Drive Through Florida: Livestock and Poultry, a Florida Agriculture Literacy Day book

2015·8.2 MB·English

by  Florida. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Arlette Roberge, Charlene R. Johnson, Ann Kinsey, Mark Cason, Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc.

Florida Agriculture Literacy Day
irse panre asnenntuaatli veevse rneta hde ald d eeascighn saptreidn gc hinil dwrhenic’sh bhouonkd arebdosu ot fa aggrircicuultluturere i nin edleumstreyn tary school t h r o u g h
d r i v e
classrooms around the state. The event is a partnership between Florida Agriculture in the
Classroom, Inc. and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Florida Agriculture in the Classroom
is a nonprofit association charged with educating Florida students and teachers about
a
the importance of Florida agriculture. It is funded by sales of the agriculture specialty o r i d
l
license plate known as the “Ag Tag.” Florida Agriculture in the Classroom is able to provide f
Agriculture Literacy Day books and other related items free of charge because of the
funding it receives from the Ag Tag.
livestock and poultry
A Florida Agriculture Literacy Day Book
K •i Bnldueer Tgeaxtr, tReend T- e2xnt din g Bruabdbeles (limited) Arlette AIRllonubns etKrriganWetsi eoaryinnt dat aen Cnndhd bMa Dyral eerskni eCg anRs. boJoynh nson
students in kindergarten through 2nd grade have short attention spans. Read
y
only three or four blue text stanzas per animal and the opening red text in bubbles.
e
3rd - 5th grade
K
• Blue Text, Red Text in Bubbles, Photo Captions
students in 3rd-5th grade are more engaged. Read most of blue text stanzas, red
g
text in bubbles and photo captions.
n
All students
i • Map Text
d
may be read as time permits.
a • Green Counties
on the Florida map represent the counties with the greatest number of animals.
e
• Light Blue Counties
R on the Florida map represent the counties with the second and third highest
number of animals.
• Black Text and Fun Facts
are supplemental and may be read as time permits.
“Educate Students About Florida Agriculture”
[phone] www.AgTag.org
2 3
E Holmes
s Santa O W
c k Nassau
amb Rosa aloo alton ashington Jackson Gadsden Hamilton C
i s W J o
a a Bay C alh o u n WakLuelolan osreffe TaMylaodrison Suw 5 aibmul Baker Duval
Liberty n ann Union Clay St.
e Brad J
Franklin Lafayette e ford o
G h
Gulf cli ns
h
Alachua
Dixie sir Putnam Fla
t gl
6 er
Levy
W D Y ! Marion 7
H O Volusia
Drive Through
Lake
Citrus
I’m an old S
4 u Seminole
truck, but I’m not Florida mt
e
as old as agriculture! Do Hernando r Orange
you know what agriculture is?
Agriculture has been around for a
Pasco
long time, and whether you know
Livestock and Poultry B
it or not, it’s an important part Osceola r
My of your everyday life. So hop on Road Map P Hillsborough ev
name is ni a
board and come e Polk r
Ole Red. ll 3 d
along as we visit a
s
beef cattle Indian
livestock and poultry
1 River
farms throughout Florida. (Page 6-7)
They are spread from Manatee Hardee Ok 1
e
ntoor twh etsot , ssoou thg eatn dr eeadasyt 2 D(Paagire y8 -9Ca) ttle DeSoto Highlands ech2obe St. Lucie
for quite a ride. e
Sarasota Martin
3 hogs and pigs
(Page 10-11)
Charlotte Glades
4 poultry/Layers
(Page 12-13) Hendry
Lee
Palm Beach
poultry/broilers
5
(Page 12-13)
Broward
6 horses Collier
(Page 14-15)
8
Goats
Dade
7 M
(Page 16-17) o
n
r
o
Sheep e
8
(Page 18-19)
let’s review
(Page 20-21)
4 5
Would you believe Florida has nearly
Beef cows
1.6 million beef cattle! That puts Florida
live abundantly
in the top 15 states for the number of
well in the
cattle. When Florida cattle reach about FUN
grasslands.
400 to 500 pounds, they are sold and
shipped to the West and Midwest where
they can continue to grow until they are
big enough to be harvested.
