Springtime is in full bloom in Alabama! Cool mornings, warm afternoons and all that ever-lovin’ pollen…bad on the allergies, but oh so good on the spirits! With the spring returns some of the normalcy at the ACA office as we have convention, rodeo and county annual meetings in the rear view and look forward to summer events, beef promotion and all sorts of youth activities coming our way! Keep reading to learn more…
Green New Deal Fails on Senate Floor
The Green New Deal was put to a vote on the Senate floor yesterday and failed 0-57. Although 43 democrats voted “present,” three did vote no, including Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. The Green New Deal, a non-binding resolution, was proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and promises to eliminate all U.S. carbon emissions while remaking the U.S. economy. “The Green New Deal suggests we ditch air travel in favor of railroads, rebuild the nation’s buildings entirely, provide every person with a living family wage, socialized healthcare and more.” said Amanda Radke, a BEEF magazine contributor. The ACA will stay actively engaged in this topic as it is a direct threat to American agriculture and targets the beef cattle industry.
2019 Spring Youth Production Field Day Announced
We’re proud to announced that the Alabama Beef Checkoff will be hosting 
its Spring Youth Production Field Day on Friday, April 26 at Perdido River Farms in Atmore! The event will be held this year on a weekday as voted on by the Junior Board as a way to be more inclusive to FFA groups and agriscience classes who have a hard time obtaining permission and/or logistics for weekend field trips.
Join us for a day of interactive, hands-on learning about timely topics including hay testing, soil sampling, figuring stocker capacity, annual cow checks, handling and administering vaccines and a farm tour of Perdido River Farms! Registration is now open online for this FREE event at www.BamaBeef.org/FieldDay.
ACF Scholarship Banquet Success
We were thrilled by the events of Saturday evening’s first-ever Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarship Banquet held at the Wetumpka Civic Center here in central Alabama. Almost 50 of the 74 students awarded scholarships were in attendance with their families, and we were honored to also have with us the families of each of the endowed scholarships. Also in attendance were Commissioner Rick Pate, Auburn Agriculture Dean Dr. Paul Patterson and Auburn Department of Animal Sciences Head Dr. Wayne Greene, all of whom helped present the tag scholarships! More detailed coverage of the event will be in the May issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine, so keep an eye out for your favorite scholar! Also, early this week, individualized press releases were sent to each recipient’s hometown, so be watching your local papers for those shining faces. Congrats to all!
Ag in the Classroom
On Wednesday, ACA Director of Education & Outreach Ali Cantrell met with ALFA to gear up for Alabama Ag in the Classroom Summer Institute 2019. This program is a workshop for full-time teachers, Alabama Cooperative Extension system agents and coordinators to help incorporate integrated agricultural activities in the classroom. Most activities will be geared toward grades K-6. The Summer Institute will be hosted in Florence, AL on May 29-31 and will include field trips to farms in the area to develop a better understanding of the everyday farm.
Headed to The Hill
ACA President Chris Langley, President-Elect Larry Reeves and Vice 
President Clay Kennamer will join Erin Beasley at the NCBA Legislative Conference next week in Washington D.C. They will also be joined by Region 2 Policy VP Jimmy Holliman and Evelyn Greene, American National CattleWomen president-elect. Wednesday will be full of Hill visits with the Alabama delegation to discuss cattle industry issues.
Cattle By-Products Talk
On Friday, staffer Ali Cantrell will be traveling to Goodwin High School in Montgomery to give a presentation about the different by-products that come from cattle. She will give an overview of the history of beef cattle in Alabama and talk about the everyday utilization of beef outside of just on the plate!
Bama’s Best Beef Getting Ready to Fire Up
Know of a beef dish that’s worth writing home about? Is it “slap ya mama” good? WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT during this year’s Bama’s Best Beef contest. Kicking off with a nominations round on April 8 on the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Facebook page, we want to hear about your favorite unique beef dish served up at an Alabama restaurant or food truck. Get ready to submit those nominations beginning April 8!
CATTLEWOMEN’S 5K
The Alabama CattleWomen’s BEEFit 5k is April 13 in downtown Montgomery, and we’re excited to launch Team Bama Beef at this event. Team Bama Beef will be comprised ofbeef-loving fitness enthusiasts and will be supported by the beef checkoff. We’re looking for people who are committed to living an active, healthy lifestyle and who love eating beef! If you’re interested in being a part of Team Bama Beef, contact Ali Cantrell by phone or email to get some more information.
Registration for the event is now live on the CattleWomen’s website, http://alabamacattlewomen.com/beefit/.
Thanks for reading this week’s post! Until we post again, we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.