Happy Wednesday! It’s a warm, beautiful, springy day here in our great state which means you are probably out getting your hands dirty. We sure hope so as it is your work that keeps the world fed and makes it go round, but when you decide to sit down this evening and enjoy some dinner and rest up for more work this afternoon, we hope this gives you some quality reading material and helps you stay connected with your state Cattlemen’s Association. Spring is a time when beef promotion really amps up, membership deadlines hit and field days jump on the scene. Keep reading to learn what all that means for you as a cattleman…
Bama’s Best Beef Kicks Off
Have you ever tried an unforgettable beef dish served at an Alabama restaurant or food truck? We’re excited to learn about all the unique beef dishes served up at local dives across our state, and the kick off of our 3rd annual Bama’s Best Beef contest has not disappointed in its short lifetime thus far. The contest kicked off on Monday, April 16 with a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram announcement and in just two short days the post has already brought in over 35 nominations and reached over 21,700 Alabamians on Facebook alone. This contest has garnered excellent reach and some pretty great feedback as nominations include tasty-sounding dishes and conversations around the contest are all beef-positive.
An added bonus to the 3rd annual Bama’s Best Beef is that YOUR VOICE was heard in building the structure of this checkoff-funded contest. What does that mean? Well, as a direct result of cattlemen requests, the contest categories are featuring popular beef cuts including brisket, roasts and steak. This request came about at the 2018 Marketing Plan Task Force Meeting held October 2017.
If your local diner is home to a DELICIOUS beef dish, be sure to visit BamaBeef.org/BestBeef to submit your nomination today. We also challenge you to share the contest on your social platforms and learn more about by listening to our Southeast AgNet release with Randall Weiseman or visiting the contest webpage. This contest is your checkoff dollars at work, cattlemen. Let’s get the biggest bang for our buck and work together to promote it!
Youth Production Field Day- This Weekend
We are looking forward to our upcoming Youth Production Field Day happening at Langley Farms in Chambers County, Alabama this Saturday. We’ve got 44 young people registered and a variety of topics to cover using the expertise of Alabama Extension personnel. Topics include forages, assisted calving, Beef Quality Assurance and body condition scoring. Following a morning of learning and lunch, attendees will have the opportunity to tour Langley Farms with ACA President-Elect Chris Langley and family.
It’s not too late to come if you missed registration. Just contact Michael Agar at (334) 265-1867. More information can be found at BamaBeef.org/ProductionFD.
Hip Hip Hooray for Over the Top Counties
The Over the Top deadline has come and gone, and ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy is hard at work inputting stacks and stacks of membership. We are SO PROUD to report that we have over 9,000 members in the system to date and 25 counties have gone Over the Top!! Excellent work to all our county chapters on their hard work and true, grassroots efforts!
Over the Top counties include Bibb, Butler, Choctaw, Clay, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Covington, Cullman, Dale, Escambia, Greene, Jackson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan, Perry, Russell, Sumter, Washington and Winston counties!
Now, this means there will be a very special presentation made at the August Board Meeting…you guessed it…RED COATS! County presidents- if you went Over the Top and do not already have a red coat, we cannot stress enough the importance of going to get fitted for your coat and sending the suggest size into Jessica. The reason why it’s so important you get fitted is because (1) we can’t return the coats should they not fit and (2) we cannot re-order your correct size until the next year…which means you’ll be without for another year!! (Our orders are set at a minimum volume, and we are unable to order just one or two coats at a time.) We know you want that coat just as much as we want to give it to you, so please get sized! P.S. if you’re planning to attend the Board Meeting on May 17, Jessica has a few limited sizes you may try on if you’d like 🙂
…speaking of…county presidents and secretaries be sure to SAVE THE DATE for May 17 as we’ll be meeting up in Montgomery for an engaging, interactive Board meeting we’ve entitled: “Building the Brand: Steering County Leaders Toward Success.”
National Checkoff Program Audit Underway
Every five years, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) visits to do an audit 
specifically for the national checkoff program. This week the ACA has welcomed Dean Oyster from Colorado to the building to conduct this audit. Once the audit is complete, CBB will issue a report that includes recommendations to our office similar to how the annual audit is done with our third party auditor.
April BEEF 101 Programs Wrapping Up
The last of six spring BEEF 101 programs will complete next week, and we’re thrilled to announce that throughout the month of April over 200 participants from culinary arts programs across Alabama will have joined us on a beef journey from pasture to plate. Your checkoff went to work as we hosted programs for McAdory High School, Greenville High School, Central High School and Columbus (GA) High School FACS students as well as Lawson State Community College, Trenholm State Community College, Coastal Alabama Community College and Drake State Community College culinary arts programs. This is big news as these future chefs and foodservice representatives will head into their careers with a thorough knowledge of beef cattle production told straight from the cattlemen…and veterinarian…and meat scientist’s mouth! Big thanks to all who have joined us to help put on these many programs.
