This is a weird article because it starts with "Melbourne, FL." Well to begin with, Melbourne, FL isn't on Florida's first coast. Exacerbating the problem is you would think the article started with Tallahassee, FL...as that is the capitol. Melbourne has nothing to farking do with anything, it is hundreds of miles away. WTF?

It's a pretty crappy article.

Subby has obviously never worked with commercial fertilizers. If it was cow or horse shiate there would not be an issue. The run-off into natural waterways can be catastrophic (see any number of studies about golf courses and their environmental impact...)

For once Florida has done something that makes sense.

4th

sorta not related, but interesting none the less.


Florida's old-time cowboys had a unique way of herding cattle. They used 10- to 12-foot-long whips made of braided leather. Snapping these whips in the air made a loud "crack." That sound brought stray cattle back into line fast and earned cowboys the nickname of "crackers." Many rode rugged, rather small horses known as "cracker ponies."



Cracker cowboys also counted on herd dogs to move cattle along the trail. Their tough dogs could help get a cow out of a marsh or work a hundred steers into a tidy group. For those rough riders of Florida's first ranges, a good dog, a horse, and whip were all the tools a true cracker needed.

By the 1890s, cow camps were located in most sections of the state. One such camp was located near Lake Kissimmee. It was known as "Cow Town." The area's cattle were referred to as scrub cows, ridiculous in appearance. They were once described as "no bigger than donkeys, lacking quality as beef or milk producers." They were valuable because the animals could survive in wilderness areas. By the 1920s, however, the quality of Florida cattle had improved greatly.

Raising cattle is still one of the biggest businesses in the state. Florida's ranchers raise the third largest number of cattle of any state east of the Mississippi. Their herds represent many centuries of dreams. They link the sweat and success of ancient Spaniards and hardy pioneers with today's modern cattle ranchers.

So they can't fertilize cows and horses anymore?

Also off topic billybobtoo, but I just got done working on what is now the largest cattle ranch in the country, and it just so happens to be owned by the Mormons. The land is so large it spans across 5 counties. It is the most beautiful land I have seen in all of Florida.

interesting, GoSurfing !
i believe i heard about a huge ranch, somewhere east of orlando, and owned by the mormons. could be the same one.

so how will this effect the scriptwriters strike?

billybobtoo: Florida's old-time cowboys had a unique way of herding cattle. They used 10- to 12-foot-long whips made of braided leather. Snapping these whips in the air made a loud "crack." That sound brought stray cattle back into line fast and earned cowboys the nickname of "crackers." Many rode rugged, rather small horses known as "cracker ponies."

Cracker cowboys also counted on herd dogs to move cattle along the trail. Their tough dogs could help get a cow out of a marsh or work a hundred steers into a tidy group. For those rough riders of Florida's first ranges, a good dog, a horse, and whip were all the tools a true cracker needed.

Ha, Have you ever been to rual Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, etc.?

/border collies FTW

I pretty much grew up on several ranches in Idaho that my relatives owned. Spent alot of time pushing cows onto the summer ranges and irrigating the private land for the production of hay that would feed the cows during the winter months.

/good way to make a living, IMO
//crappy pay, although.

not related to the article, but it took this in a small farming town in ND

CycloneArmageddon: Subby has obviously never worked with commercial fertilizers. If it was cow or horse shiate there would not be an issue. The run-off into natural waterways can be catastrophic (see any number of studies about golf courses and their environmental impact...)

For once Florida has done something that makes sense.

Seconded. Overuse has damaged the vcanals where I grew up, too. Algal blooms are heavy.. and when the algae overgrows and cannot be consumed, it dies and makes a huge stinky smell all over the neighborhood.

billybobtoo: sorta not related, but interesting none the less.


Florida's old-time cowboys had a unique way of herding cattle. They used 10- to 12-foot-long whips made of braided leather. Snapping these whips in the air made a loud "crack." That sound brought stray cattle back into line fast and earned cowboys the nickname of "crackers." Many rode rugged, rather small horses known as "cracker ponies."



Cracker cowboys also counted on herd dogs to move cattle along the trail. Their tough dogs could help get a cow out of a marsh or work a hundred steers into a tidy group. For those rough riders of Florida's first ranges, a good dog, a horse, and whip were all the tools a true cracker needed.



I wanted to color this up a bit too.

