The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-09-13
FLORIDA SPENDS
$7O,OOO,OOO FOR
IMPORTED MEATS
Miss S. Carey Is Here To
Show How We Can
Save This Vast Total
and Keep 1t Right Here
for the Development of
a Florida Industry

Lakeland is being visited by mos
unusual woman. Miss :. Carey o.
Dade county, who has for some time
been engaged in one OF the most am
bilious ranch enterprises in Florida.
owning and operating Il large cattle
and hog ranch about fifteen miles
north of Miami in the rich Everglades
section Miss Carey is making a tour
of florida at her own expense in an
effort to awaken Floridians to TIL
necessity OF patronizing one of theil
own home industries. the raising OF
livestock In an interview this morn
ing with a representative of The Tel
egram Miss Carey called attention to
the fact that Florida spends for i'm
ported meat and dairy products each
year the enormous amount of So
100000. She says that every ounce
Of this could BE produced right here
in Florida And she added: For
years the Texas cattlemen have been
buying our range steers by the train
loads, cleaning them of ticks. taking
them TO Texas. putting them on good
pasture and Il short finish of corn and
velvet beans and shipping to the
Chicago market as fine western beef
Some of this very meat comes back
through to jacksonville packers to
eur own tables. Is there any wonder
meat is high priced in Florida after
thousands of miles of railroad haul
ing and high-priced refrigerator cars
and storage. What the Texas cattle
men can do with our steers we can do
for ourselves. We have the finest
climate in the world. In south Flor
ida we have all the year round graz
ing and thousands of acres will pro
duce corn, bean, rutabaga and other
good fattening forage crops all the
year round. With very little effort
Florida could be made the leading cat
tie state in the world not only sup
plying all her own markets but hold
ing large export trade.
$4,000, 900! What would this do
to develop our home towns and each
county. S7O,000,000 of the hard earn
Cd profits of the business man and
woman. Yet we Florida women calmly
go to the phone or to the store and
order Nit away daily for some choice
cut OF western meat. CT butter, can
red milk, cheese. etc, instead of get
ting together to make our Florid;.
products the best that can be found
But Florida meat is not fit to ear
says the consumer Why? Because
| Florida cattlemen found they cou 4
make 4 fair profit by selling to other
states who understood the art of fin
ishing beef, Buying, fencing, improv-
ing pastures. OF laboriously blowing
and cultivating the necessary crops,
dipping cattle. paying taxes, did not
interest them. They could range their
cattle free on the ether mans land as
/ long as they could sell on the hoof
unfinished.
"As the demand for better meat in
creased the practical west ern farmer
found the citizens Of Florida easy
Prey to the propaganda that the south
ern steer was of no account and so
they won the market and often fec
you on your own Florida steer, fin
ished in some ether state, charging
you all the costs and a good profit be-
sides.
1t has been absolutely proved by
many farmer and progressive cattle
man that Florida beef, finished in
licious meat ever served in our mar
kets, but the demand for Florida meat
is so small that it does not pay tn
farmer to finish. more than here and
there few choice animals.
Yet in less than 10 months the
whole situation could be changed if
every progressive man and woman in
the state would come together and
agree to create market for we'll
finished beef and encourage the thor
/ ough finishing OF the steer at an early
age and the breeding of a better grade
of steer
"A plan of organizing a fenced
ranch for every county or group of
counties. in picked, rich agricultural
areas is starting where the range
steer can be purchased at years cd,
cleaned of ticks and given to 8
months finishing on choice tame
grasses, corn, beans, cane etc.
'aughtered under board of health in
/ spection in sanitary abbatoir and sold
in the local market or for export. A
demonstration herd is now being col
iected for finishing for this winters
market. If it is the success we anti
/ clpate IL is hcped to organize similar
herds throughout Florida early next
year.
IF this herd were to be organized
by few individuals it would be
/ doomed to failure in face of the com
petition Of western meat, but if each
steer is owned by the leading men and
women of every city. the market for
the finished product at fair price is
assured. A slogan Buy a steer, has
been started in Miami where the cit.
liens started subscriptions for 300
head. the woman s cub each paid for
a steer and many individual members.
Many leading business man took from
4 to 10 each. The next town visited
was st. Augustine At once. both
wcmen's clubs came solid back of the
move and the rotary club invited
hearing. jacksonville followed wi
warm support by prominent men and
women and clubs. The press every
where has been a strong ally. Today
the call has come to Lakeland to Join
in and give a helping hand o My the