As the year comes to a close, and we all settle in our homes to enjoy the Christmas season with friends and family, your Alabama Cattlemen’s Association staff wanted to provide you with one, last update for 2017 and take the opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We hope you are blessed this Christmas and that the new year brings all the prosperity we hope for in our resolutions. We appreciate each of you for your membership, your involvement and the role you play in Alabama’s beef cattle industry.
Until 2018, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
HOliday Hours
With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, your ACA staff will be taking a break to enjoy time with friends and family. The office will be closed Monday, Dec. 25- Monday, January 1. We will resume normal office hours on Tuesday, January 2 and appreciate the time granted to prepare for a busy start to 2018. Many of us, however, won’t get out of work as we will be taking on the life of a full-time cattleman as we trade our business slacks for blue jeans and enjoy a week on the farm. If you should need us, shoot us an email. We will be monitoring our emails throughout the week to provide continued attention to our cattlemen and members.
CONVENTION REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
We hope you’ll “Hoof It to Huntsville” on March 9-10 to join us at the 75th annual ACA Convention & Trade Show. We’ve got a great lineup of speakers, fun events and the Alabama cattle industry’s largest industry trade show in the works. Registration is now open at BamaBeef.org/Convention. Be on the look out in your January Alabama Cattleman magazine for more information, including a schedule of events! P.S.- Early Bird Prices are good though January 31. Don’t miss out!
SLE RODEO TICKETS ON SALE NOW
The 61st annual SLE Rodeo is coming to town March 15-17 at Garrett 
Coliseum. PRCA 2017 Stock Contractor of the Year Frontier Rodeo Company’s elite bucking stock, PRCA Freestyle Bullfighting and hometown funny man Trent McFarland are sure to combine to make one excellent show for the whole family! Kids events will be available where your little buckaroo can play in the dirt like a real rodeo cowboy. If you’re in the market for an awesome stocking stuffer idea, you’re in luck. SLE Rodeo tickets are on sale now! Call us at 888-2RODEO2 or visit us online to order tickets to the show and to learn more about the 2018 SLE Rodeo!
AJCA Directors Gather in Montgomery
AJCA President Cassidy Catrett and AJCA Adviser Michael Agar are excited to host the Alabama Junior Cattlemen’s Association 2017-2018 Board of Directors in Montgomery this week for their annual planning meeting. Th object of today and tomorrow’s meeting is to plan the 2018 Round-Up as well as discuss several ways to increase membership and make the AJCA more attractive to all youth interested in Alabama’s beef cattle industry.
Tax Bill Working Its Way to the Oval Office
The massive tax reform bill is well on its way to getting through final passage after the Senate approved the final version early this morning. The bill is now headed to the House for one more vote before it will make its way to President Trump’s office. This tax reform bill will have significant impact on small business and agriculture, including changes to the death tax. Stay tuned for updates on final version of the bill!
YCLP Class V Applications Now Available
The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association recognizes the need to cultivate our future leaders of the association and industry. The Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP), funded in part by the Alabama State Beef Checkoff, aims to do just that by identifying the state’s top young cattlemen and developing them into leaders of the future.
The three primary goals of the YCLP are:
- Provide participants with a “pasture to plate” experience of Alabama’s beef industry
- Equip participants with the tools necessary to become an effective leader and to share their beef story with their peers
- Create a network of young cattlemen who the ACA can depend on to help with beef promotion and issues management as well as become industry leaders in the future
The YCLP consists of six meetings dispersed across Alabama over the course of a year. The class will be selected by a committee based on applications submitted. Preference will be given to those nominees who are between the ages of 20 & 40, but do not be discouraged to nominate yourself or someone else who falls out of that range.
If you’re interested in the program or would like to nominate someone, find the form in the December issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine or print the application.
Membership Update
ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy is anxiously awaiting
your county leadership updates and county annual meeting photos. She needs the names and contact information of the newest county leaders in order organize the updating of the magazine and website as well as provide the correct correspondence for important letters and emails pertaining to Board Members. Please send those updates to Jessica!
Also- i4a membership software training webinars have begun! If you have not signed up for training please send Jessica the days that are best for you and if you want a 12pm, 3pm, or 7pm slot. Please choose multiple times and days of availability. She will be doing webinars while the office is closed next week and will be available via email as well. If you’re not a big emailer, give her a call at (334) 265-1867.
MOOey Christmas Was Udderly Holly Jolly
Last week’s 2nd annual MOOey Christmas event was great success! We had a pile of children through The MOOseum to enjoy cookies, cattle and a sit on Cowboy Santa’s lap. The MOOseum Coordinator Kara Harden wants to thank our Cowboy Santa, Bill Lipscomb, Cassidy and Perry Catrett for bringing up cattle for the kids to see, Jason King with Priefert for providing panels for a pen, the Lee County Cattlemen’s Association for the use of their cow barrels and all the schools that came out. We were proud to host Azalea Training Center’s special needs group, United Christian Academy, Carver Pre-K, and Maxwell AFB’s Wilson Elementary.
Holiday Recipe Inspiration
Need a quick idea for a meal centerpiece? What about a delicious and filling finger food or appetizer for one of the many holiday parties you’ll attend? Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. has got your back with this Holiday Entertaining recipe collection. View it and enjoy Christmas with family, friends and beef! View the Collection
Here are a Few Handy Links You May Enjoy:
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.
ACA Director of Industry Relations and Youth Programs Michael Agar took time this week to drive up north and visit the auction markets in Ashville and Arab, Ala. We want to thank Brad and Tilda Plunkett, owners of Ashville Stockyard, Inc. as well as Robbie Gibbs, owner of Arab Livestock Market, for taking time on a sale day to visit with Michael about the 
association. On behalf of the ACA and th Alabama Beef Checkoff, each stockyard was presented with checkoff signage to display with their respective stockyard name on it as well as some ACA sorting flags for them to use in the pens.
