During last week’s Cattle Industry Convention, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced that Blackbeard’s Ranch in Myakka, Florida was the winner of the 2019 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP). Blackbeard’s managing partner Jim Strickland told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman that he is humbled by winning the award .
Strickland has expanded the ranch’s products to include beef, honey and pork to maximize income opportunities and share the story of agriculture and conservation. He now regularly hosts busloads of people eager to learn about conservation on Florida ranch lands.
Strickland also welcomes legislators, state and federal agencies to the ranch to show how critical ranching is to conserving land to benefit native wildlife populations. Established in 1991 by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to recognize outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry, ESAP is generously sponsored by Corteva Agriscience; McDonald’s; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.
