by REBEKAH PIERCE
Marcia Lightsey is a cattle rancher, mother, grandmother, and tireless advocate for all things agriculture and conservation in the state of Florida. Described by her daughter, Leigh Ann Wynn, as “one of the most selfless people” she knows, and by Carole McKenzie, Polk County Farm Bureau Executive Director as a “get things done person,” Lightsey is a true leader among her peers.
Although Lightsey is now the proud matriarch of an eighth-generation family of Florida ranchers, she herself did not grow up in agriculture.
“My father was in the Air Force,” she explains. In 1962, he was stationed in Tampa at MacDill Air Force Base. There, she attended Brandon High School, where she met her future husband, Cary Lightsey, a sixth-generation Florida cattle rancher.
When Cary decided to run for Florida State FFA President, he asked Marcia to help him write his nomination speech. Shortly after, they began dating, with Marcia often accompanying Cary to Lake Wales to work on the ranch. They married in 1973.
“Fifty-one years later, we have raised our three children and nine grandchildren on the same ranch. It’s lots of hard work but enjoyable to be with your family every day,” Marcia Lightsey says.
Lightsey learned the ropes by working alongside Cary’s mother, Marnel Lightsey. Marnel taught her everything she needed to know, from how to keep accurate cattle records to how she should never jump off the catwalk (to protect her knees and back).
“There’s no job beneath her,” Wynn says of her mother. “She’s truly in the details. Growing up, she would do anything … volunteer in our schools, but then also cook lunch for the cowboys and be in the cowpens working right alongside the men.”
While much of Lightsey’s work has been up close and personal with the cattle, she’s also been a tireless advocate for agriculture and conservation, a juncture that, at first, surprised even Lightsey herself.
“We used to think if you are a cattle rancher, then you are not in agreement with conservation,” Lightsey explains, admitting that it took quite a few years (and many invitations to cattle ranches) to bridge the gap and prove that they were all wanting and fighting for the same thing.
“We love endangered species and work hard to protect them. The cattle grazing on the land is what provides the clean water and air we breathe, by saving sensitive water, restoring and aquifer recharge areas.”
The Lightsey family leaves more than 40% of its land native to feed wildlife and maintain beauty, which provides the dual benefit of giving the cattle large stands of trees to take shelter in during cold snaps or hurricanes.
Interestingly, those large tracts of untouched land also provide protection for other species, including bald eagles, bears, and most notably, the endangered Florida panther. The Lightseys were featured in the documentary, “Path of the Panther,” and remain close with its lead photographer, Carlton Ward, Jr.
“The conservation easements that we place on our ranch and the wildlife corridors connecting each of these ranches and throughout the state of Florida [mean] a panther can travel the acreage they need to survive and raise their cubs each year. It’s a satisfying feeling to know that the native land you protected from development is supporting many endangered species and keeping our state from losing their habitat,” Lightsey reflects.
While it’s hard to ignore the impacts that Lightsey and her family have had on Florida’s wildlife, she’s also had a profound influence on the human members of her community, too.
“There literally hasn’t been anything she’s been asked to do that she’s said no to,” Wynn remarks with an affectionate laugh.
From hosting eco-tours on the ranch to developing public information campaigns and even going into local schools and supermarkets to advocate for agriculture, Lightsey is a champion for the dual importance of agriculture and conservation.
“It’s clear that for Marcia, the love of the land and the ranch lifestyle go hand in hand,” McKenzie proclaims.
“I could not even begin to try to put a number on how many youths she has touched in some form or fashion. But I know they will not forget the moments that Marica took to support them.”
For Lightsey, advocacy is a labor of life.
“Educating is one of the most important aspects of our beef industry to the general public,” she explains.
“Ag in the Classroom and many other youth programs within our state are some of the only avenues to educate the next generations on where their food comes from and how important it is to eat wisely.”
To get her message out, Lightsey puts boots to the ground. She gives out samples of beef sausage and ground beef dip at the Florida State Flair. She visits schools to read to children on Ag Literacy Day. She’s even towed a livestock trailer to the local elementary schools to show children everything from the spurs the cowboys wear to the actual horses they ride.
Lightsey’s legacy runs deep and is sure to carry on through her work and her induction in the Hall of Fame, which, she says, was both a total surprise and a huge honor.
But most importantly, that legacy is carried on through her children and grandchildren (all of whom live on the ranch).
“They hope to raise their children the same way they were raised, on the ranch, with their horse waiting for them each morning and the cattle in the adjourning pasture waiting to be worked. I have no doubt this will continue as long as Florida takes care of their most important and sensitive asset: the land.”