May has arrived, and it has brought some right warm weather along with it. Green grass has painted Alabama’s landscapes, and cattle can be seen grazing pastureland while cattlemen enjoy the view from inside the cab of a tractor as they prepare for hay cutting and mowing season. It’s a busy time for Alabama’s cattlemen…but when is it not? The same can be said for your association, so keep reading to learn more about all that’s happening at the ACA this week.
Membership & Board Reminders
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.”
ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy is updating county contact information for mailouts and emails. County leaders, please visit BamaBeef.org/CountyChapters today to double check your information. If you find something is incorrect, please call or email Jessica at the office- (334) 265-1867. Information needed includes mailing address, phone number and an email address, with emphasis on the email!
The final renewal notices for 2018 went out last week. If you need help figuring out how to enter memberships in your county, contact Jessica to schedule your i4a training. We really need more county participation on the membership entering effort! The quicker county secretaries can learn to enter, the quicker your membership will get entered into the system and start receiving their magazines. We certainly don’t want anyone missing out on those!!
We want to continue to shoutout our Over the Top counties as we are extremely proud of 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, Jefferson, 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 🙂 Please, send your coat size to Jessica asap!
Colbert County Youth Programs- Coming Soon!
This Thursday, ACA Director of Industry Relations & Youth Programs Michael Agar will travel to the Colbert County Extension office to meet with Ag teachers and youth industry leaders in the area about 4-H animal science projects and the newly-founded Colbert County Junior Cattlemen’s Association. Statewide Junior Cattlemen programs such as Round-Up and Junior Pasture to Rail Program will also be discussed.
Junior Pasture to Rail Program- Registration Now Open
Speaking of Junior Pasture to Rail, learn more about the program today by visiting www.BamaBeef.org/JP2R. The 2018 Junior Pasture to Rail program will be managed through the AJCA in conjunction with the current Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) Pasture to Rail program. Youth will learn how to retain ownership on their cattle and how to market cattle on the grid. There will be four (4) educational programs beginning in fall 2018 to educate the participating youth about the cattle industry from pasture to plate.
Cattle will be gathered at central locations around Alabama and shipped to Hy-Plains Feedlot in Montezuma, KS. Ear notches will be pulled for BVD-PI testing and calves will be tagged, weighed and graded at that time (frame/muscle score, BCS). Data/results will be provided at the awards presentation for the 2018 Pasture to Rail program. Awards will be given to the top three (3) youth based on profitability in two categories: individual profitability of one (1) calf and the average profitability of a pen of three (3) calves.
Data provided will include carcass data as well as feedlot performance, medical expenses, feed costs, etc.
Program Requirements:
- Youth must be of age 21 or younger by January 1, 2018 to participate
- Youth must be an AJCA, FFA or 4-H member
- Steers are preferred, heifers can be entered but will be at a disadvantage for the program.
- Cattle must be 600-lbs. at minimum on the day of shipment, be weaned and pre-conditioned for 60 days (castrated, dehorned and healed, dewormed) and be vaccinated/boostered for Blackleg, PI3, BVD, BSRV and IBR (modified live).
- A $200 participation fee will be incurred for pens of three (3) or less. A $75/head fee will be added for additional entries.
- Youth must attend a minimum of three (3) of four (4) educational programs to be eligible for any awards.
Calves will be shipped at specified dates between August 2018 to March 2019. In order to ship, calves must meet the aforementioned pre-conditioning requirements. Ship dates and locations as well as educational programs will be communicated as determined.
Registration will close August 31 at midnight.
This program is sponsored by the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program.
County Activities & A Photo Shoot at Lake Majestik Farm
Michael has been burning up the roads of north Alabama along with ACA Director of Social Media & Communications Kayla Greer. Last week, Michael traveled to Dekalb County to attend the county annual meeting where he enjoyed visiting with President Zane Troxel and northeast Alabama cattlemen. He then headed south to Thorsby in Chilton County where he had a beef by-products booth at the Thorsby High School Farm Day. Kayla then joined him on Saturday for a trip north to the Crimson Classic Santa Gertrudis female sale at Cullman Stockyard.
The duo then headed north again on Monday afternoon to visit with Nic Cornelison of Flat Rock, owner of Lake Majestik Farm and purchaser of the 2018 PAC auction July cover of the Alabama Cattleman magazine. The pair enjoyed spending time with Nic and touring his scenic farm and seeing some big-name bulls in the Brangus breed including Foundation, Beacon, Legacy and Xerox. Be looking out for a black-hided bovine to grace the July cover!
Professional Development Workshop
This week ACA Executive VP Erin Beasley has been at the Professional Development Workshop in Chicago with fellow state association executives. This conference is a collaborative conference to discuss policy issues, checkoff information, best management practices for associations and other topics to help state affiliates.
Ag Issues Luncheon in Northwest Alabama
Erin won’t get back home before she hits the road again, but this time she will be staying within state lines. On Thursday, she is looking forward to a big day as she is joined by Regional Vice President Jay Buckley of Colbert Co., Colbert County President Will Gotcher and Franklin County President Steven Smith to participate in an ag issues luncheon hosted by Congressman Robert Aderholt. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be a special guest of the congressman and will visit with the ag community on policy issues we are facing.
Bama’s Best Beef Contest
Have you ever tried an unforgettable beef dish served at an Alabama 
restaurant or food truck? You’re not alone if you answered yes because the 3rd annual Bama’s Best Beef contest, which seeks out unique beef dishes in Alabama, brought in over 200 nominations representing restaurants from the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee line and everywhere in between. Our contest committee is in review now mulling through the many nominations in the brisket, steak, roast and variety categories and looks forward to unveiling the first to finalist to Facebook fans on Monday as we launch our first round of photo challenges where contest participants vote for their favorite dish by “Liking” its photo on our social media platform.
The nominations portion of the contest did not disappoint as it reached over 65,038 Alabamians, gained over 6,600 reactions, including likes, shares and comments, and resulted in almost 200 new page likes. Additionally, as a direct result of the Facebook ad, over 460 Facebook users clicked to the contest page on BamaBeef.org, gaining traffic for the association website. We look forward to bigger results as we move into photo challenges! Stay tuned for our category finalists…
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.