cattle

Florida, with its lush grasslands, ranks 10th in the nation for its beef cattle herds — nearly 2 million head. And the Seminole Tribe of Florida is a major player in the cattle industry.

Rinderpest, or cattle plague, was declared eradicated in 2011. But many research institutes still have samples of the rinderpest virus in storage. Disease experts want those samples destroyed.

Years of drought have taken a toll on agriculture, particularly cattle ranching. Now instead of too little water, there's too much. But the rains may revive pastures and allow rebuilding of herds.

The rib-eye is the bestselling cut of beef in America both at the supermarket and the steakhouse. Once a year, breeders bring their stock into the barn to take a peek at the steak using ultrasound.

If you've shopped for meat recently, you no doubt have noticed that beef prices are up. That may be hard on consumers, but the prices are helping ranchers purchase expensive feed and rebuild herds.