

Sometimes it’s okay to throw rocks at Mama.

1102 S. 6th Avenue Wauchula, FL 33873 S. 6th Avenue & Stenstrom Road

863-773-4466

May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 53

No Hoof.. No Horse

by Robbi Sumner This and many other topics were discussed at the 2011 Performance Horse Short Course held Saturday, April 2 at the Hendry County Fairgrounds. Participants enjoyed a full day of equine education presented by the South Florida Beef Forage Program (SFBFP). The SFBFP includes extension 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 of the University of Florida. The combined knowledge of all agents improves the quality of presentations like these, which are held in various locations in an effort to improve accessibility.

Dr. Lori Warren and Dr. Ed Johnson travelled from Gainesville to share knowledge in their areas of expertise. Dr. Warren, an Equine Nutritionist with the University of Florida, spoke on digestive

disorders such as gastric ulcers and colic.

Dr. Warren illustrated the size of equine digestive organs with a model that she made as a former 4-Her. Various tips regarding feeding program management and other measures for prevention and maintenance were discussed. Dr. Johnson, a farrier and Extension Horse Specialist with the University, spoke on the importance of proper hoof care. Regardless of use, an unsound horse has limited value, hence the adage “no hoof, no horse.” Whether a horse is kept barefoot or shod, hooves should receive proper care in regular 6-8 week intervals. A horse with corrective

54 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

shoeing to address contracted heels was brought in for a demonstration of how age, use, and conformation can sometimes necessitate special hoof care.

Dr. Mark D’Amato, a human and equine chiropractor from Sarasota, spoke on the importance of bone, muscle and nerve health and how it can impact performance. As a practicing chiropractor, Dr. D’Amato was encouraged by a friend to explore the equine chiropractic discipline. After attending a few academic sessions focused on equine care, he began to realize the importance of such practice and continued until becoming certified by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. He has since added an Animal Division to his existing human chiropractic clinic. Dr. D’Amato considers chiropractic to be “complementary” to the overall care and maintenance program that horse owners typically follow and explained that the benefits of chiropractic work are two-fold. First, it works with the neurological system to improve communication between the brain and the body, thus enhancing balance and coordination.

Second, a joint that doesn’t move correctly won’t allow the animal to flex, extend, or rotate the way it should, preventing optimum performance. Dr. D’Amato evaluated the demonstration horse and performed needed adjustments to enhance his performance and overall well-being.

Dr. Jess Landa of Ridge Large Animal Veterinary Services in Lake Placid addressed a number of topics including common performance horse problems and equine wound management. She stressed

May 2011

the importance of training young horses gradually in order to lay a foundation for mental and physical stability. Joint supplements and the pros and cons of both oral supplements and intramuscular injections were also discussed. Knowing your horse’s “typical” behavior is essential for determining when something is off in cases where more obvious outward systems are not demonstrated. During the discussion of wound management, several photographic case studies were presented along with their prescribed treatment. Essential components of an equine first aid kit were disclosed, and proper wrapping techniques for hoof and lower leg injuries were also demonstrated.

Tommy Martin, with animal health company Merial, helped sponsor the event and was on hand to discuss some of their more popular equine products such as Zimectrin wormer and Equioxx anti-inflammatory paste. If you have not yet had the opportunity to attend a Performance Horse Short Course, make plans for next spring. The SFBFP offers participants a wealth of invaluable information presented by industry experts.

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 55

Hunting the West with Jay Houston

The Value of Hunting with a Professional Outfitter There are few places you will learn more about western big game hunting faster than on a guided hunt with a reputable professional outfitter. A first-rate outfitter is in the business of hunting or planning for hunts 365 days per year. They live and breathe hunting. Licensed professional outfitters are at the top of their game. For the hunter who is either new to western big game hunting or does not have the time to devote to learning how western game like elk, mule deer and pronghorn live and move in a specific area in preparation for an upcoming hunt, an outfitter is without a doubt your best resource for success.

