Hi there, cattlemen! It’s a busy time of year as we begin all the activities, events and programs that come along with the new year. We hope you all survived the bitter cold weather and are thawing out for a few wet and warm days here in Alabama. We’ve got all kinds of information you need to be aware of, so keep reading to stay in touch with your state cattlemen’s association. Board members, be sure to read that membership report real closely and hop on over to our Convention page to get registered today. A little bird told us that Early Bird pricing ends on January 31, and prices will increase by $20 on Do-It-All and One-Day packages. Don’t miss out on a steal of a deal!
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
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 to 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! She is also looking out for information on your upcoming county meetings. Send those dates, times and locations her way to get them included on our online calendar and to line up a state representative to attend the event. If you’d like a county meeting mailout done, please give Jessica TWO WEEKS notice. Those mailouts take a good bit of time to design, print and label, so please give us plenty of notice to do a clean, thorough job for your county.
Also- keep an eye out for renewal notices as the second renewal mailout is hitting mailboxes this month! Be sure to get those memberships sent to the state office.
Last but certainly not least, the i4a membership software training webinars are still happening! 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. If you’re not a big emailer, give her a call at (334) 265-1867.
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. Featured speakers include Ashley Culpepper Grant, chief marketing officer at Ranch House Designs, Inc., and CattleFax Senior Market Analyst Kevin Goode. We will also have the largest cattle industry trade show in the state, Cattlemen’s Colleges featuring a variety of educational topics related to the beef cattle industry, our annual awards banquet and fun for the whole family. (Junior Cattlemen events are also scheduled!) Registration, a schedule of events and hotel information is now available at www.BamaBeef.org/Convention or by calling (334) 265-1867. Early Bird Pricing ends Jan. 31!
Check out your January Alabama Cattleman magazine for more information, including a schedule of events and a mail-in registration form! 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!
Session in Session
The Alabama Legislative Session started Tuesday, January 9 in Montgomery. Preceding the kickoff, the Ag Coalition began its weekly meetings at the Cattlemen’s Building. This group is comprised of ACA, the Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Poultry and Egg Association, Alabama Forestry Association, Alabama Agribusiness Council and the Department of Ag and Industries. The group discussed bills of importance to agriculture and rural Alabama. Tonight, the House Rural Caucus will meet at the Cattlemen’s Building for a steak dinner sponsored by the ACA, the Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Poultry & Egg Association, the Agribusiness Council and the Alabama Rural Electric Cooperative.
Welcome, Mike!
Mike Winstead joined the ACA team on January 4, 2018 as our staff 
accountant. Mike is a native of Southwest Louisiana and a graduate of McNeese State University where he earned a BS in Accounting. Mike and his wife, Carol, have lived in Deatsville, Ala. for the past 18 years and have two daughters and three grandchildren. Join us in welcoming Mike to the ACA team!
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.
New Year, New Magazine
Have you seen the new Alabama Cattleman?! Who loves the new look
and feel of the magazine? New features include a change in fonts, perfect bind edging, a new finish on the front and back covers, a mast head redesign and a modern, new look to template pages such as the Alabama Report and Cattlemen’s Sale Calendar pages. Kudos to Alabama Cattleman Production Coordinator Nicky Bechard on her design vision and handiwork. Let us know what you think the comments!
The Land Show
On Wednesday morning, ACA Exec Erin Beasley taped The Land Show with Randall Upchurch of Chambers County to air Saturday morning on stations across Alabama. For thirty minutes, Erin discusses the association and its role in Alabama, our upcoming convention and beef checkoff programs.
The Land Show with Dave and Johnny can be heard throughout the state of Alabama Saturday mornings in the locations and stations listed below.
- 101.1FM WYDE – Cullman, AL – 9:00-10:00AM
- 93.1FM WACV – Montgomery, AL – 9:00-10:00AM
- 104.9FM ESPN – York-Livingston, AL – 6:00-7:00AM
- 101.5FM KIX – Selma, AL – 9:00-10:00am
- 97.5FM WKGA – Alexander City, AL – 9:00-10:00am
- 107.7FM WHSL – Butler, AL – 6:00-7:00am
- 1470AM WPNS – Evergreen, AL – 6:00-7:00am
- 1240AM WEBJ – Brewton, AL – 6:00-7:00am
- 1140AM WNWF – Destin, FL – 6:00-7:00am
Stay tuned on social media for a link to the recording!
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.