FACTS
Osceola
Cattle ranches help many people’s
jobs and that is good for Florida’s
Eight of
economy. People who sell cattle feed,
the United
Highlands tractors, barns, fences, fertilizer and
States’ top
Let’s start in other useful things that cattle ranchers
25 largest
Okeechobee County to need also benefit from cattle ranches.
cow-calf
learn about cattle. Highlands
operations
and Osceola counties also
are in
have many cows.
Florida.
Okeechobee
B e e f c a t t l e
About
Florida has
40% 4
Common types

of beef cattle:
of Florida million
farms acres of
Cattle ranching is the job of own beef pastureland
owning, raising and working tractor cattle. and
1
cattle. People in these jobs are
called cattlemen or cattlewomen.
And don’t forget about the grocery
½ million
stores and restaurants that sell the
acres of
beef! People who work there benefit
grazed
when you enjoy those yummy
Angus hamburgers and steaks. of all woodland.
Florida
agricultural
land is
involved
a
d
ori in cattle
Fl
of production.
es
v
hi
c
Ar
e
at
1880 Cattlemen St Hereford
Florida-
bred cattle
Cattle have been in Florida for Cattle ranches are big green areas, and
are sent
almost 500 years. Spanish explorer that’s good for conserving the natural
all over
Juan Ponce de León brought them environment. In addition to grassy
the world
here in boats in 1521. The cattle areas, cattle ranches have wetlands,
because they
roamed the countryside and grew in woodlands and prairies where birds and
can tolerate
cattlewomen numbers. In the late 1800s, cow hunters other wild animals also live. Having these
hot climates.
gathered them up and began cattle big open areas lets rain water soak back
Brahman
ranching to feed themselves and others. into the ground so nature can use it. hamburger
6 7
Most Florida FUN
dairy cows are
Holsteins.
Holsteins usually have black
and white or red and white FACTS
spots. An average Holstein
cow weighs 1,400 pounds,
but they don’t need to go
on a diet. They need to eat
about 100 pounds of feed
each day and drink up to mers
ar
50 gallons of water. y F
air
a D Each dairy cow
d
ori produces
Fl
6 8
to
We have more than 130
dairy farms in Florida,
gallons of milk
and almost all of them are
each day.
family-owned. Sometimes
dairy farmers are up before
Florida Dairy Farmers
D A I R Y c a t t l e Let’s visit some tmhielk seudn t. wCoow osr nthereede ttoim bees 86
of Florida’s dairy farms. a day, starting in the early %
Florida
Many are here in Okeechobee morning. Within two or three
Coucnotuyn.t iLesa fafyuertthtee r anndor tShu waalsnon ee sremra dneayigsh, tbhoerirh mooildk gwriollc beery i nst yooreu.r ra1nks st of Florida
have a lot of dairy F yria If you like milk, cheese, milk is
D sold as
cows. ad yogurt and butter, thank our in the
suwannee irolF Florida dairy farmers. Southeast drminilkkin. g
family farm and
19 th
Did you know that some breeds
of cattle are best at providing
lafayette
meat and others are best for
Florida has more than 120,000 dairy in the U.S.
producing milk? We call the cows
cattle producing more than 270 in milk
that are good at producing milk
million gallons of milk each year. That production.
dairy cows.
comes to about six gallons of milk ers
from each cow every day! In the late m
Okeechobee ar
F
1800s, cows only produced about two y
air
quarts of milk per day. We have learned D
a
d
to take care of cows so that they are ori
Fresh cow milk Fl
better milk producers! Cows are fed
a combination
of hay, grain
In the and silage
old days, cows (fermented corn
Dairy cows were first brought to
were milked by or grass).
America in 1611 through Jamestown,
a hand. Now they
d
Flori Virginia. By the 1800s, they were are milked
of being sold to North Florida plantations
ves in Leon and Jefferson counties. mechanically.
hi
Arc However, these plantations used the
e
at milk from their dairy cows for their own
St
families and households. In the late
Milk wagons at Waldo’s Dairy
1800s, dairies started selling their
- DeLand, Florida 1900
products to people in cities.
milking cows
8 9
Many of the breeds of hogs and
pigs raised for sale in Florida and
the rest of the U.S. are crossbreeds
of the Yorkshire, Hampshire and FUN
Duroc. Much effort goes into raising
hogs and pigs. Even a small farm will
need at least two acres so they are not
too close to neighbors. They also need
FACTS
shade, an open-fronted shelter and a
covered self-feeder.
