Who turned on the heat?!
In true Alabama fashion, the threat of a late spring frost has lessened and the heat has turned up during April. This warm, sunny weather has cattlemen hitting the hay fields to get in the first cut of baling season while cattle graze on the beautiful green grass that’s come from a wet and warm few months.
Your ACA staff is gearing up for the summer months ahead as we prepare for summertime beef promotions and continue educating producers and consumers about our favorite protein, beef. Keep reading to learn more about what the cattle folks in Downtown Montgomery are up to this week.
Legislative Lookout
It’s been a busy couple of weeks around the ACA on the legislative front. We’ve had big names in the political world, including Twinkle Cavanaugh, Tommy Tuberville, Martha Roby and Luther Strange, by the office for visits or to have a luncheon. In light of the changing of the guard in government, the ongoing legislative session and upcoming elections, it’s important to stay close to our state and national leaders.
On Tuesday, the Ag Coalition met at the ACA to continue monitoring activity in the state legislature then ACA leaders Dr. Billy Powell and Erin Beasley spent this afternoon at the State House meeting with staff and visiting with elected officials. This afternoon, we were pleased to host a luncheon for Sen. Luther Strange as he is in town on his Spring Break. He gave us an update from Washington D.C. and made a few comments on the special election announced for August 15.
Future Communicators Stop By ACA
On Tuesday, the Auburn University Agricultural Communicators of 
Tomorrow stopped by today to visit The MOOseum and to learn more about our association. This is a crop of students at Auburn’s College of Agriculture who are studying under the Agricultural Communication curriculum and will become the marketing, PR, communication and journalism leaders of the agricultural industry throughout their diverse careers. After touring the building and meeting the staff, the group had a Q&A session with ACA Director of Social Media and Communications and Agricultural Communication alumna Kayla Greer.
This group isn’t the only that’s stopped by lately. With warm, springtime weather, we’ve been hosting many school and leadership groups who are touring Downtown Montgomery in The MOOseum. It continues to be a popular place! If you’ve got leadership or other extracurricular groups in your county, encourage them to visit The MOOseum so we can showcase the cattle industry in Alabama.
Beef 101: Back at it on Friday
We will have a BEEF 101 on Friday with Wallace State Culinary in Hanceville and McAdory Middle School FACS program. President Richard Meadows will work with the group on live animal information, and ACA staffers Erin Beasley, Kayla Greer and Kim McBrayer will join the group to help out and answer questions.
BQA Certification Soars in April
During April, the state beef checkoff has supported multiple hands-on BQA workshops at Research and Extension Centers across the state. We anticipate that close to 200 cattlemen will become BQA certified through this effort, led by Dr. Soren Rodning who is the BQA coordinator for Alabama. Great work to Dr. Rodning and his team as well as the many cattlemen who have come out to learn and get certified!
SLE Executive Meeting
On Friday, the Southeastern Livestock Expo Executive Committee is 
meeting to review the 2017 SLE Rodeo and Livestock Week many activities and discuss figures relating to attendance and expenditures. This meeting will decide the plans for the 2018 show, so stay tuned for more information!
Spring Board Meeting
Board Members: Please don’t forget that the Spring Board Meeting is set for Tuesday, May 9. Make plans to attend as it will be a great meeting and day spent at the State House meeting elected officials from your districts!
Here’s a Few Handy Links You May Enjoy:
Thanks for reading this week’s post! We’ll be back next week- same time, same place. Until then, we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Have a great week!