Every year our business Hunt Connections, http://www.

HuntConnections.com is contacted by hundreds of hunters looking for the best opportunity they can find for a successful western big game hunt. Sixty percent of our calls are from hunters who have dreams of spending a week in camp somewhere in the high country, and go home with a cooler full of elk or mule deer steaks, yet they have either never hunted the west, or they have absolutely no idea where or maybe even how to begin planning such a hunt. Why, you may ask, do so many would-be hunters head out into the high country every year unprepared and lacking the required skills, knowledge and ability to achieve a safe and successful hunt? In most cases it comes down to two things: 1) a perceived lack of sufficient funds to pay for a guided hunt and 2) far too much ego deceiving the hunter into thinking that he may know more about western big game hunting than he actually does. Let’s look at one example that I believe will help you see the value of hunting at least once with a quality professional outfitter.

To make sure that we are comparing apples to apples we need to compare the actual costs required of the hunter to achieve the same level of success with an outfitter as he might expect hunting on his own. For purpose of this argument, I will set this at a 65% probability of success.

In short what does it cost for a hunter to achieve a 65% probability of success?

The Cost of an Average Fully-Guided Outfitter Hunt

Conservatively, a fully-guided hunt in Colorado, the most popular western big game hunting destination on the planet, is about $4,750 plus licenses and travel, let’s round that up to $5,750. Here is what the hunter can expect.

• Your opportunity success ratio will typically be at or better than 65%. Opportunity is the true measure of the abilities of the outfitter. This measures the ability of the outfitter to place a hunter in the position to have a reasonable opportunity to take a shot at a legal animal. Unlike a true success ratio (above), the kill ratio also includes a metric for the hunter missing the shot or passing up the shot for a chance at a better animal. Kill ratios are not true measures of the outfitter’s ability but include the actions and abilities of the hunter as well.

56 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

•

•

• •

•

•

• • • • •

An experienced guide, who is familiar with the area to be hunted, understands game habits and behavior and knows their travel and feeding habits in the area.

Value: $200 per day x 5 days = $1,000.

A camp complete with cook, heated tents or cabins, a comfy eating tent, three nourishing meals every day, hot coffee at almost any time, all cooking and dishwashing is provided by staff, and a covered facility for taking care of personal business. $950.

Rider friendly mounts for transportation. $450.

Wrangler: this is the guy or gal who gets up two hours before your alarm goes off in the wee hours to gather, feed, water and prepare your horse for the day’s hunt.

He is also the one to whom you hand off your horse at the end of the day to feed, water, unsaddle, and care for.

(Another hour). $300 Packers load and haul all of your gear up and down the mountain and field dress your animal and pack it from the kill site all the way down the mountain to your truck. $200.

A professional licensed insured outfitter who will handle all of the planning and licensing application process for you. Who will be there to take care of your every need 24 hours a day and will attend to your needs should you become sick or injured. Value: you decide.

Cost to the outfitter for permits, advertising, insurance: $200 Profit to the outfitter after expenses: $500.

Tags. Cost: $500 Travel. Cost $500 Chance of Success: 50-75% average.

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The Cost of Achieving 65 Percent Success for a Do-It-Yourself Hunt

Remember, our goal in this comparison is to determine the ACTUAL costs for the average hunter to achieve a 65% opportunity for success.

• Cost of a complete hunting camp including tent(s), heating stove, cooking stove, cooking equipment, water containers and water purification systems, cooking fuel, wood or gas for heat, cots, pads, tables, chairs, lanterns, and everything else under the sun that you think you have to have. Cost: $4,000 • Good mountain-ready horse. $3,000 • Annual care, feed, pasture, and maintenance for horse. $2,200+ (with no injuries) • Or, one 4x4 ATV. $7,000 • Tag. Cost $550 x 5 years (takes this long to achieve 65%): $2,750 • Travel. Cost $500 x 5 years (takes this long to achieve 65%): $3,000 • Food. Cost $250 x 5 years (takes this long to achieve 65%): $1,250 As you see, when we consider the actual costs over the time that it takes the average hunter to achieve the same level of success, a fully-guided-outfitted hunt is far more affordable.