Common types of
hogs and pigs: Insulin and
40

Florida hog Farm
other medicines
come from pigs.
Like every animal, there are males
and females. The females are called
Well, hop
sows and the males are called
back in. We’re driving
boars. A young female that has not
from Okeechobee to A Pigs
H O G S A N D P I G S Hillas bloorto uogfh oCuro uhntoyg sb eacreau se Hampshire hgialdt. aF alirtrtoewr oinf gb aisb tyh pei wgso irsd c uaslleedd PIG apprwoxeiigmha tely
for giving birth to pigs. Boars eat

there. 2½
between five and eight pounds of
is a young
food each day. A sow generally eats
HOG
about four pounds of food each day.
pounds
However, after she has a litter she can .
at birth.
eat up to 12 pounds of food per day
and require up to seven gallons of
marion
If you like sausage water.
Yorkshire
or bacon with your
hamilton Does it take
breakfast, remember
a lot of work to
that these foods come
care for hogs? You
from swine. Swine is the Hillsborough
bet it does!
term for hogs and pigs.
How did these animals get A pig can
to Florida? It is generally run a
believed that Juan Ponce Hendry 7
de León introduced swine
Duroc
to Florida in 1521, but
Hernando De Soto is minute
often called “the father ad MILE
iro
of the American pork lF
fo .
industry.” He was a se
v
Spanish explorer who ihcrA Today, we have more Hereford
landed in Tampa Bay eta than 14,000 hogs pigs and sm
with 13 pigs in 1539. tS and pigs in Florida. hogs with raF k
e
In three years’ time his Many are here in farrowing erC pigs have
herd grew to more than Hillsborough County. tunnel. otle gone to
m
700 pigs. The pigs that Hamilton, Hendry and laP WAR
d
ran away became wild Marion counties also ooW ,
atponigddsa .ayr’se rtahzeo rabnacceksst oorrs foefr al Raising pigs in hhaovges .a lot of pigs and harobeD misnere vsninifgf aers s.
early 1900s
10 11
All eggs sold in
retail markets
FUN
must meet quality
standards.
grades
FACTS
AA or A
are the highest
quality eggs
and are sold in
supermarkets.
Cobb Chicken
Cobb-Vantrees, Inc. Each year, between
50 70
Nowadays the majority of meat &
Let’s
producers are in North Florida, in
travel to million broilers
Suwannee County. The breed of
Hernando and are sold at the
chicken that is raised for meat is called
Suwannee grocery store.
the Cobb and is a cross between the
counties.
Cornish Game and the Plymouth Rock
chickens. This chicken grows fast and is
In the 1950s, the poultry industry
P O U L T R Y took off. Now, there are egg farms disease-resistant.
Florida eggs provide
throughout Florida. But the farms
180
that sell the most eggs are still right $
here in Hernando County.
million per year for
our economy.
Poultry can mean chicken, but it can popular breeds of
also include turkeys, ducks and geese. laying hens
All poultry have feathers, but no teeth or
sweat glands. The most common is the Florida
chicken. Rhode White egg
Island Red Leghorns producers
In the early part of the 1900s, many suwannee (brown eggs) (white eggs) rank
households had their own backyard Broilers 10th
flocks. These chickens supplied eggs for
the family and an occasional chicken for
hernando teenage Cobb Chick in the United
Sunday or holiday dinners.
Layers States.
Florida’s poultry industry
provides many jobs. These are
farmers who raise the birds, the
Florida americans
farmers who grow their feed,
chickens are divided hens lay eat
incubator the truck drivers who deliver the
into two types: 2.5 more
product to the stores, and the
than
a
d grocers who sell the chickens and
iro 80
lF fo broilers Florida settlers learned to use the eggs. billion
sev are the chickens incubator to raise more layers. Both birds are popular because eggs
ihcrA raised for meat These chickens were being raised they are hardy and lay a lot of eggs. The next time you take a bite of per year. pounds
eta for their eggs; the business of raising The average laying chicken lays no a chicken sandwich, omelet, or of
tS layers
chickens to sell for meat came later. more than one egg a day. another egg dish, think about all chicken
1900s chicken coop are the hens that
the hard work of the people who per person
provide eggs
got those chickens and eggs from per year.
the farm to your table.
