HOLLYWOOD — The Seminole Tribe of Florida Inc. (STOFI) has sold its interests in one of the nation’s largest cattle
businesses that it had been a part of for eight years.

STOFI announced Nov. 17 that its interests in Salacoa Valley Farms of Fairmount, Georgia, have been purchased by Ricky Cleveland, owner of Quail Valley Farms in Oneonta, Alabama, and Erik and Kim Wiley, of Wiley Ranch in Effie,
Louisiana.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Salacoa Valley Farms is known for its purebred Brangus cattle. In 2013, STOFI purchased the Salacoa Valley Farms brand and existing cowherd of more than 1,000 head. The purchase also included embryos, semen and equipment used in the cattle operation, but not the 4,500-acre ranch. STOFI then leased several thousand acres of the land to operate the business.

The Nov. 17 sale includes assets purchased in 2013, plus additional equipment and a herd that has grown to approximately 1,300 head of Brangus cattle. During its ownership, STOFI used its interests in Salacoa Valley Farms to assist Seminole cattle operators on the Big Cypress and Brighton reservations, including the potential to improve genetics within the cowherds.

“Tribal herds have improved from Salacoa genetics,” Aaron Stam, Natural Resources director for STOFI said in a statement. “Individual cattle owners have purchased Salacoa bulls and cows, which have helped to increase yearling weights and weaning weights of Seminole cattle.”

Stam said the tribe has renewed its focus on continuing to improve cowherds and cattle operations on its reservations. He said the Salacoa Valley Farms sale is part of a reallocation of tribe resources to focus on its Florida herds.