Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. is a Quality Brand
In partnership with: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
For the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it’s all about conserving, protecting, and treasuring Florida’s agriculture. The Tribe strives to carry on that same philosophy to a rapidly expanding brand called Seminole Pride™ – a brand that stands for high quality, pure, family, and “Fresh From Florida.”
The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc., the business development arm of the Seminole Tribe, has embarked on a significant business diversification program under the Seminole Pride™ brand, which includes Noble® juice, beef, seafood, fresh citrus, and OWV™ spring water, an artisan spring water that naturally flows from a protected Floridian aquifer in Orange Springs.
In April 2014, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. partnered with W.G. Roe & Sons to establish a foundation that is committed to the agriculture and people of Florida. W.G. Roe & Sons was founded in 1927 in Winter Haven and is a fourth-generation, family-owned Florida business that grows, harvests, and processes specialty fresh citrus and blueberries with care, passion and quality.
“The partnership and commitment from the Seminole Tribe of Florida and W.G. Roe & Sons will create more opportunities for Florida economic growth, including higher production volume to meet the demand for both new products and our increasing geographic reach,” says Quentin Roe, W.G. Roe & Sons President.
The Seminole Pride Noble® juice brand is known for naturally pure 100-percent Florida tangerine juice and 100-percent Florida orange juice, with nothing added, just hand-picked, height-of-season, sweet citrus fruit for juice. The citrus fruit for the juice is actually grown on the Tribe’s reservations, the Roe family’s groves, and on land owned by partner citrus groves throughout Florida – about 4,000 acres.
Northwest of Lake Okeechobee, the Tribe maintains the largest portion of its cattle herd across the vast 36,000-acre Brighton Seminole Reservation. The Seminoles run the nation’s fifth-largest cow-calf operation with nearly 14,000 Brangus cattle, based on rankings from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
The Tribe has expanded their focus of the cattle program in the last few years to include a 100-percent traceable, branded beef program under “Seminole Pride™,” recently embraced as the first “Fresh From Florida” beef program. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc., and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services partnered to establish the criteria for this program. Only cattle born and raised in Florida and harvested in the state can be certified “Fresh From Florida.” This logo is now placed on all branded Seminole Pride™ Beef.
Seminole Pride™ Beef has developed a following among Florida food purveyors and chefs, who are serving it in more than 100 of the state’s restaurants, including several high-end restaurants that use USDA Prime and USDA Choice-rated Seminole Pride™ Angus Beef for steaks, ribs, and roasts.
Leaders of the Seminole Tribe hope to expand the program, based on strong initial demand.
“The biggest problem we have is feeding capacity,” says Alex Johns, the Seminole Tribe’s Natural Resources Director. “We need more farmers producing corn in Florida.”