The first cattle to arrive in what is now the United States were brought to Florida by Ponce de Leon in 1521. Over time, cattle ranching was established in Florida and the cowboys who used whips to bring cattle out of the swamps and thickets became known as Cracker cowboys and the cows known as Cracker cattle. Cracker cattle are still found in Florida today.
However, the beef cattle industry in Florida today is modern and big business. On January 1, 2023, Florida was the number nine beef cow state in the country with nearly 900 thousand head. Several of the top ten cattle cow-calf…