12 13
In the 1930s, race tracks were built Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association
near Miami and Tampa Bay. Some
people tried to raise Thoroughbred
racehorses in South Florida, but they FUN
soon learned that Central Florida,
had the best land to raise good
racehorses.
FACTS
By the 1950s, there were some very
good Thoroughbred horse farms
in Marion County. Other horses
Thoroughbreds
were raised to herd cattle and
were called quarter horses. People
Today we also have Arabians, Quarter
outside of Florida laughed at the
Horses, miniature horses, Tennessee
idea of raising good horses in sandy,
Walkers, Paints, Shetland Ponies
palm tree-filled Florida. In 1956, and many other kinds of horses. There are more than
a Florida Thoroughbred named The horse breeding industry is spread 120,000
Needles from Marion County won
throughout Florida. Equine is the term
the Kentucky Derby. They weren’t
for horse families.
So let’s laughing after that. horses in Florida.
travel a little
further south
to Marion
County.
Florida has
)
H o r s e s noita more than
ic 700
o
ssA
sre
n
w quarter horse
O horse farms.
d
n
a
sre
d
e
e
rB
d
by charlene R. Johnson erb
hg Many horse riding
u
o
ro trails are included
Just like some cattle breeds, hT
a in The
d
horses first came into the state Marion Before we had trucks and cars, horses irolF 110 MILE
when early Spanish explorers were very important to settling
needles miniature horses
brought them to this continent. Florida. Some of the early settlers used
Some of them escaped their horses to help herd cattle, pull wagons Marjorie Harris Carr
Needles became very famous, and
owners and are the descendants and plows, and even take the children Cross Florida Greenway.
many others decided to try to raise a
of today’s Florida cracker horses. to school every day. I bet they were it stretches from the
Derby winner in Marion County, too.
more fun than a school bus! Gulf of Mexico to the
In fact, lots of people started breeding
St. Johns River.
horses in Florida, and soon they were
raising many famous racehorses. By the
1970s, Florida was one of only four places
in the world with a large number of paints
Thoroughbred horses.
All of Florida’s
People have to feed the horses,
equestrian jobs
groom them, ride and train them.
combined bring in
Horse They haul them to the race tracks or
more than
ad farms provide show rings and maybe just out into the
irolF jobs, too! woods for a good, long trail ride. Horses $2
fo
se also need veterinarians, feed stores and
v
ih
crA blacksmiths. Horses even have dentists, BILLION
eta just like you do! If you get a chance to
tS
ride a horse, it will certainly be fun,
cracker horse each year to
1900s wagon and it also helps other people earn
Florida’s economy.
money for their families.
14 15
There are several types of goats
Norma Tillman, Cont’d Farm
including goat breeds that are raised
just for their meat. Goat meat is
popular in many Indian recipes. Here are FUN
the most popular Florida meat goats:
FACTS
spanish
Guess where Spanish Goats
originated? Yes, you’re right. They
come from Spain! The ones we have
boer A large group of
today are similar to those that came
goats is called a
from our early European settlers. They
Boer goats were developed in South HERD
are well adapted to Florida’s heat.
Africa in the early 1900s for meat
production. .
) Let’s stay
G o a t s here in Marion
County, it has the sm
m ra
most goats of all Far F se
Floarbioduat c3o,u5nt0ie0s. - n Acres rcA ytin
GAthmoeaiertr shi cwiaset boreyr y aS glpsoaone bsisr bhoau ecgxkhp ftlao trorteh Nresor, r btthuhat n y Golden, Golde ereS ,dnaS eoJ GFoaItsR weSre Tthe
b
b
that. They were the first animal mytonic Bo alpine Dairy goat
domesticated by man more than
animals to be
10,000 years ago. Today, all Florida
used for milk by
counties have goats. Most goat farms are Mytonic goats were developed in Dairy goats are bred just for
humans.
between 10 and 50 acres. Tennessee. They are also called the their milk. Did you know
Tennessee Fainting Goat. They don’t that people drank goat milk
really faint. But their legs get stiff when before they drank cow milk?
they are startled. Popular breeds in Florida are
Alpine, Toggenburg and Saanen Both male and female
goats, which all came from goats can have
the Alps in Switzerland. Dairy BEARDS
n goats are small, easily handled
o .
itaic animals. They can live on small
o
ssA farms and can return the cost of
tao their feed through their milk.
