Jim has six decades of ranching experience and comes from a family that has been ranching in Florida since the 1800’s. Jim grew up ranching with his father along the west coast of Florida. When his father died in the 1960’s Jim took over the family cattle operations at the age of 17, primarily leasing land for cattle. His passion for conservation began at a young age, as increasing development pushed him farther and farther inland. Jim is the owner of Strickland Ranch and managing partner of Big Red Cattle Company and Blackbeard’s Ranch, Ranch, a 4,530 acre cow/calf operation that borders Myakka State Park and contains slough systems that feed the Myakka River and drinking water downstream. Jim is a strong advocate for Florida agriculture and conservation, and is a spokesperson for ranchers across the state on the need for conservation funding to protect Florida.
He is a past President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, past Chairman of the Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation, and served two terms as the Chairman of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Political Action Committee. Jim is co-chairman of Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Work Group; their focus is agricultural land preservation to fight climate change and furthering research on the ecosystem services provided by agricultural land. Jim has been a board member of the Manatee County Farm Bureau for 28 years. He is an American Farm Bureau International Trade Think tank member and the Florida Farm Bureau International Trade Committee Past Chairman. He also sits on the board of the Florida Horse Park. Jim won the 2021 University of Florida IFAS Florida Land Steward Award, and the 2019 Florida Audubon Society Sustainable Ranch of the year. Blackbeard’s Ranch was the winner of the 2019 National Environmental Ranch of the year from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and was named the 2018 Environmental Ranch of year from the Florida Department of Agriculture. Jim’s passion is cattle and land conservation.