I am a sixth-generation Floridian and third-generation Florida cattle rancher. My grandfather founded our ranch, Williamson Cattle Company, in the 1940s. Our family-run ranch is located in Okeechobee County, the heart of Florida’s cattle county.
Many people don’t realize the extent to which cattle ranching is important to Florida’s economy and the critical role ranching plays in protecting the state. We are a rural county, but we live in a disappearing landscape. There are more than 150,000 cattle in Okeechobee County, almost four times the population of people. Yet we are within 150 miles of 13 million Flordians.