Florida, Hurricanes, and Cattle

What places pop up when you hear the phrase, “Cattle Ranches?” Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and locations all across the Great Plains of America, immediately come to mind. After all, that’s where cowboys come from, right? In response to Hurricane Irma, I discovered the truth of where it all began.

Not many people know about Florida’s unique cattle ranching history and traditions, (not even most people who live there) which have been adapted to the subtropical climate and influenced by the state’s distinctive past. Yet Florida’s cattle industry, one of oldest and largest in the nation dating back five centuries, is vital to the state’s well-being as an essential economic activity while preserving the natural landscape, protecting water resources, and maintaining areas used by wildlife or for recreation.

Along with lives, buildings, and businesses, Hurricane Irma put Florida’s entire agriculture production at risk. When I met with the Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) in the days after Irma devastated much of the state, I found a resilient, proud, and hard working group of people devoted to their profession and traditions.

Day’s before Irma’s winds, rain, and rising flood waters began turning Florida upside down, the FCA, along with other state agriculture agencies and organizations, initiated their disaster response plan. We visited their Incident Command Post (ICP) in Kissimmee and found their teams working around the clock to meet the needs of Florida’s agriculture producers, and the FCA’s 5000 members and other smaller cattle farmers.

Farmers and ranchers are a unique breed. They are fiercely independent, but also interdependent in times of crisis, immediately relying on each other through a level of synergy that only farmers know. Their communities are strongest when times are tough. They help each other. They bind together to help one or many when disaster strikes. In any catastrophe, you’ll find these men, women, and families struggling not just to save themselves, but to save the people who have worked along side them for generations. They are authentic not because they have to be, but because that is the only way they know. Their is no pretense or vanity. They simply don’t have time for nonsense. There’s work to be done and people (us) are depending on them.

Just a few days with the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and I learned so much, making me realize that we could all learn a thing or two from the people of America’s farms and ranches – especially in a hurricane.

Please consider helping the Florida Cattlemen’s Association Foundation or, if you’re in the area, check out their annual Florida Ranch Rodeo & Cowboy Heritage Festival, September 29-30, 2017.


 

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Mr. Coggiola has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of areas and businesses including; technology, healthcare, sustainable farming, non-profits and government focused organizations.