Between The Beaches Podcast

Catch a glimpse into the Southwest Florida of long ago as cowhunter Johnny Jump recalls days working cattle on the cypress ranges of Collier and Hendry counties, countless nights spent sleeping in a tent, and all the changes he witnessed as the decades rolled by.  Mr. Jump's memories offer a window into a time of tougher men and less forgiving conditions along the fringes of the glades.

Back in January, we kicked off season 2 in less than stellar fashion due to horrible audio issues with our recording of Linda Minton as she discussed her upbringing on Peacock Ranch and subsequent 43 year career in the agricultural aviation industry. Despite our best efforts to clean up the audio files, it was still tough to hear and many of you reached out to us asking that we have her back for another conversation so this week we're delivering.  We rehash a few points from the prior episode and raise plenty of new thoughts on this one so we hope y'all enjoy it.  If you want to take a stab at listening to the original conversation, check out Episode 45 in the archives.

Sit in with us for an intimate and wide ranging conversation with FCA Director of Field Services, Dusty Holley. Dusty's son, Webb, chimes in with some of his own insights on the convention that are sure to tickle your funny bone making this a truly educational and entertaining episode.

In this episode we catch up with some of our ranching friends from across the great state of Florida. Representing families from the Florida panhandle to the glades, these folks have been caring for our land and livestock for generations. Listen in as they reminisce about life experiences and memories unique to their corner of Florida.

In this special edition of the podcast, we bring you highlights from the Big Loop Dummy Roping Contest with a live audience at the Florida Cattlemen's Convention & Allied Trade Show. This is a family event where both youth and adults compete in a team roping competition and a long reach roping competition utilizing a roping dummy inside the JW Marriott Marco Island Resort.

Sam and I offer our thoughts and memories of the Florida Cattlemen's Annual Convention and then discuss the live podcast interview opportunities we'll be offering at different locations during the convention from June 15-17, 2021.

We open this episode with a few Beef Facts for National Beef Month. Next, we shift our attention to the meaning or purpose of Memorial Day and reflect on a couple of examples where horrible tragedies led to beautiful victories for a few Gold Star families with whom we're closely connected.

Learn more about Operation 300 HERE

Learn more about Wreaths Across America HERE 

Florida's unrelenting archenemy has always been the carpetbagger; those individuals and corporate entities that seek to pillage and degrade our beautiful landscape for individual or personal gain. From the Reconstruction era through to present day, Florida continues to suffer from their self-serving schemes that are all too often aided and abetted by our own government officials. In this episode, we look at a recent example as well as see a few past instances where they descended upon the peninsula en mass as we examine some of the state's rich agricultural history and how that applies to our Cowhunters Unlimited specialty foods.

With applications open now for permits under FWC's Statewide Alligator Harvest Program and the mating season well underway, this week was the perfect time to sit down with my friend, reptilian expert Greg Graziani of Florida Gator Gardens, to discuss some general traits of Florida's apex predator, dispel some of the myths about these iconic symbols of natural Florida, and learn more about their behavior patterns so we can better coexist with them out here between the beaches. Greg is also immensely knowledgeable about Florida's many snakes and helped develop FWC's plan for dealing with the feral python population in the Everglades so we spend a good bit of time addressing some of those myths as well, including perhaps the biggest of them all - that they resulted from captive pet releases into the glades.

Learn more about Greg's educational efforts by following them on Facebook at Florida Gator Gardens 

With Mother's Day approaching, we thought this would be a great time to gather up and reminisce about the ladies who've gone before and lovingly raised us, created the homes we cherished, and left us so many beautiful memories.  Hope y'all enjoy this laughter-filled conversation as we look at motherhood in The South, and more specifically, in Florida's Heartland between the beaches.