Perhaps you are not a newbie hunter and already have all of your gear, a horse, ATV or method of high country transportation. Let’s imagine for a minute that all of that was free, i.e. no

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cost to you (which it wasn’t) but just to address that argument.

You still have five years of tags, travel, and food expenses to consider. That’s $7,000. Also what about all that “stuff” or gear that we all buy every year. If you want to learn a lot about hunting that you may not already know, and if you want to increase your chances for success by a factor of five, consider hunting with a professional outfitter at least once. If you do your homework before making the selection, you will probably have one of the best adventures of your life.

If you need help locating a reputable professional outfitter or a private land hunt, give us a call at 888-360-HUNT or email me at jay@HuntConnections.com. We have been assisting hunters just like you since 1996. Our services like our hunts are personalized to the individual and are free to our hunting clients. We are proud of our record of 100% satisfied clients.

See you around the camp fire,

Jay Jay Houston is the President/CEO of HUNT CONNECTIONS, a nationally recognized speaker on his Christian faith and the outdoors, and the author of five highly successfully books on elk hunting the west. In future issues, Jay will be sharing exciting stories of hunting the high country and more tips for big game hunting success in Hunting the West.

May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 57

AgCalendar

Ranch Rodeo Round-up:

What’s going on InTheField?

• May 4-6—60th Annual Florida Beef Cattle Short Course, Gainesville

• May 27-28—Memorial Day Spring Fling Steer Show, Turner Center, Arcadia

• May 17—Cattle Producers Meeting, Turner Center, Arcadia

• June 18—4H Year End Banquet, Turner Center, Arcadia

• May 21—Southeast All Black Classic, Marianna

• June 20-24—FCA Annual Convention and Trade Show, Marco

• May 20-22—Arcadia Youth Rodeo, Arcadia, Finals & Banquet www.arcadiarodeo.com/ ArcadiaYouthRodeoAssociation. html • May 24—4H Cooking Club Meeting, Turner Center, Arcadia

• June 22—2011 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference, Fort Lauderdale • August 1-4—National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Summer Conference, Orlando

• May 26—4-H Annual Awards Banquet, Wauchula

DeSoto Machine Shop Triangle Spreader Manufacturing Co.

Commercial, Residential Acreage and Construction Surveys Elevation Certificates Plating Services 16 N. Lake Ave., Avon Park, FL 33825 Office: 863-453-4113 • Cell: 863-443-6230 Fax: 863-453-4122 • shercoinc@yahoo.com

58 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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MOWER

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Florida’s Best of the Ranches in Arcadia & the St. Lucie Cattlemen’s Genuine Ranch Rodeo

Winning Team Schroder Manatee Ranch & CJ Cattle in calf branding

by Chass Bronson photos by Andy Gregory It has been said that “All roads lead to Arcadia” which proved true on April 3, 2011 as the spectators filled the stands to watch the first-sanctioned WRCA ranch rodeo of the year. Arcadia Rodeo Arena hosted “Florida’s Best of the Ranches” where 11 teams gathered to represent working cattle ranches through out the state of Florida. The teams were competing for the ultimate prize of representing Florida at the 2011 WRCA world championship ranch rodeo, but also the chance for some cash in their pockets and a shiny new buckle to wear on their belt.