G
What do parents and goats have in o
k
iK
common? They all have kids! All n
a
c
“kidding” aside, goats are also ire
m
important to Florida. kiko A The female goat is called a doe or
nanny. The male goat is called a
Marion
There are about 50,000 goats in the buck or billy. Do you remember
Kiko goats originated from New The
state. Marion County has the most goats ancient cave what their offspring are called? They
Zealand by crossing feral goats with PUPIL
of all Florida counties - about 3,500. But painting of goats are kids, just like you! If you see a
dairy goats in the 1980s. They were
there are goats in each of Florida’s 67 goat on a farm, remember that you
developed for fast growth, survivability
counties. have something in common with their in the eye of the
and hardiness.
babies. goat is a rectangle.
16 17
Here are some popular meat sheep
breeds in Florida:
FUN
ms
Far ms
ne ar
er, Calovi alovine F FACTS
b C
h Ta ber,
ut Ta
R h
katahdin ut
R
St. Augustine
The Katahdin was developed in the
1950s in Maine. It is a low-maintenance
RAMS
sheep that is naturally tolerant of many
The St. Augustine was
types of weather and environments.

developed in Florida, so they
It has a natural resistance to internal
can weigh up to
live well in the heat. When they
parasites.
450 pounds.
have babies, they sometimes
have twins and triplets of many
colors. They love to eat Florida’s
Let’s pastures.
EWES
travel down south!
S H E E P There are lots of smra
sheep here in Miami- F en If you can weigh up to
Dade County! ivola are tired of 300 pounds.
C
,re mowing your
b
aT h lawn, get a
tu
R sheep!
barbados
blackbellies
Sheep have
Sheep
been in
live
Barbados Blackbellies come from the
Florida
between
marion Caribbean island of Barbados. They since the
6 11
look like antelopes and can be brown,
Have you ever heard you can & 15th
tan or yellow. They have lots of babies,

go to sleep by counting sheep?
and easily adapt to Florida’s conditions.
years.
If you count all 18,000 sheep
Century.
in Florida, you may never go palm
to sleep! There are lots of sheep beach Ruth Taber, Calovine Farms
in Miami-Dade County, but Palm
Beach and Marion counties also
have many sheep too.
Healthy
LAMBS
Miami - Dade
Sheep have been here since
the 15th century. Many people
think the Florida Native was In all sheep breeds, the can stand
Sheep can be raised for their meat
brought here by Spanish and dorper female sheep is the ewe. The within minutes
or their wool. Ironically, sheep that
French explorers. They are ms are raised for their meat are called sheep male sheep is called a ram or after birth.
known for their natural resistance Far buck. A baby sheep is a lamb.
e “hair sheep.” Their hair does not
to parasites. It is an endangered vin Dorper sheep were developed in Sheep are grazers and consume
species in Florida, and is raised Calo require trimming like wool sheep, South Africa in the 1930s. Dorpers are between 2 and 4 ½ pounds of
fao hr aitisrc wuot, oitl . i sW chalelend s hsheeeapr ignegt. Ruth Taber, aAmnse dFa lttoh srehidyea ec’spa cn ius e lbtnuedrcueo rcmeh hianongtg tmeesro , crrlaeimi siantge s. vskeirny cmouvescriunlgar i sin h tahire airn hdi nwdo loelg asn. dTh ite wir ill fcoloovde er aacnhd dpaays t(umroe sptllya ngtrsa)s. sI f As hgereopu ips ao f
These sheep provide about eight drop off without being sheared. The you are tired of mowing your FLOCK
popular because dishes that use their
pounds of wool each year. Dorper has thick skin, which protects lawn, get a sheep!
meat are becoming more common. .
the sheep from the weather.
We call those meats lamb or mutton.
18 19