The Florida Raised Daily
Food For Thought
The ‘Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock’ is applied research in action, and it is one of 20 global labs led by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The program is also funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Maybe in some way, our busy lifestyles and transitioning away from slow home cooked meals is something that we need to change. One of the most educational things you can do, is head to a thrift or used bookstore and pick up some recipe books from the 1950’s or the 1970’s if you can find them. Not only will you get some fresh ideas and recipes, but you will also learn some of the longer preparation methods that take more time but create really delicious results.
Because our family has lived in Florida for generations, we’d like to preserve some of these heritage beef and local produce recipes that are part of our culture. So, we did a little digging and found some really interesting historical American and Floridian recipes that you might want to try at home.
Both men were avid cattle ranchers and built a big reputation for themselves, but in very different ways. Florida has a rich cowboy culture and history that is full of great stories of men who worked the land and made their livelihood by moving vast herds of cattle and profiting from the lucrative business opportunity in the 1800’s and 1900’s.
We have two short stories to tell about a rogue cow hunter and his legendary antics, and a man who grew from humble beginnings as a new pioneer and resident in Florida, to amassing a herd of 50,000 cattle and becoming a local Judge.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the two Cracker Cowboy legends of Bone Mizell and Ziba King.
Chances are that if you are a long-term resident of Florida, you’ve had the opportunity to visit South Florida and explore the Everglades and some of our national parks. If you have, it’s likely that the land you walked on was previously underwater, at some point in Florida’s history. The land as you see it today wasn’t always that way; many of the decisions we made with water management in the early 1900s damaged our local environment.
When you think of a Florida grass-fed beef rancher and producer, we’d like you to consider how much they care and advocate for the protection of our land and natural water systems. Their livelihood and multi-generational ranches depend on grazing land that produces world-class beef, which contributes more than $900 million dollars annually to the Florida GDP.
If you are trying to eat healthier every day, you may be searching for new balanced meal ideas that are economical, satisfying and easy to prepare. Have you tried making protein bowls part of your menu on a weekly basis?
Many of the protein bowl recipes that we see online are based on Greek yoghurt, with fruits and nuts. And that’s great, unless you really don’t like yoghurt. But there are other really hardy recipes that incorporate grass-fed ground beef that are so easy to make. You can even bulk prepare the ingredients for a healthy packed lunch or snack anytime you need a boost of great flavor and proteins.
We’d like to share a few tasty suggestions we found that you can try at home.
It seems like every time we turn on the news, we hear some disheartening reports about losing Florida wild spaces and grasslands to development. From residential communities springing up in ecologically sensitive areas, to water pollution in Florida, or the increasing number of our rare and local wildlife that are being added to the endangered or threatened species list.
Sometimes it feels like we may be losing the battle. But we’d like to share something positive instead and shed some light on the amazing organizations and citizens that are working hard to conserve land in the State of Florida. There have been some recent victories in 2019 that are worth sharing, if you are a resident of Florida and you care about preserving our natural beauty and wildlife for generations to come. And some conservation organizations that could use our help.
Have you ever heard of St. Augustine grass? It was first evaluated by the Everglades Research and Education Center, and the findings were released in 1944. The study showed that the Roselawn variety of St. Augustine grass produces a greater forage mass than other varieties. It grows low to the ground, and then produces 90% leafy tissue per plant, no matter how mature each individual cluster is.
Are you surprised to learn that cowboys still use the same methods they have been using for hundreds of years, to raise world-class grass-fed beef in Florida? They do. And beside a cowboy and his or her team as they ride out to check on the health and well-being of their herds, and drive them to new pastures, you can usually find another helper; the Florida cattle dog.