The 2011 world championship ranch rodeo will take place in Amarillo, Texas, November 10-13. This year’s champions, Schroder Manatee Ranch & CJ Cattle, will represent the Sunshine State at the world competition. The team consists of Jason McKendree, Steve John, Jimmy Fussell, Robert Fussell and Corey Fussell. They earned the number one spot, followed by Southern Cattle Company in second place, Hilliard Brothers Ranch & Lott Ranch in third place, Audubon Ranch & Belflower Cattle in fourth place, and Babcock Ranch took the fifth place position. The Top Hand award went to Marshall Godsey of Deseret Cattle. “Doc Gimme Five” ridden by Jantzen Lord of Southern Cattle Co was awarded the Top Horse. Congratulations to Schroder Manatee Ranch & CJ Cattle and best of luck in Texas!

Adams Ranch of Fort Pierce presented their state-qualifying, “genuine ranch rodeo” on April 2, 2011. The St. Lucie County Fairgrounds played host to the event, which served as a fundraiser for the St. Lucie Cattlemen’s Association, as all proceeds from ticket and food sales went back to the Association.

Fifteen teams gathered with the same goal in mind, to win the championship title which would serve Marshall Godsey of Deseret – Winner of Top Hand as the team’s ticket to participate in the Florida Cattlemen’s Ranch Rodeo State Finals, held in Kissimmee every October. There are various ranch rodeos, approved by the Florida Cattlemen’s Association throughout the year, in which the winning team at each rodeo earns a spot in the state finals competition.

The Adams Ranch genuine ranch rodeo hosted events such as Bronc Ridin’, Wild Cow Milkin’, Double Muggin’, Ranch Sortin’ and Trailer Loadin’. Grace Ag was the winning team and earned a spot in the state finals ranch rodeo. Second place went to Adams Cutting Horses and third place to Audubon Ranch. WW Supply, Quail Creek Plantation, Women in the Outdoors, St. Lucie County Farm Bureau and Dale’s Bar-B-Que were some of the generous sponsors.

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May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 59

Heartland’s Growing Businesses

Heartland’s Growing Businesses E D G E WO O D L A N D S C A P E COMMERCIAL

RESIDENTIAL

• IRRIGATION DESIGN SERVICE INSTALLATION

• LANDSCAPE DESIGN & INSTALLATION SOD RETAIL NURSERY Terry Hancock 502 N. Central, Avon Park FL

(863)453-7300

To advertise your business in Heartland’s Growing Business Showcase, please call 813-708-3661

To advertise your business in Heartland’s Growing Business Showcase, please call 813-708-3661

Please patronize these fine businesses in your area.

60 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

May 2011

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To advertise your business in Heartland’s Growing Business Showcase, please call 813-708-3661

To advertise your business in Heartland’s Growing Business Showcase, please call 813-708-3661

Please patronize these fine businesses in your area. www.InTheFieldMagazine.com

May 2011

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 61

C L A S S I F I E D S MOUNTAIN TOP #185445

Located in Blairsville Ga. Fantastic mountain views, like new, 2/2 with wood burning fireplace, loft, basement, porch, second home use only from original owners! $299,000 Call and ask For Jane Baer with Jane Baer Realty.

1-800-820-7829.

NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAINS!

Blairsville (Union County), Blue Ridge (Fannin County),Young Harris & Hiawassee (Towns County) as well as Murphy & Hayesville NC! Let us help you find your dream home getaway cabin! Call today 1-800-820-7829 and ask for Jane Baer with Jane Baer Realty. www.janebaerrealty.com • 2007 HARLEY DAVIDSON •

Dyna Glide Streetbob, cobalt blue, only 368 miles, EXCELLENT condition. Extras added!!! Ready to ride. $10,000 Serious Inquiries Only!

(813) 659-3402

WANTED 7’ mower

Pull type, pto, rhino bush hog or servis.

Call 863-453-5325 or 863-368-1301 NEW HOLLAND REPOS

2004 MASSEY FERGUSON 461-2-55

pto hp, 2 wheel drive, shuttle shift, hydrolic remotes. $10,500.

Call 813-752-8722 1952 JOHN DEERE TRACTOR

M MODEL Runs Good! $1,985 O.B.O. Jim 863-858-2226 POLLINATION SERVICES

Strong bees when you want them.We also have honey and skin care products made with honey and ingredients from the hive.

