Cracker Cattle in Silvopasture Systems

Cracker Cattle in Silvopasture
Systems
Dr. Tim Olson
Department of Animal Sciences
Department of Animal Sciences
UF_IFAS
Outline
• History
History of Cracker Cattle
of Cracker Cattle
• Types/Strains of Cracker Cattle
• Why Cracker cattle for silvopasture
systems?
• Characteristics of Cracker Cattle
• Beef from Cracker Cattle
• Getting Started with Cracker Cattle
Getting Started with Cracker Cattle
History of Cracker Cattle
• 1600’s
• 1700’s
• 1800’s
• 1900’s Spanish cattle are established in Florida
Spanish‐origin cattle increased in number, generally without much management
Probably some interbreeding, especially in North Florida of Cracker
especially in North Florida of Cracker Cattle with North American Native Cattle
Near loss of Florida Cracker Cattle due g
to crossing with Brahman and other breeds
Preservation of Florida Cracker Cattle
• Crossing with Brahman and other breeds nearly eliminated Florida Cracker cattle by the late 1950’s
• Still some “unadulterated” Cracker cattle could still be found in the 1970’s
• Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle Conner was responsible for setting up a herd of surviving Cracker cows in Tallahassee in 1970
• Simultaneously the Florida Park Service established h d fC k C l
herds of Cracker Cattle on Payne’s Prairie and at the P
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d
h
Lake Kissimmee State Park
Florida Cracker Cattle Association
Florida Cracker Cattle Association
• In
In the late 1980
the late 1980’ss, the FCCA was formed and the FCCA was formed and
soon started having annual “gatherin’s” and sales of Cracker Cattle in early November each
sales of Cracker Cattle in early November each year
• The purpose of the FCCA is to promote the The purpose of the FCCA is to promote the
preservation of Cracker Cattle and to work to inform the public of their importance to the
inform the public of their importance to the history of Florida Strains of Florida Cracker Cattle
Strains of Florida Cracker Cattle
• West Florida Strains:
– Barnes (Florala, Alabama)
B
(Fl l Al b
)
– Conway (Mississippi)
– Robinson
• Peninsular Strains:
– Durrance
D
(Ok h b )
(Okeechobee)
– Ezell (Taylor County)
– Department of Agriculture Department of Agriculture
(Tallahassee/Brooksville)
– Payne
Payne’ss Prairie/Lake Kissimmee State Park
Prairie/Lake Kissimmee State Park
Barnes (Florala, Alabama)
Barnes (Florala, Alabama)
Barnes (Florala, Alabama)
Conway (Mississippi)
Robinson
Robinson
Durrance (Okeechobee)
Ezell (Taylor County)
Department of Agriculture (Tallahassee/Brooksville)
Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park Payne’s Prairie/Lake Kissimmee State Park
Old Blue Cow No. 8 Who Lived over 25 years and Calved at about 22 years
Lake Kissimmee State Park, circa 1978
Why Cracker cattle for silvopasture systems?
• Cracker Cattle should have the lowest nutritional requirements:
nutritional requirements: Cracker Cattle are relatively small
C k C l
Cracker Cattle are relatively low milk l i l l
ilk
producers
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Cracker Cattle are well‐adapted to Florida
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Cracker Cattle may browse and thus remove competing plant species better i
l
i b
than other breeds
Cracker Cattle are relatively small
Cracker Cattle are relatively small
• Nutrient
Nutrient requirements, especially those for requirements especially those for
maintenance are directly related to size
• Mature weights for Cracker Cows vary from Mature weights for Cracker Cows vary from
even less than 600 lbs up to nearly 1100 lbs for cows with Pineywoods heritage
for cows with Pineywoods
• The smallest Cracker cows are often referred to as Guineas
G i
• Guineas probably have several types of dwarfism involved
Other Characteristics of Cracker Cattle
Other Characteristics of Cracker Cattle
• Longevity
– It is not unusual for cows to calve past 20 years of age
• Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance
– Most Cracker cattle have short hair and seem to be as heat tolerant as Brahman cattle
• Possible parasite resistance
– This
This has not been tested but my cattle are never has not been tested but my cattle are never
treated for internal parasites
– Florida Native Sheep were proven to be resistant to internal parasites many years ago
Can you make money with Florida Cracker Cattle????
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l
• Keep
Keep costs low but don
costs low but don’tt starve them
starve them
• Good quality hay is probably enough for winter feeding of adult cows
winter feeding of adult cows
• Breed Cracker cows to Angus or Charolais bulls when you don’t need replacement heifers
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l
h if
• “Pretty” Cracker cows with lots of white spotting need to be bred to Charolais bulls to prevent excessive discounts of the calves
Selling “Natural” Beef from Cracker Cattle
g
An area still to be developed An
area still to be developed
An interest does exist for locally grown foods
S lli
Selling as organic beef is difficult to establish
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bli h
Cracker cattle can easily be raised on pasture without any antibiotics, growth hormones or even the use of chemicals to control internal or external parasites
p
yp
• Most animals produce very palatable beef
•
•
•
•
Getting Started with Cracker Cattle
• Cracker
Cracker Cattle are available at reasonable Cattle are available at reasonable
prices
• A few small herds exist in west Florida
A few small herds exist in west Florida
• Larger herds and the State of Florida herds are l
located in Eastern, Central, and South Florida
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C
l d S h Fl id
• Cattle from the state herds are available only at the annual auction of the Florida Cracker Cattle Association in early November
At the Cracker Gatherin’ prior to the Annual Cracker Cattle and Horse Sale