Alabama Cattlemen's Association

Bama Beef Blog Update: March 11, 2020

Someone turned up the heat and the activity here in Montgomery as the temperatures turn springlike, and our calendars show all the signs of the rodeo coming to town. This week’s post may be short and sweet since staff is moving in all directions…but know our boots are always on the ground working for you!

SLE Rodeo in Town Next Week!

The rodeo may be in town next week, but the fun starts now! Today, staffers Morgan Pounds, Ali Cantrell and Lauren Wilson welcomed bus loads of college and high school judging teams to the SLE Livestock Judging Contest. More than 150 youth gathered at the Garrett Coliseum to judge livestock classes and put to work their judging skills, sponsored by the SLE and executed but he hand of Extension’s Jason P’Poole. Thanks, Jason!

That’s not all the SLE fun happening this week, though, as ticket sales are keeping the phones off the hook, media interviews are happening across town and all the nuts and bolts of executing an event of the caliber are in motion.

We are in the single digits…just 8 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.

Our ticket sales guru, Sydney Dougherty, is the friendly voice you’ll hear when you call 888-2RODEO2 and now through rodeo time, you can find her here at the office selling tickets during the drive time, 5-7 p.m. and during the lunch hour. Can’t call her during your work day? No big deal— find her here when you have time!

2020 SPRING YOUTH PRODUCTION FIELD DAY

Information is now available on the 2020 Spring Youth Production Field Day being hosted on April 18 at Quail Valley Farms in Oneonta, AL (Blount County). Youth will enjoy a variety of educational topics from EPDs to cattle judging and from ultrasound scanning to a farm tour. Lunch will be provided at this FREE youth event, and it is brought to all youth of our state by the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program. Registration for this event is NOW OPEN. Learn more » www.BamaBeef.org/FieldDay

Consumers Hear about Beef

This week, we published a blog article written by checkoff-contracted Registered Dietitian Elesha Ergle on the portable nutrition of beef. Her post focused on the fact that families are on the move this time of year as the weather warms up, and highlighted the many ways beef can be a portable and nutritious meal. This post will also be used in a consumer e-newsletter, coming soon to an inbox near you!

ACA MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

As of today, the ACA is proud to represent 7,019 members in the 2020 year and counting as county meetings are still happening, although the calendar is lightening up. Following the annual meetings, leaders, we as that you send in county leader contact information so we can update it on our website in our records!

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

PROSTART INVITATIONAL

Earlier this week, staffer Ali Cantrell traveled to Orange Beach for the ProStart Invitational Cook-off. As a sponsor of this event, she was able to meet with potential culinary students to educate them about beef cooking techniques and the beef production system. She also presented the contestants with the Best Beef Dish Award!

Speaking of, beef Cook-offs are underway throughout Alabama! Ali 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. THIS FRIDAY, March 13, is the last days for students to register for our state cook-off.

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.

Handheld Meals for Families On the Go

By Elesha Ergle, RDN

It is that time of the year when we aren’t quite ready for summer, although in Alabama it could go either way, and we are tired of the cold. Spring forward into March with some new and exciting beef recipes. Beef is an excellent source of protein and iron and is a versatile staple that can create a wide variety of recipes to satisfy any time of the year. With spring activities beginning, quick and easy recipes are the go-to for a lot of families. If you’re burned out on the same old things, give these tasty ideas a try!

Will Travel for Beef

Travel sports parents everywhere know that one of the keys to not losing your mind (or spending all your money) is to be prepared for the weekend’s upcoming events. A tried-and-true staple for our family is all beef hotdogs that we cook ahead and put in a thermos to keep warm. Add buns and condiments and the whole family can eat without breaking the bank. Make up a container of Roast Beef and Veggie Wraps to add to your cooler and you will have a super satisfying on-the-go meal. For those cooler times, make some meatballs with sauce such as these Four Way Mini-Meatballs and keep warm in an insulated container, grab some sweet rolls and have mini-meatball sliders to fill you up. Don’t forget about all the delicious flavors of beef jerky and beef sticks that you can always keep handy to grab at any time.

Late Night Dinners

Homework, sports, jobs…how do you keep your family fed without running through the drive-thru every night? Plan ahead for the week by cooking up large batches of easy, reheatable foods such as a roast to make roast beef sliders, tacos, or quesadillas. Cook a large batch of ground beef that can be quickly seasoned for spaghetti or sloppy joes. Take advantage of your slow cooker and have these Tangy BBQ Sandwiches ready when you get home.

It is a busy time of the year! Take advantage of beef’s versatility, portability, and great protein to keep your family going. For more great recipes and information on beef from pasture to plate, visit Beef It’s What For Dinner.

Happy Spring from all of us at Alabama Cattlemen’s Association!

This article was funded by the Alabama Beef Checkoff Progam. Paid for by Alabama beef farmers and ranchers.

Bama Beef Blog Update: March 4, 2020

Rain, rain go away. Come again another day!

Sheesh…don’t you know its true!? There’s one meme out there that says “Alabama is no longer a state. You can refer to it as Lake Alabama.” That’s about right as we continue on with another stretch of rain and flooding… Not to worry you, but we saw two of each kind of animal lining up earlier today….

While you fight the rain, mud and flooding, we are canoeing our way to the office each day to get all the many projects and programs we’ve got lined up as we head into the spring months! Avoid the wet weather and keep reading about all that’s going on at the ACA.

SADDLE UP FOR THE SLE RODEO

We are just 15 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.

Last week’s SLE Rodeo Media Kickoff Luncheon was a success! We welcomed in around 20 groups of media and hit them up with all the details about the rodeo coming to town! Speaking of media, we are at full launch with advertising and marketing with the rodeo. With Super Tuesday behind us, folks can kick the election ads and check out our rodeo pieces! We’ve heard lots of compliments from billboards to radio commercials— and matched with a full-on social media marketing plan, our website has received over 6,500 visits in the past month alone. That’s great news for us and for our many sponsors, who are now featured on our homepage. Be listening and watching out as our media interview calendar for radio and tv is filling up fast!

Sponsors continue to roll in, and we are down to the nuts and bolts of executing this year’s event. If you’d like to take part in our Wrangler voucher program— where if you spend $70+ on Wrangler jeans, you can get a ticket to the show— you can find those vouchers available at Sikes & Kohns, Camo Country and Bridges Western Wear.

Beef’s Seat at the Sustainability Panel

This week, ACA Director of Education & Outreach Ali Cantrell and checkoff-contracted registered dietitian Elesha Ergl attended the Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors Central Region Spring Meeting in Birmingham. Nutritionists from all over the United States and locally in Alabama attended this meeting hosted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Ali and Elesha had the opportunity to sit in on a panel to discuss sustainability in the foodservice system, specifically the beef production system. They were able to teach the attendees how producers practice sustainability techniques to ensure that they are productive stewards of the land.

2020 SPRING YOUTH PRODUCTION FIELD DAY

ACA MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

As of today, the ACA is proud to represent 6,894 members in the 2020 year and counting as county meetings are still happening, although the calendar is lightening up. That puts us at over 70% for the year, but we aren’t stopping until we reach 10,000!! Following the annual meetings, leaders, we as that you send in county leader contact information so we can update it on our website in our records!

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

ProStart Invitational

Next week, staffer Ali Cantrell will be traveling to Orange Beach for the ProStart Invitational Cook-off. As a sponsor of this event, we will be able to meet with potential culinary students to educate them about beef cooking techniques and the beef production system. We also be presenting the contestants with the Best Beef Dish Award!

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.