Capturing the Authenticity of Florida Cattle Ranchers
Learn More About Dustin Prickett and How He Brings Art to Ag
Everywhere you look, there is art. The world of agriculture has an immense array of art within it from the process of planting a single seed and cultivating colorful and nutritious row crops, to the cattle ranchers raising calves. AgAmerica understands the commitment and resilience it takes to be a farmer or rancher and the importance that agriculture plays as a way of life for millions of individuals across the country.
Capturing the work ethic and the critical role farmers and ranchers play in America and what they represent in a changing world through photography and imagery is important to the AgAmerica mission. They say a photo is worth a thousand words, and AgAmerica strives to create images that strike an emotional chord and provide an understanding of the hard work put forth producing the food we eat.
Florida Cattle Ranchers at Daylight
In this month’s edition of Central Florida Ag News, we discussed our award-winning photo titled Florida Cattle Ranchers at Daylight, which won the first-place award for Best in Category from the American Advertising Federation of Polk County Florida – and the 2017 National Silver Addy Award for color photography. The photo which illustrates cattle ranchers preparing for a day’s work as they ride their horses to a cattle roundup about ten minutes after sunrise, was taken by AgAmerica’s photographer Dustin Prickett, owner of Sunglow Photography.
Florida cattle ranching is one of the largest in the nation. In fact, there are more cattle ranches in Florida than there are citrus farms, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Additionally, the industry raises more than $2 billion annually and employs over 17,000 people in Florida. The photo represents the industry’s importance on a local, national, and international level. More than 90 percent of cattle operations are family owned and this industry accounts for 20 percent of the world’s beef supply. Moreover, the photo has received wide acclaim for capturing the beauty of the rising sun and the picturesque view of cattle ranchers, their horses, and dogs. Taken at the El Clair Ranch in Zolfo Springs, Florida, the goal for the photos were to illustrate the everyday life of the cattle ranchers, creating unique imagery that speaks to the beauty of the American farmer.
Illustrating the Importance of Florida Agriculture
Capturing the authenticity of the life of farmers and cattle ranchers through photography, as well as communicating the impact Florida agriculture plays was an important goal of conducting this photo shoot. Sometimes photographers get lucky with their shots, but most of the time that award-winning, jaw-dropping photograph takes hours of preparation and making the most of the opportunity when it arrives. When shooting the ranch, Dustin said there were many elements that stood out – the rising sun capturing the spirit of men riding their horses to the cattle, finding the right angle to shoot the sun with the fog, and of course getting the dogs in action all came together for the perfect shot.
AgAmerica is invested in capturing the story of farmers and ranchers’ operation and communicating the critical role they play in agriculture. The Florida Cattle Ranchers at Daylight photo represents the passion AgAmerica has, to help farmers and ranchers do what they love through lending options that provides a long-term financial plan for their operation. For those looking to expand or refinance their operation, we build customized loan packages to meet your farm or ranch needs.
Explore AgAmerica’s ag loan programs and discover how they’re changing the way today’s farmers, ranchers, and landowners finance their dreams. From dairy farms and cattle ranch loans to timber land, peach orchard, vegetable farm loans and everything in between. Contact our ag experts to learn more.
