Florida Beef Industry Meets Challenges

Florida might be known for its beaches, but our economic history doesn't start there. It starts with cattle, first brought to our shores by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1521.

And while the cattle industry is still strong, with 4 million acres of pasture land and 1 million acres of grazed woodland, it's an industry that has undergone changes in perception and faces challenges in a changing market.

Florida is mainly a cow-calf state: calves born here to be sent somewhere else for fattening and slaughter. Lee and Collier counties both have under one percent of the state's cow-calf operations, while Charlotte has 1.27 percent and Hendry has 3.8 percent, according to data provided by the Florida Beef Council.

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