Cattleman on the up-and-coming: Hunter Horne

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Hunter Horne is one of Jefferson County's local ranchers whose career is focused around keeping his community (and country) fed.

But Horne has also gone above-and-beyond in his duty as a Floridian rancher and is involved in the more detailed side of the cattleman business.

Horne is a young rancher as well as the vice-president of the Jefferson County Cattleman's Association and a county affiliate for the Florida Cattleman's Association (FCA).

Recently, Horne took another step in advancing his cattleman career when he was elected to join the FCA's Leadership Academy and continued the task of representing Jefferson County at the state level.

The leadership academy is a development program that is hosted by the FCA and serves to prepare future industry leaders to hold greater responsibilities and positions of influence within the association.

The leadership academy, Horne says, accomplishes that task through various field visits to different ranches and industry-related sites around the state.

Being a member of the leadership academy isn't all field trips and tours, though.
Horne adds that an aspect of being a part of the academy means he spends a “considerable portion” of his participation in attending classroom lectures with notable speakers and industry leaders. The lectures cover a broad range of topics that relate to industry leadership and the cattle business as a whole.

These lectures, like the rest of the academy's functions, serve to not only educate its attendees on the business but also provide them with a level of personal development that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

“My role within the group will be the same as all of the other participants for the most part,” says Horne. “In FCLA Class VI, we have 11 participants who have been nominated and selected from all different regions of the state. We are all involved in the cattle industry at the professional level in various capacities.”

The leadership academy's program consists of four sessions that are held in different parts of the state, and the student-participants are accompanied to these sessions by the FCA President-Elect Gene Lollis.

“Having the incoming FCA President as part of the class really gives participants an opportunity to build relationships with the current FCA leaders,” says Horne.

Each of the participants is required to attend all four of the provided sessions, plus a graduation event that Horne says is held at the annual FCA state convention in Orlando.

“At that convention, the day after graduation we will actively participate in FCA’s committee process, the real working backbone of FCA’s policies.”

Horne was nominated to be included in this year's FCA Leadership Academy by his peers within the industry and state association, as well as Jefferson County Extension Agent Danielle Sprague.

“My goal in the leadership class is to further my knowledge of the beef industry as a whole along with learning to represent it better to the outside world as a producer and young leader,” adds Horne.

While he is a fairly young voice in the cattle and beef industry, Horne says that he is not alone in being an up-and-coming young rancher – the Floridian industry is quite filled with young leaders and voices.

“I think the industry within the state of Florida is in good hands for the future and will be well represented,” says Horne. “Most ownership and decisions on a per-farm basis still lie with the older generations since they are often still the ones operating them but I think the industry is already experiencing some well-planned generational transfers.”

Horne believes that younger ranchers bring fresh perspectives to trade, such as in their connection to people both in and out of the industry through social media.

“The use of social media to display the sustainability of Florida’s farms and ranches is a very powerful tool that we are able to use every day to enlighten the viewer to what actually goes on out on our farms and ranches,” said Horne. “It would be impossible for us to bring out every person interested in touring operations, but it is very feasible to post pictures and videos highlighting the actual events that take place. We hope through concepts such as this we are able to promote and conserve our industry and heritage for the future.”

Back at home in Jefferson County, where Horne is a multi-generational native, he continues his work with the local cattleman's association while also fostering an active career in the cattle industry.
He is a full-time herd manager and director of cattle operations for the Great Mark Western, a cattle company located in Leon and Jefferson Counties.

According to Horne, Great Mark Western is a cattle enterprise that consists of a commercial cow-calf operation and is an Angus and Brangus seedstock operation.

“Our seedstock operation exists to supply our commercial cow calf operation that retains all of our cattle from pasture to plate,” says Horne.

Horne is a graduate of Aucilla Christian Academy, where he played sports and was involved in club activities during his academic years at the school.

Afterward, Horne attended Florida State University, where he obtained a B.S. in Business Management and Real Estate; he also holds several certificates in subjects such as ruminant nutrition, genetics and reproduction, all of which benefit his career as a cattleman.

For those interested in learning more about the daily work that takes place on a Floridian cattle ranch, Hunter Horne suggests visiting the #shareyourheritage hashtag on Facebook and Instagram. It is a hashtag supported by the FCA's President Matt Pearce and spotlights photos and stories from Florida's ranches.