CATTLEMEN’S BUS TOUR
JOIN US AS WE EXPLORE THE BEEF INDUSTRY FROM PASTURE TO PLATE!
DEPOSIT: $325/PERSON
FORM & FEE DUE MAY 1, 2018
Join us on a 3-day, 2-night tour of the beef cattle industry across Georgia, 
Florida and Alabama! This tour is a true “pasture to plate” experience as it starts off with a tour of Golden State Foods in Opelika where McDonalds burger patties are produced followed by a stop at Buckhead Beef in Atlanta, Georgia where wholesale beef cuts are further processed into cut steaks ready for the restaurant.
After learning what happens to beef once it leaves the farm, we’ll stop for a visit at the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association and then enjoy a tour of Chatel Farms, an FPL feeding facility, in Reidsville, Georgia, and Southern Cattle Company in Marianna, Florida.
BUS TOUR AGENDA
For more information, contact Michael Agar at (334) 265-1867 or magar@bamabeef.org.
BEEF PAC discusses primaries
The BEEF Political Action Committee (PAC) held a conference call Tuesday night to discuss upcoming primary races. Several candidates in both House and Senate races will receive contributions from the PAC to help support their campaigns. Candidates continue to call and request visits with the association to discuss issues concerning cattlemen which is keeping ACA lobbyist Erin Beasley busy. If you’re interested in joining the BEEF PAC Club, contact Erin at the office by calling (334) 265-1867.
April Consumer Newsletter Coming Your Way Soon
Reaching consumers with news about beef’s bold flavor, big nutrition and bursting variety is an important initiative in the 2018 Alabama Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan. To amp up consumer education on the digital front…in addition to our work on social media…we’ve decided to implement email campaigns from our state office. So far in 2018, we’ve sent a consumer e-newsletter out each month highlighting timely information about beef. For instance, in January we highlighted lean beef for all those New Year Resolutions, while in February we promoted serving beef to your Valentine. The April newsletter is highlighting beef’s global footprint as we promote the ethnic variety of beef and how you can serve it to your family for a nutritious and educational family dinner! We do this through an article by Alabama Beef Checkoff Contract Dietician Jessica Ivey, recipes, links to information about how beef can be incorporated into the Mediterranean diet and a guide to marinating the right cuts in the perfect sauce to achieve ethnic flavors!
The April Consumer Newsletter will hit over 10,000 inboxes on Friday morning, so be on the lookout and learn how you can serve up dishes from around the world!
Gilmore Elementary School Headed to The MOOseum
As spring arrives, school groups are heading out to enjoy the beautiful 
weather in downtown Montgomery. With that comes a full scene at The MOOseum! Today, we’re excited to host Gilmore Elementary School from Jackson County for a day of learning as they come explore The MOOseum. This group features a special little red-headed guest as Maggie Powell is a student in our visiting class. Her teacher, Ms. Cammie Breedlove, gets two thumbs up from us for promoting agriculture in her classroom. She even had former Executive VP Dr. Powell visit to present a beef cattle lesson to her class!
County chapters- we encourage you all to reach out to local fourth grade classes and sponsor their trip to The MOOseum. It’s free to attend, but some assistance in gas costs could go a long way toward teaching our young people about Alabama’s very important beef cattle industry! We’d even love to see you tag along on their trip and enjoy a day with us. To learn more about The MOOseum, visit BamaBeef.org/TheMOOseum!
Extension Workshops, County Events Firing Up
Extension workshops, county fundraisers and county field days are lining up on our calendar, and we are thrilled to see cattlemen getting out and learning, promoting and networking! If your county has an event coming up, please send it to ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy, and she will disperse the info throughout the office to get it on the website, in the magazine and on staff calendars! For instance, Erin Beasley is looking forward to visiting Lauderdale County this weekend as she joins them for their county field day on Saturday!
To stay updated on all that’s happening or to learn about educational events near you, keep an eye out on the Bama Beef Events Calendar on our website, www.BamaBeef.org.
Environmental Management Commission Meeting
ACA Executive VP Erin Beasley will attend the Environmental Management Commission meeting on Friday which includes several associations and groups visiting with the commission. A few seats will be vacant on the commission in the near future and the ACA has been involved in meeting potential candidates to fill these slots. We hope to keep conservative, common sense people on the commission to assist with environmental needs that we may have in the future.
Thanks for reading this week’s post! Until we post again next week , we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Paid for by Alabama Beef Farmers.