Slideshow of Southwest Cattle Company in Odessa, Florida

Hope Surles, a 16-year-old agvocate, has been visiting farms as part of the Florida Farms & Ranches Beef Tour. Here is a slideshow and her description of her visit to Southwest Cattle Company:

Meet Kelly Fulford, owner and operator of Southwest Cattle Company in Odessa, Florida. Kelly operates a 2,260 acre ranch with 560 head of brangus cow/calf pairs along with her own hereford and brahman bulls she breeds into her herd. Aside from raising brangus cattle, her family operated ranch also has a family owned hay business. She leases 2,000 acres from Hillsborough County throughout the ELAPP. The land that she leases is a nature preserve with whitetail deer, creeks, ponds and many other animals. Kelly not only takes care of her cattle, she preserves the water quality and soil health on her ranch by using Best Management Practices (BMP). Kelly was awarded the “This Farm CARES” award designed by the Florida Farm Bureau in 2016. Kelly uses practices such as rotational grazing with seven cross-fenced pastures on her property. She makes sure she spreads her story and the beef production story to people who are granted access on her ranch.