Well, if it wasn’t hot enough, it just got hotter! With a volatile week of weather and cattle markets, we are happy to bring some news that’s not so dreary. We’ve got a lot coming up and in the works, so keep reading to learn more about what’s happening at the ACA this week!
Tyson Plant Burns
Let’s start with the obvious. The cattle market is the talk of the week as the boards are feeling the 
effects of a fire that one of Tyson’s beef harvest plants in Kansas suffered over the weekend. The plant processes 6,000 head of cattle a day taking away a landing spot for an already-saturated fed cattle market. Tyson has announced they will rebuild immediately and is working to redirect cattle into their other packing facilities. With the uncertainty so far around this situation, cattle markets have been limit down both Monday and Tuesday. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has had a significant role to ensure the Federal regulatory burden does not make recovery any harder. ACA is working to notify our congressmen and senators in D.C. of the situation so they are aware of the effects this will have on our producers in the coming weeks who are selling feeder calves.
State Ag Board Meeting
Erin Beasley attended the quarterly meeting for the Department of Agriculture and Industries Board on Tuesday in Decatur. She presented the 2018 annual report and financials for the State Beef Checkoff program and received unanimous approval from the board along with several positive comments about the program as a whole.
Bama’s Best Burger Update
Regional semi finalist voting has kicked off for the 2019 Bama’s Best 
Burger contest! Region 1 and Region 2 semi finalists are duking it out in a a very close first round of Facebook polling. Region 1 semi finalist is SUCH-n-SUCH (Decatur) Heart Attack Burger, while the Region 2 semi finalist is the Bananza Burger from The Strand in Fort Payne! So far the poll has garnered over 1,300 votes with SUCH-n-SUCH leading by only 30 votes. This poll closes in the morning, and the challenge between Region 3 semi finalist J&J Grocery (Bessemer) Cheeseburger and Region 4 semi finalist R&R Burgers (Springville) Jealous Grandma Burger will go live! Be sure to follow the contest to find out who all the regional semi finalists are and VOTE for your local dive.
Wood Fruitticher Sales Meeting
This Thursday, staffer Ali Cantrell is traveling to Trussville for the Wood Fruitticher Sales meeting to kick off the fall beef sales promotion. Barney Wilborn, the manager of Auburn University’s Meat Lab, will be joining Ali during this sales meeting to fabricate and present cuts from the chuck and sirloin to the salesmen. This presentation is meant to educate the salesmen about the cuts they sell everyday and how to better market them to their customers.
Board of Directors Meeting- Next Week!
Board members, be sure to RSVP to Jessica Kennedy for next week’s Summer Board of Directors Meeting! We’ll be giving out “Over the Top” county prizes, giving you all the ACA updates you need and letting you in on an exclusive FIRST LOOK at ALL the new changes in The MOOseum! Don’t miss out.
At the membership desk this week, remittances from our latest mail-out have begun rolling in and the membership number of the day is 8,836! We are so close to 9,000…but the goal is 10,000. Staffers have begun to call non-renewed members, so join us in recruiting!
Beef Systems Short Course
On Tuesday, ACA Director of Field Services stopped in on the first of 
many Beef Systems Extension Short Courses happening statewide throughout the fall months. Morgan visited the kickoff meeting at the Clanton location and enjoyed the opportunity to visit with cattlemen and get an overview of the content being taught during the four-night course. To find an upcoming course near you and to get registered, visit www.aces.edu/go/1065.
Clay County Cattlemen’s Rodeo
Staffers are looking forward to the opportunity to attend this weekend’s Clay County Cattlemen’s Rodeo happening Friday and Saturday evenings. The team will go to enjoy and support this county cattlemen event and see what all it has to offer! Next week will bring the Pike County Cattlemen’s Rodeo where staffer Morgan Pounds will be taking pride on a mechanical bull and attending the event. If you’ve got an upcoming county event, be sure to let us know about it!
Preparing for Fall Promotions
Ali Cantrell is preparing October Beef Month boxes for county Cattlemen’s Associations. These boxes will be ready for pick up at the Summer Board of Directors meeting on August 22. Please contact Ali if there is a special event this fall that you need promotional material for so she can add it to your box! If you are unable to pick up a box at the board meeting, let Ali know that you want it mailed.
News from the AJCA
If you attended the 2019 AJAC Round-Up, we want to hear your feedback on the event. Visit www.BamaBeef.org/AJCA where you’ll find a link to a survey regarding the event and 2020 upcoming events. We appreciate the time you take to help us improve the Round-Up! We also encourage you to go check out the newest feature of the AJCA, an Instagram! If you use the social app, hop on and give @al_juniorcattlemen a follow. With the guidance of ACA staff, AJCA President Ashlyn Ruf will be running the account during her year of leadership. Let’s show her and our junior association some support!
You’re Invited: Cattlemen’s BEEF 201
The ACA is hosting a Cattlemen’s BEEF 201 at Auburn University’s Beef Teaching Unit and Meats Lab on Friday, September 13. We invite all cattlemen to explore the beef industry from pasture to plate. Features of this program will include live animal evaluation, carcass evaluation and fabrication. Please sign up at www.bamabeef.org/beef201 or contact Ali Cantrell to get registered for the program.
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