Mike and Shannon Dee take great pride in the beef cattle they produce at Dee River Ranch in Pickens County–so much so that Mike supports a new law that will help ensure consumers know where their food is produced.”We have the safest food industry and the safest cattle market in the world,” Mike said. “I’m for country-of-origin labeling because I know we are raising a good product, and I think somebody would choose our product over Mexican beef or beef from Argentina, if they were given the option.” Mike, who runs about 1,000 head of Brahman-Angus crossed cattle on his family’s 10,000-acre farm, said America is blessed to have an abundant food supply. “When the terrorism attacks happened on 9-11, people didn’t run to the grocery store and stock up on food, because they knew we were going to have a safe supply of food,” Mike said. “They went to the gas station and bought gas because they didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow with the fuel supply.” Knowing Americans have that much faith in the nation’s farmers is one of the things that motivates young farmers like Mike and Shannon, who were named Alabama’s 2003 Outstanding Young Farm Family in the beef division.Mike explained that Dee River Ranch is a family business that was started by his father and mother, Roy and Mary Ann Dee. Today, Mike and his eleven siblings own the farm, but he and sister Annie run the operation, which includes 3,000 acres of row crops as well as some timberland.”We try to utilize the land to the best of its potential,” Mike said. “The row crops and cattle make a real nice combination because we can work cattle during the off season. It balances our time well. We also grind and mix the feed for our cattle from the corn and soybeans we raise.”Although the Dees pride themselves in raising quality beef cattle, in recent years, they have earned recognition for their corn and soybean operation. Last year, they won the state soybean yield competition and placed second and third in the corn yield contest. Dee River Ranch also was a district finalist in the 2002 Alabama Farm of Distinction competition, and the Dees currently are involved in numerous research projects with Auburn University and Mississippi State University.Mike said this year’s crop has the potential to be their best ever. He also is excited about a new marketing strategy for their soybeans. “We raise non-genetically modified soybeans and sell all of them at the Gulf for export,” Mike said. “They leave out of the state docks and go to China or Japan, and we get a premium because they are non-genetically modified.”As for the cattle operation, Mike credits his father with laying the foundation for the ranch’s current success.”My father started with 48 head and one bull of purebred Brahman cattle in 1978. He worked hard at finding the proper seedstock to give us the potential to create a herd of crossbred animals that would produce good meat and uniform animals,” Mike said. “Today we have a Brahman-Angus crossed commercial herd, and we are in a good position to follow whatever the consumer wants.”Dee River Ranch sells steers directly to feedlots in truckload lots. The steers are weaned, vaccinated, castrated, bunk broke and sorted for uniformity before leaving the farm. Mike said the Brahman-Angus combination produces the solid black steers that meat packers want. “The Brahman-Angus cross works very well in the Southeast; it feeds well and gives a very good carcass when harvested,” Mike said. “The Angus will put on some fat and make a good steak, and the cross with the Brahman gives a little more frame and allows for bigger mamma cows. It also makes the steers a little more heat tolerant, which opens up markets for us to sell our steers to feedlots in Texas and warmer clients.”With cattle prices holding steady, and the corn and soybeans looking good, Mike is hopeful 2003 will be a good year for his family. If voters approve Gov. Bob Riley’s $1.2 billion tax increase, though, the Dees might be forced to sell some of their land.Mike explained that increasing demand for hunting land has driven land values beyond what most farmers can afford to pay. Dee River Ranch currently is bordered on three sides by commercial hunting operations. If Riley’s plan passes, the Dees’ property would be taxed at 100 percent of its fair market value. “If we are appraised at the same value that people are paying for small tracts of hunting land, we can’t afford to farm this ground,” Mike said. “We are farming on a big scale, but it has taken that for us to survive. We are fighting tooth and nail every day to keep our property together.” Mike estimates his property taxes would triple, if voters approve Riley’s plan. In addition, the governor’s decision earlier this year to have land reappraised annually is going to mean that those taxes will escalate every year. Mike said he and his family are considering their options, if the plan passes.”We would have to look at selling some property or dividing up property. We couldn’t stay in business the way we are,” Mike said. “But we are committed to farming, and we are going to do what we have to do to stay in business.”Mike’s passion for agriculture may be surprising, considering he wasn’t raised on a farm. In fact, Mike grew up in southern Illinois and moved to Alabama to study geology at the University of Alabama. His parents had just bought the farm, so Mike helped out on weekends and during the summer. Slowly, his responsibilities grew, and after graduation, he began working full time on the farm. Today, Mike and Shannon say they can’t think of a better place to raise their daughters, Victoria, 4, and Isabella, 2. “The more I learn, the more I enjoy farming,” Mike said. “We love to watch things grow and produce a crop, but it also gives us more time to spend with the children. I can take them with me to the cattle pen or on the combine. It’s not me going off to a factory job and then coming home to a separate life. Our life is farming, and they are involved in it everyday.”Shannon, who grew up in Fayette, Ala., taught school before the children were born. Today, she is a stay-at-home mom, and like Mike, she loves the lifestyle farming provides for the girls.”We just really feel that we are giving them a wonderful foundation. They are learning life lessons and values that they couldn’t get in town,” she said. “They are witnessing the birth of a calf and seeing it take its first step. They are seeing a seed mature into a plant. I just think that is a wonderful experience that they can take with them and apply to everyday life.”We feel like the land and God are taking care of us,” Shannon added. “Mike and I work really hard at nurturing our crops and our children. We are giving them the love and attention they need and just leaving the rest to God–and hopefully we will wind up with wonderful finished products.”