Oh say can you see…all the boots on the Hill! Legislation is the word this week as our state leaders are in Washington D.C. attending the NCBA Legislative Conference and meeting with Alabama delegation about important issues and topics in the cattle industry. But that’s not all that’s happening, so keep reading to learn more about what’s going on at the ACA this week.
Alabama Jr. and Sr. High School Beef Cook-Off
IT’S BEEF COOK-OFF WEEK! ACA Director of Education & Outreach Ali Cantrell is gearing up for almost 40 students from all over the state of Alabama to come and show off their best culinary skills. The cook-off will take place this Saturday morning at Carver High School in Montgomery. The students are asked to bring a cooked recipe with beef being the main ingredient to be evaluated by a panel of judges. While judging is taking place, the students will participate in learning activities with Chef Loren Lunde from Trenholm Community College and Alabama Beef Checkoff- contracted Registered Dietician Elesha Ergle. It’s going to be an exciting day full of delicious beef! Stay tuned for the winners.
Alabama BCIA Annual Meeting Success
We were thrilled this past weekend to host the Alabama Beef Cattle 
Improvement Association (AL-BCIA) Annual Meeting & Awards Program at our building in Downtown Montgomery! The large group gathered for a business meeting, awards ceremony, live auction to benefit the foundation and an interactive educational component with American Simmental Association Executive Vice President Dr. Wade Shafer.
We hope to have the opportunity to host this group again. Be on the lookout for information regarding award recipients!
Membership Update
The membership count o’ the day is 7,241 members and counting! County secretaries, be sure to be submitting that information to the i4a membership software or here to our state office! Be on the lookout for more renewals as dues statements will be sent to all non-renewed members next week.
Producer Communication E-Blast Sent
As written in the Alabama Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan with the goal of 
keeping cattle producers informed about the work of the association and the beef checkoff here in Alabama, we’ve issued the Cattle Call producer communication e-blast to over 10,000 inboxes this week. This piece featured a wrap-up of all that has gone on during Q1 of 2019- January, February and March. If you did not receive the Cattle Call in your email inbox, but would like to see it and receive it for future issues, please contact ACA Director of Social Media & Communications Kayla Greer on our staff at kgreer@bamabeef.org.
Boots on the Hill
ACA President Chris Langley, President-Elect Larry Reeves and Vice 
President Clay Kennamer will join Erin Beasley at the NCBA Legislative Conference next week in Washington D.C. They will also be joined by Region 2 Policy VP Jimmy Holliman and Evelyn Greene, American National CattleWomen president-elect. Today is full of Hill visits with the Alabama delegation to discuss cattle industry issues!
Beef Promo Firing Up
The next couple of weeks are going to be filled with Beef 101 programs at the Auburn University Beef Teaching Unit and Meats Lab. Staffer Ali Cantrell will be hosting three pasture-to-plate programs on April 9, April 11 and April 15 with culinary students from Coastal State Community College, Bishop State Community College and Trenholm Community College. If you would like to come and participate in any of these Beef 101s please contact Ali Cantrell at acantrell@bamabeef.org or call our office at (334) 265-1867.
2019 SPRING YOUTH PRODUCTION FIELD DAY ANNOUNCED
We’re proud to announced that the Alabama Beef Checkoff will be hosting 
its Spring Youth Production Field Day on Friday, April 26 at Perdido River Farms in Atmore! The event will be held this year on a weekday as voted on by the Junior Board as a way to be more inclusive to FFA groups and agriscience classes who have a hard time obtaining permission and/or logistics for weekend field trips.
Join us for a day of interactive, hands-on learning about timely topics including hay testing, soil sampling, figuring stocker capacity, annual cow checks, handling and administering vaccines and a farm tour of Perdido River Farms! Registration is now open online for this FREE event at www.BamaBeef.org/FieldDay.
Lowndes County Cattlemen Tour Golden State Foods
The Lowndes County Cattlemen’s Association took a unique trip at the end of last week to the Golden State Foods plant in Opelika to learn about how McDonald’s quarter pound beef patties are processed! This plant does an excellent job with tours and is an awesome way to learn about what happens to your beef when it leaves the farm. We appreciate Golden State Foods for being such gracious hosts and send kudos to Lowndes County for offering its members this educational opportunity!
BAMA’S BEST BEEF READY TO FIRE UP
Know of a beef dish that’s worth writing home about? WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT during this year’s Bama’s Best Beef contest. Kicking off with a nominations round on this upcoming Monday, April 8 on the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Facebook page, we want to hear about your favorite unique beef dish served up at an Alabama restaurant or food truck. Get ready to submit those nominations beginning April 8!
CATTLEWOMEN’S 5K
The Alabama CattleWomen’s BEEFit 5k is April 13 in downtown Montgomery, and we’re excited to launch Team Bama Beef at this event. Team Bama Beef will be comprised ofbeef-loving fitness enthusiasts and will be supported by the beef checkoff. We’re looking for people who are committed to living an active, healthy lifestyle and who love eating beef! If you’re interested in being a part of Team Bama Beef, contact Ali Cantrell by phone or email to get some more information.
Registration for the event is now live on the CattleWomen’s website, http://alabamacattlewomen.com/beefit/.
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