A Visit to Providence Cattle company’s ranch
Before we knew exactly where or how we were going to open The Tides Market, we knew a couple of things. First, we knew that we wanted the highest quality seafood around. If the fish was not stellar it would not go in the case. We also knew that we wanted to separate ourselves from other seafood markets by offering more than seafood. We wanted the fish to be the star, but we needed something for everyone. And that something was high-end, local, and responsibly raised beef, pork, and chicken. I had eaten Providence Cattle several times and wanted to find out how we could get a program started with this phenomenal local product. I reached out to Joe Planz in December of 2020 and told him of our vision and asked him his opinion. He immediately told me that he thought we had a winner, and he would be happy to help in any capacity, a real stand-up guy. I explained our timeline, and he checked in every few weeks to see how progress was coming.
Fast forward to the first week of July 2021, I had arranged for MK and I to meet Joe and Dan Mello outside of Dade City at Joe’s ranch. We were scheduled to meet Joe and Dan at 10 am on a Friday morning. Well, that Friday morning looked pretty awful, rain was in the forecast for most of the morning, heavy rain. We got in the car and started out for Dade city. As we got close, the sky started to open up. We were driving on hilly, narrow 2 lane roads and the rain was really coming down. We got close and called Joe where he told us to, and he coached us in the last mile or two, so we didn’t miss our turn. It was stilling pouring down rain.
We met at the entrance to the property under the pole barn and talked a while about the program amongst the tractors. Providence Cattle are Florida born and raised Black Angus. They are grass fed and finished and are never given growth hormones or antibiotics. Listening to Joe and Dan talk about the program you could feel their passion for the animals that they raise.
At this point the rain had stopped, and Joe got a 4-wheeler and a Gator Utility vehicle for MK and me. Dan jumped on the 4-wheeler with Joe on the back, MK and I followed in the Gator. They took us to the first pasture; the cows spend a few weeks in each pasture and then are rotated to a new one where there is more grass. We could hear the cows moo and see them move freely about. They even had a donkey for protection. Apparently, the donkey will protect the cattle from Cayotes and other predators. It was fascinating and beautiful to stand in the pasture and just watch the cattle move about and listen to Joe, again with the passion, tell us about how their herd is a calf/cow operation. A calf/cow operation is just that, a method of raising cattle with a permanent herd of cows.
The rain held off long enough for us to tour the entire ranch. We made it back to the tractor barn in time for it to start sprinkling again. It was time to head home, truthfully, I think that MK would have spent the week here. It was tranquil and quiet, just what we needed. Joe and Dan are running a first-rate operation and we are proud to have them as a trusted partner. It was really cool to see cows, simply, being cows. They were under the Florida blue skies, in the sunshine being cows.