By the time the sun rises, Jack Gillen has already finished using his cracker horses to herd his cracker cows. To him, it’s a stoic lifestyle reflective of many other Florida cattle ranchers.
Many people think of the Wild West when it comes to cowboys, thanks to popular media and culture. However, they may not know about Florida’s modern cattle industry, its historical background and the economic issues ranchers face today.
“It’s just something I always enjoyed, handling cattle and horses,” said Gillen, 75, of Micanopy and president of the Florida Cracker Cattle Association. “I’ve been riding them since I was a little kid.”
Cracker cattle and horses are descendants of livestock brought by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. The word “Cracker” originates from the “cracking” sound of the whips cattle ranchers used to herd their cattle, according to the Florida Beef Council.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) recognizes the breed’s novelty because of its disease resistance, fertility and overall adaptability to its environment.
Florida Cracker horses are also unique because they can be trained for all riding disciplines and work conditions, according to the department.
Gillen owns various properties in Alachua, Micanopy, Rocky Point and Citra, and also other types of cows like Angus, commonly seen in the modern beef production system. He said the biggest challenge with cattle ranching is finding a place to keep them.
“Property in Florida is so valuable now that a lot of people can’t afford to keep cattle on their property,” he said. “A lot of them wind up selling it.”
Florida Cracker cattle are considered threatened under The Livestock Conservancy’s conservation priority list. This means there are fewer than 1,000 registered Cracker cattle.
Florida Cracker horses are considered a critical breed, with fewer than 200 registered horses.
The conservancy also recognizes both livestock as heritage breeds, that is, animals that were bred for specific traits and gradually adapted to local environments.
“They’re part of Florida’s history, and I think it’s important that they are protected and saved from being extinct – and that could have happened real easy,” Gillen said.
He attributes the preservation of the Cracker cattle to Doyle Connor, who served as Florida’s agriculture commissioner for 30 years starting in 1961.
By the 1970s, Connor sought to preserve the Cracker cattle and called for a state-owned herd.
Eventually, the cattle association and Florida Cracker Horse Association were founded in 1988. In 2018, both Cracker horses and Cracker cattle became official state symbols.
“They were disappearing, being bred out of existence, basically by crossing with other cattle,” said Gillen, who is a member of both associations. “And so we started two associations and a registry for both of them.”
Gillen said many in both groups come from families that have farmed in the state for many years.
“Most of them came in the early 1800s and settled here after the Spanish moved out,” he said. “Some of my ancestors were in that bunch, so that’s why these cattle and horses are important to me – they relate to my family.”
Rural land, viable for livestock or farming, is at risk for increased housing development.
“When you plant houses there, that’s the last crop that will be grown on that land,” said Todd Thrift, 56, a University of Florida associate professor in beef cattle nutrition and management.
Urban encroachment is a serious issue, but many cattle ranchers are finding alternate solutions by registering their land into conservation easements, Thrift said.
Registering one’s farmland as conservation easements grants the owner private property rights, and restricts the land from development and certain tax deductions, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Such an easement is attached to the land itself and binds current and future owners to restrictions as outlined in their agreements. But other economic pressures include rising land prices, as urbanization expands into rural areas, the surrounding agricultural land increases, Thrift said.
According to a 2001 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, the increase in urban areas poses no threat to overall food and fiber production nationally, though some crops in some areas are particularly vulnerable to development.
It also states that farmers may need to adapt to increased urbanization and rising land prices by focusing their operations on higher-value crops and products that appeal to urban consumers.
Current high cattle prices indicate a peak in the cattle cycle, which is usually around 8 to 12 years, Thrift said. Based on its cyclical pattern, these prices mean that cattle ranchers are more likely to expand their herd, with cattle prices are expected to decrease.
“Even with our record [cattle] profits right now, it’s very difficult to pay the taxes on that type of land, even with a tax exemption,” Thrift said. Some ranches cannot afford to stay in business because of other economic pressures, including the land being too expensive now, he said.
But the cowboy lifestyle is not dying out. “There’s lots of guys that still do this and make a living doing it, whether they own the cows or whether they work for the ranches,” Thrift said.
Cattle ranchers like Gillen have accepted the realities facing the industry.
“It’s sad, but I understand it at the same time,” Gillen said. “If I had to sell my property, I would hope that people would understand that I can’t keep it forever.”
While Gillen said he hopes his family will continue his agricultural lifestyle and carry on traditions, he sure of at least one thing: “People are going to continue to eat beef, so you’ve got to have some cowboys to handle them.”