Jason McKendree described himself as a lost soul before his journey into ranching. The Bradenton-born 40-year-old is now a successful cattle operations manager for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the developer behind the master-planned community of Lakewood Ranch in Florida. “There’s a lot of aggravation being in the cattle industry in the middle of a master-planned community,” he said. “But that’s just progress. To be a part of this community is pretty cool.”