Crackers weren't exactly glamorous. They drove their cattle onto other people's land and were barely tolerated by the elites who owned the land. The term cracker was used as a class term too, and crackers slept outside with their herd and moved from place to place.

And irritatingly, tourists have called me "cracker".. and I found that Gatorland has been telling their visitors that Floridians call themselves crackers if we were born here.

Trust me we do not. It's nearly as irritating as honky. We call ourselves "native Floridians".

Bravo Florida.

Now if only MD, VA, and PA would do the same. The Chesapeake Bay would be better for it.

Does it apply to senators?

Their (First Coat News) weatherman looks like the Nutty Professor.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/inside/bios/news-article.aspx?storyid=51563



Anyone agree???

GoSurfing: This is a weird article because it starts with "Melbourne, FL." Well to begin with, Melbourne, FL isn't on Florida's first coast. Exacerbating the problem is you would think the article started with Tallahassee, FL...as that is the capitol. Melbourne has nothing to farking do with anything, it is hundreds of miles away. WTF?

Isn't Melbourne where Jim Morrison was born?

Limits are per bag.

Solution: buy more bags.

Control consumer fertilizer runoff? Not so much.

Increase cost and time to consumer? Plenty.

Another great idea with crappy implementation.

GoSurfing: This is a weird article because it starts with "Melbourne, FL." Well to begin with, Melbourne, FL isn't on Florida's first coast. Exacerbating the problem is you would think the article started with Tallahassee, FL...as that is the capitol. Melbourne has nothing to farking do with anything, it is hundreds of miles away. WTF?

It's a Jax news station, reprinting an AP article that is tagged "Melbourne." I don't think you were supposed to read into it that Melbourne is on the First Coast. Anyone in Jax knows that Melbourne is not on the First Coast (it's on the Space Coast.) I imagine it's tagged "Melbourne" because that's where the AP's writer is reporting from....

ameliawizard: Limits are per bag.

Solution: buy more bags.

Control consumer fertilizer runoff? Not so much.

We can always hope that the people who do this would over-fertilize their yards to the point where they killed them. It would be sweet justice!

ameliawizard: Limits are per bag.

Solution: buy more bags.

Control consumer fertilizer runoff? Not so much.

Increase cost and time to consumer? Plenty.

Another great idea with crappy implementation.

I think that some people are buying bags that are too large for their yard, and when they get home, they say, "Well, I better use the entire bag!" Smaller bags would mean that people have a better chance of getting the appropriate amount for their yard.

shana2112: Isn't Melbourne where Jim Morrison was born?

Yes. His father was stationed at Banana River Naval Air Station, now Patrick Air Force Base.

GoSurfing: This is a weird article because it starts with "Melbourne, FL." Well to begin with, Melbourne, FL isn't on Florida's first coast. Exacerbating the problem is you would think the article started with Tallahassee, FL...as that is the capitol. Melbourne has nothing to farking do with anything, it is hundreds of miles away. WTF?

What part of 'wire story' don't you understand? They can be originated anywhere, no state capital necessary. Original story.

Sounds sensible, environmentally sound, practical...it must be some sort of scam.

CycloneArmageddon - Subby has obviously never worked with commercial fertilizers. If it was cow or horse shiate there would not be an issue. The run-off into natural waterways can be catastrophic (see any number of studies about golf courses and their environmental impact...)

For once Florida has done something that makes sense.

This

/very, very proud cracker
//6 generations worth

Also, there is/was a difference between "cowboys" and "cow hunters"... look it up and learn. Tis part of our heritage.

/repeat - PROUD cracker here
//kinda doubt the tale of whip-cracking as origin for term of "cracker"

StrikitRich

I just thought that it much be from Tallahassee because a reporter might have interviewed a politician about this, especially when the headline is worded as in, the state government. I guess someone tried submitting this with the Florida Today, but their headline sucked so someone used first coast. Makes sense, because I'm a moron.

No shiat?

CycloneArmageddon: Subby has obviously never worked with commercial fertilizers. If it was cow or horse shiate there would not be an issue. The run-off into natural waterways can be catastrophic (see any number of studies about golf courses and their environmental impact...)

For once Florida has done something that makes sense.

Sense 40 years ago. Now? Locking the barn after the horse has been gone, gone lame, shot, and turned to glue.

Why fertilize your lawn? I have a hard enough time keeping it mowed.