Cantu Apiaries, 863-735-1679 WANTED Farmers and Land Owners

To grow crops for Bio Fuel.

Call Lee 941-321-7032

ALL -PRO FLATBED TRAILER

7X20 with beavertail and ramps. Tandem 7,000 pd axels $2,500 Call Hank 863-559-8718 Call “The Land Lady”

Acreage, lakefront ranches, “mini” farms.

Mary Adsit, Realtor 863-285-7118 www.maryadsit.com

42’-Reach forklift

WANTED Watermelon farmers

2 wd, w/4 ft. Finish Mower $3,000 Call 863-698-2967 FOR LEASE OR RENT Warehouse space

Produce, picking house, watermelons, etc.

Call Lee 941-321-7032 HOMOSASSA LOT

One acre lot, high & dry, approx. 100 yds.

From the Mason Creek River. Fishing & Boating Heaven! 813-503-9033 WANTED UTILITY/POWER POLES

Call Robert 863-735-0808 or 863-445-0358 (cell) FOR SALE Watermelon conveyor belts

New & used.

Call General Lee 941-321-7032 ANGUS FREEZER BEEF

$2.75/lb. cut and wrapped. Whole, Half or Quarter. Cash, Mastercard or Visa 863-206-2828

62 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

Account Executive and Writers.

Please email us at:

Phosphate Operations “Helping Farmers Feed a Hungry World”

Please join CF Industries in supporting these community events:

info@inthefieldmagazine.com We look forward to hearing from you!

TO PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED ADS CALL 813-759-6909 info@inthefieldmagazine.com www.inthefieldmagazine.com

Excellent Condition!!! Call 863-528-4356 FOR SALE HI CAL LIME OR DOLOMITE

1984 KUBOTA B6200

H Now Hiring H

PORTABLE BULK FEEDERS

TN60A 2WD 2007 models w/front brooms and box blades. Never used, sold new $31,270. Sell $27,000, balance of warranty.

813-623-3673 3,952 hours. $29,469 Call 863-698-4114

**Lake Placid Christian School Students: Have Your Parent(s) Sign Here:_________________ and please return to Mr. G.

Friday Night Live! Downtown Market Friday, May 20, 2011 – 5‐9 pm Main Street Heritage Park – Wauchula

2011 Relay for Life Benefits the American Cancer Society April 30, 2011 Relay begins at 10 am Hardee County Senior High School Wildcats Stadium

Delivered and or spread. No job to large or to small. Call Tim Ford or Danny Thibodeau at 863-439-3232 Land owners, growing melons. This season and next season. Call Lee 941-321-7032 FOR SALE Chicken Manure

Delivery & Spreading Available. Call Tim Ford or Danny Thibodeau at 863-439-3232 Nottlely River Access Cabin #204623

One bedroom & one bath with great room and wood-burning fireplace. Back porch faces the woods for privacy. Mtn. views year round! Comes furnished $142,000. Call and ask for Jane Baer with Jane Baer Realty. 800-820-7829 ARCADIA 14+ ACRES

Mature oak trees, ready to harvest; fenced, pond, pasture, metal barn w/concrete floor, 3 wells, animal barn, catch pen. $108,000.00 A-260 Coldwell Banker Gamiotea Realty, 863-494-3600 or 888-494-4880. Each office independently owned and operated.

May 2011

CF Industries is committed to supporting and partnering with causes important to our community. Pictured above is the “Velcro Wall” – a popular activity provided by CF at the 2009 & 2010 Relay for Life benefitting the American Cancer Society. The “Velcro Wall” returns for this year’s event – come by and try it out! www.InTheFieldMagazine.com

6209 N. County Road 663  Bowling Green, FL 33834  863-375-4321 www.cfindustries.com www.InTheFieldMagazine.com May 2011 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE 63

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