The Young Professionals of Osceola County hosted their second annual Dinner on the Dirt event on June 6^th.  This farm-to-table event allows attendees to dine on the dirt surface of Silver Spurs Arena. This year, diners enjoyed beef sliders and a blueberry dessert from the Double C Bar Ranch, steak cooked by the Osceola County Cattlemen’s Association, Fresh from Florida green beans and potatoes, Florida swamp cabbage cooked by the Florida Farm Bureau’s Herb Harbin, and corn and fresh made salsa from MickFarms.

After dinner, representatives from the Silver Spurs Rodeo,the Osceola County Cattlemen’s Association, and the Florida Farm Bureau spoke about agriculture in Osceola County. Here are few fun facts we took away:

• Osceola County is still 65% agriculture.  It is ranked in the top 3 beef-producing counties in the state of Florida, and in the top 10 in the entire nation.  In fact, Osceola County is home to three of the largest ranches in the country.
• The Silver Spurs Rodeo is the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi, and this year, they celebrate 75 years of rodeo in Osceola County.
• In the state of Florida there are 300 different ag commodities (only California has more).
• In 2017 alone, the Florida cattle industry and allied industries supported 118,191 full- and part-time jobs and generated$4.64 billion (yes, billion, with a “b”) in labor income.
• The Cattlemen’s Association and Florida FarmBureau work together to support agriculture in Osceola County (so, the farmer and cowman CAN be friends!).

Dinner on the Dirt was presented with support from Osceola County Cattlemen’s Association, the Silver Spurs Rodeo, the Florida Farm Bureau, Commissioner Fred Hawkins, and Centennial Bank.