Senate President Ben Albritton Highlights Importance of Florida Cattle Enhancement Board
During a recent discussion, Florida Senate President Ben Albritton explained the vision and rationale behind the effort of creating the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board, emphasizing the cultural, environmental, and economic value of Florida cattle ranching.
Albritton opened with a reminder of agriculture’s universal importance:
“So I’ve got a sign in the President’s office when you walk in, you can’t miss it, and it says if you eat, you’re involved in agriculture.”
He noted that Florida beef is unique in how it coexists with and enhances the natural environment:
“And the fact of the matter is that the Florida beef industry is special. It’s special for the reasons that I’ve said about coexisting with the environment and the environment being better for it. It’s special because it represents some of the best that the state of Florida has to offer and being supportive of that just makes sense to me.”
While Albritton comes from an agricultural background, he stressed that the significance of Florida beef extends far beyond personal ties:
“Not innately because I’m an ag person, ag guy coming from an ag family, but Florida beef matters. It matters in the conversation. It matters in the national conversation, and quite frankly, it matters in the global conversation.”
Branding and visibility play a major role in strengthening industry recognition:
“The branding of Florida beef is really important. It’s really important. It actually shows some of the ranch families that are existing in Florida. We’ve got some of the largest cattle ranches in Florida that you find anywhere in the country.”
The industry’s roots run deep across ranch sizes, communities, and generations:
“Even somebody that’s got just a small number of acres, a small number of head. The roots of the Florida beef industry run deep in the DNA of Florida.”
Albritton added that preserving this heritage means honoring what works:
“And what I’ve found, this goes back to the idea of don’t take down the fence, you know, I was put up. Change isn’t just, change for the sake of change can be nonsensical, right? It could not make any sense. The roots of the Florida beef industry, it matters to the DNA of Florida and it’s worth protecting. That’s the fundamental truth of all this.”
This is a segment from the Grazing The Facts Podcast where we take a look within the Florida Cattle Industry. To listen to the full interview, search your favorite podcast platform for Grazing The Facts.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.