That’s a wrap! We have put a bow on convention, and are thrilled with the turnout of this year’s event. Keep reading for a recap and saddle up as we head into SLE Rodeo season! Busy is an understatement around this office as we finish up county annual meeting season, head into spring beef promotions, execute the rodeo, begin planning for a busy summer of youth activities and YCLP…and well, basically do everything we did last year and then some. Keep reading to follow along our busy week!
THANK YOU
Thanks to all who attended, spoke at, sponsored or contributed to 
convention in any way!! The 77th annual ACA Convention & Trade Show was one for the books. We hope you enjoyed each event and speaker as much as we did. Of course, the bow on top is getting to spend a weekend fellowshipping with our favorite group of folks!
Throughout the course of the weekend, we hosted over 320 pre-registrants and over 80 walk-in visitors. What a great group! The crowd enjoyed an excellent trade show, engaging speakers, tons of education and of course, delicious beef! We also elected our new slate of state officers and regional vice presidents. They are:
- President: Larry Reeves, Coffee County
- President-Elect: Clay Kennamer, Jackson County
- Vice President: Jim Jordan, Clay County
- Executive VP: Erin Beasley
- RVP: Chip Cleveland, Autagua County
- RVP: Joe Bradley, Randolph County
- RVP: Steven Smith, Franklin County
- RVP: Alvin Stinson, Butler County
Again, thanks to all who came. Be sure to save the date for next year— March 5-6, 2021 in Birmingham!
SLE Rodeo Coming to Town
We are 29 days out from the first performance of 2020! Buck on over to www.SLERodeo.com/Tickets now to secure your seats at the greatest show on dirt! This year’s show is sure to please as we’re featuring freestyle bullfighting, the best stock in the PRCA, all kinds of children’s events and hometown rodeo clown, Trent McFarland! We’ve got some awesome ticket deals available for you to take advantage of, so don’t wait. Get on over to www.SLERodeo.com to learn more about all that SLE Livestock Week offers and to purchase your tickets today! And don’t forget- we offer group ticket sales to groups of 25+ members.
The SLE Media Luncheon will take place next Thursday to officially kick off the upcoming rodeo festivities. With a month to go until the rodeo, advertising and ticketing will move into high gear as staff prepares for the event. Visit www.SLERodeo.com for a full list of events taking place at the rodeo and to take care of your ticketing needs.
AJCA Junior Contest Success
Congrats to the 20+ juniors who came and participated in our first ever 
convention contests! We had a great day of contests on Saturday, and our judges raved about how impressed they were in our young people. Here’s who placed in this past weekend’s events:
Junior Division Public Speaking
- First Place: Mason Smith
- Second Place: MacKenzie Smith
- Third Place: Will Speros
Intermediate Division Public Speaking
- First Place: Blair Wyrosdick
- Second Place: Victoria Thompson
- Third Place: Rex Harrison
Senior Division Public Speaking
- First Place: Trace Strock
- Second Place: Heather Gladney
- Third Place: Madison Stewart
Career Development
- Third Place Career Development Competitor: Heather Gladney
- Reserve Supreme Career Development Competitor : Will Jordan
- Supreme Career Development Competitor: Josie Chance
2020 Alabama Cattlemen’s Convention Quiz Bowl Champion Team
Team Name: Bibbaloose
- Johnathan Chance, Josie Chance, MacKenzie Smith, Heather Gladney
2020 Alabama Cattlemen’s Convention Quiz Bowl Reserve Champion Team
Team Name: Bust the Knowledge
- Izzy Kent, Bence Upchurch, Aiden Upchurch, Blair Wyrosdick
CookOff Season
Beef Cook-offs are underway throughout Alabama! Now that convention is over, Staffer Ali Cantrell is preparing for our Alabama Jr. & Sr. High School Beef Cook-off on April 4. If your county has hosted a local beef cook-off, be sure to get your winners registered on our website at www.bamabeef.org/events/2020/alabama-juniorsenior-high-school-cookoff and contact Ali Cantrell if you have any questions.
Alabama Legislative Update
The legislative session is in its third week. So far, over 200 senate and close to 300 house bills have been dropped. The ACA is monitoring several bills related to environmental and animal regulations. Additionally, the ACA will be hosting several legislative groups in the coming months at the building to discuss topics of interest to the cattle industry. As in past years, the ACA also hosts the Ag Coalition group every Tuesday of the session to discuss bills pertinent to agriculture. Stay tuned as we play watchdog for you to protect your right to farm!
Beef Education Kicks Off for Spring
ACA Director of Education & Outreach Ali Cantrell will be traveling to Brookwood High School tomorrow for their Career Technical Education Safety Day. Ali will be visiting with students about the pasture to plate story for Beef Cattle and how HACCP guidelines are a part of that system along with food safety.
Beef 101’s will kick off next Wednesday with 40 culinary students from Boaz High School. We’re excited for a new year of Beef 101’s and if you would like to attend a program this spring we have three scheduled for March 24, April 1 and 9. Please contact Ali Cantrell if you are interested.
Membership Update
As of today, the ACA is proud to represent 6,372 members in the 2020 year 
and counting as county meetings are still happening! On Thursday, staffer Kayla Greer will hit the road to Selma for the Dallas County Meeting while our new president, Larry Reeves, heads north to St. Clair County.
A couple of deadlines to remember as we get deeper into the year:
- Early Bird Membership Drawing: March 31, 2020
- Over the Top Red Coat Deadline: June 30, 2020
- Top Hand Recruiting Deadline: December 31, 2020
Social Advertising Going Strong
This year, as an initiative of both the checkoff and the association, our cattlemen elected to put more dollars on social advertising to reach both producers and consumers with our messaging. Since January 1, we have hosted constant rolling ads through our business accounts on both Facebook and Instagram (as they are owned by the same company), and we have been very pleased with the results of these cost-effective campaigns. Since the start of this new marketing strategy, we have had a reach of over 82,000 users and encouraged more than 4,500 link clicks to either our website, www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com or www.BeefBoard.com.
Ads include messaging directed toward consumers with Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand content, while ads targeted at Alabama beef cattle producers promotes both membership and the work of your checkoff dollars, funded by the respective accounts. If you see an ad (or a rodeo one for that matter), be sure to share it and help us get the most bang out of your buck!
AJCA Spring Field Day
Be on the lookout for registration for spring field day to open the first week in March. This year our field day will be held in Blountsville, Alabama at Quail Valley Farms on April 18. We look forward to seeing our youth come out and spend a day learning some new things about our industry!
YCLP
Our sixth class of the checkoff-funded Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) graduated at Convention this past weekend, and we kicked off a spinoff program, the YCLP Council. We are now accepting applications for our seventh class of YCLP. Applications for this program close on February 29. 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 21 & 40, but do not be discouraged to nominate yourself or someone else who falls out of that range. Click here to apply » www.BamaBeef.org/YCLP
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