KATIE CARRIS, LITTLE EVERGLADES RANCH MANAGER,IS NOMINATED FOR CATTLEWOMAN OF THE YEAR.

Sandra "Katie" Carris is an outstanding cattlewoman in every sense of the word. Not only has she has been an active member of Pasco County CattleWomen since she moved to Pasco but she is responsible for all animal divisions of Little Everglades Ranch where she has worked since 1998. She has also raised three successful sons who all have been or are involved in the cattle or equine businesses.

As a Pasco CattleWomen member Katie has served as Treasurer two years and is currently Secretary. She has been involved in events such as Barbecues, Fair Food Booth, passing out beef samples at the Florida State Fair and our first ever Fishing Tournament. Katie was instrumental in getting the CattleWomen involved in Beef promotion during the Steeple Chase Event visited by 15,000 people.

As a cattlewoman by trade Katie has held beef cattle management positions since 1985. For thirteen years she worked in both the cattle and equine divisions of Two Rivers Ranch in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties. She was responsible for the Hunt Stable and everyday cattle care. She also purchased steers for Two Rivers at the Florida State Fair and judged for the 4-H and FFA State Fair Horse Judging Contests.

At Little Everglades Ranch in Pasco County her responsibilities grew from work with two specific groups of animals, the Belted Galloway herd and Hanoverian horse breeding program, to now encompass all managerial work in those breeds as well as beef cattle and the thoroughbred stable which was started when the Little Everglades Steeplechase began in 2000.

Just ask Katie about her forage or breeding programs and she will tell you about the improvements implemented under her direction. Even to the point of a 95-97% breed back rate for the cattle. This she says is assisted in part by tightening the cattle in smaller areas for the six weeks before and during the Steeplechase. This must be done to open up areas that are used to handle the traffic and parking. Thus the bulls and cows are in a much more concentrated area that they would normally be.

Even with all of this plus running the office, handling all of the animal registrations, and paying the bills Katie has had time for supporting the industry in various ways. Serving ably on the Extension Overall Advisory Committee earned her Volunteer of the year in 2001. As a member of the Ag-Pac committee she assisted in advising other agriculturalists of pertinent government issues as well as meeting with elected officials to advise them of our issues and arranging tours of agriculture facilities. As a member of the Greenways Task force she was involved in the endeavor to connect available greenspaces to create the extensive system of bike, horse, and walking trails that connect the counties in our area.

Little Everglades has a conservation easement on much of the property so Katie also oversees the game plots and wildlife feeders. With this easement Katie is comfortable that she will be able to continue to live the life that she lovesso much. She is in the process of teaching one daughter-in-law and her grandchildren about the industry. They work for her or are being raised on the ranch and Katie believes the saying "you cannot hire as good a help as you can raise".

Pasco County CattleWomen are very glad Katie Carris made the move to Little Everglades Ranch 10 years ago. We enjoy working with her and are in awe of all that she accomplishes. And we are extremely proud to nominate her as our Outstanding CattleWoman for 2008.

Katie's Accomplishments