If Mark Harrison was a superhero, his staying power would be his ability to reinvent himself. He is a man who has crossed continents, conference rooms, and cattle ranges in pursuit of a more authentic way of life for both cattle and people.
Harrison is no stranger to a grand life. His father was a contractor who built launch pads and tracking stations for NASA and worked on international projects such as Guantanamo Cuba Naval Base. He was even involved with building part of the Pan American Highways in the jungles of Guatemala. Mark’s mother was a pilot for over 70 years who also climbed mountains, rode cow horses, and competed in polo and 3-day.
Mark grew up working with his father on construction projects and also worked on the family’s cattle operation, the Adams Ranch, before heading to college at Texas Tech. The Adam’s Ranch is a generational beef outfit that has thrived off its approach to mimicking mother nature rather than constantly intervening in the cattle’s lives. Today their beef is sold in Whole Foods or other high-end supermarkets.
Although he came from this ranching background and had traveled the cattle lands of Southern Brazil, Mark did not find himself as naturally a fit in the cowboy world of Lubbock with his silk shirts and fedora hat. He soon transitioned, heading to college in Germany before finishing with a business degree at the University of Miami. After college, Mark was involved in the development, construction, leasing, property management, and sales of office and industrial projects in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Mark learned horses and cattle through years of hands-on experience. He has approached these creatures from all angles: as a polo player, a manager of a cattle herd on ranches in Florida, a student of the University of Florida beef cattle program, and as a Florida Wildlife Naturalist devoted to watching the change in the seasons and opportunities provided by modern pharmaceuticals to work alongside mother nature for lasting change.
A businessman through and through, Harrison is quick to share that estate taxes are one of the biggest killers of ranches throughout the United States. When land-owners die off and the estate taxes come due, larger operations like the Adams ranch often scoop up these small outfits because of their inability to financially survive. Harrison has worked to combat this lack of awareness regarding the business sense needed for ranches to thrive. He has led eco-tours and agritourism on ranches to show the public the way cattle are raised and how conservation easements and habitats play a huge role in food production. Mark believes the past is important to the present and wants people to understand the true history of Florida, which he feels is best told in the book A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith.
From his heritage as a part of the Ft. Pierce Florida outfit named ranch of the century (Adams Ranch) to real estate development and finally, his current life as a musician in Black Mountain, NC, Harrison is no stranger to change and business strategy. A world traveler with countless adventure stories, his favorite tale is the true history of Florida and the way the unique land allows cattle to thrive. Since the Spaniards first brought cattle to Florida, each generation has discovered that cattle and horses can adapt to the sandy soil and thrive. The benefits are reciprocal, and Harrison recognizes the role cattle play in the ecosystem and how the land has changed over time from being underwater to being the wet low-lying plains of the present.
Although Mark Harrison has traded his horses for a guitar and his ranch land for commercial income properties, he still believes in educating the next generation on how the land shapes food systems and how the cowboy way must be kept alive.
