Florida Cattlemen’s Association Showcases New One-Day Format at Winter Quarterly Meeting
The Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) held its annual Winter Quarterly Meeting last week, bringing cattle producers from across the state to Ocala for a reimagined event structure. The gathering highlighted the association’s strong grassroots foundation, enhanced industry collaboration, and a new streamlined format designed to increase participation and efficiency.
Dusty Holley, Executive Vice President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, explained the significance of the meeting’s location and format. He shared, “So traditionally our year-end quarterly meeting is in the home county of the Cattlemen’s President. So this year we find ourselves in Ocala, which is in Marion County, Florida, where our President Rick Moyer resides. Really showing off that great relationship that we have with the University of Florida, because we’re using their extension facilities right here in Marion County. And let me tell you, set up great for these meetings.”
The central location and one-day schedule contributed to standout attendance. Holley noted, “We have very strong attendance. Being here in kind of north-central Florida allows people to come in, and I think our new one-day format has allowed for a really strong showing. We had counted over 180 people in the room for Open General Session, and that’s tremendous.”
The day began with several key committee sessions, including Disaster Response and Relief, Allied, and Legislative. Holley emphasized the importance of these early gatherings, stating, “We started out the day with a few of our what we kind of call special committees that kind of meet outside of their committee time.”
A highlight of the event was the Open General Session featuring NCBA’s Ethan Lane as the keynote speaker. Afterward, attendees transitioned into core committee meetings. As Holley explained, “So things like Research, Animal Health, Marketing, Membership, those committees and a few others meet every quarterly meeting.”
Two one-hour blocks allowed members to attend multiple committees—reinforcing FCA’s grassroots structure. Holley added, “If you are a dues-paying member… you can walk into any of those meetings and have a vote… and it’s our true grassroots connection.”
The day concluded with Executive Committee and Board of Directors meetings, wrapping up before attendees headed to the traditional Steakout fellowship event.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.