Happy October Beef Month! We’re halfway through the best, most beef-tacular month of the year, and the fun times are rolling! The fall months have no disappointed thus far, and we’re excited to bring you an update of ALL that has gone on. Keep reading and don’t forget to ENJOY BEEF!
Beef Up the Blood Supply SUCCESS!
As of today, we are halfway through our Beef Up the Blood Supply event, and WOW what a success! So far, we’ve helped collect 120 pints of blood from donors who all received a beef meal to-go from county Cattlemen cook teams AND a beef voucher to a local restaurant. In Dothan, Houston County Cattlemen helped serve up burgers to 30 donors who also received $10 gift cards for a steak dinner at Conestoga Steak House. Big shoutout to Ted Toole of Conestoga for this generous promotion and for hosting our event in his parking lot! In Decatur, the Morgan County Cook Team did not disappoint with their steak sandwiches as they served the 45 donors who came to the Tuesday event at Decatur-Morgan Hospital. They’ll be there again today with another 45 expected donors! On Thursday, the Blood Mobile and the grill will head back to the ACA office in downtown Montgomery as we host a Montgomery event with vouchers to Fat Boys Bar-B-Que for all donors. Then on Friday, we’ll head to Troy to set up shop at the Pike County Cattlemen’s Arena where we’ll be serving up burgers and offering $2 OFF vouchers for a steak dinner at Mossy Grove School House Restaurant. Join us!
Links to sign up for a slot are below, or just walk-in!
Deactur (Wednesday): http://ow.ly/wtUj50BM9QQ
Montgomery (Thursday): http://ow.ly/H56w50BM9SQ
Troy (Friday): http://ow.ly/YzMj50BM9WD
Checkoff Team “Attends” Virtual PIA
Each year in October, national Beef Checkoff staffers Erin Beasley, Ali Cantrell and Kayla Greer attend the Partnership in Action (PIA) Conference in Denver where they explore consumer market research, new campaign initiatives and learn about what to expect from the national Beef Checkoff in the coming year and how to implement those same tactics in our home state. Due to COVID, the event is all virtual this year, but so far it has not disappointed! We can’t say too much yet, but be prepared to see big work coming from your checkoff dollars…beginning with the holiday season! We are excited to implement these new marketing programs in Alabama. Stay tuned for more!
Save the Date- Beef Checkoff Task Force Meeting
Speaking of checkoff planning, the Alabama Beef Checkoff Task Force meeting will be held Thursday, October 29 at the Cattlemen’s building in Montgomery. ANY cattlemen in Alabama interested in attending this meeting is welcome to do so by contacting the ACA office at (334) 265-1867. It is a way to get completely involved in the process and having a say in how beef checkoff dollars are spent in the state. The ideas that come out of the task force meeting will be put into a marketing plan and presented to the Beef Checkoff Council for approval and budgeting. Contact an ACA officer or the office today to get more information on the meeting.
Fair Season
ACA’s Director of Field Services Morgan Desselle will be out at Alabama National Fair all weekend helping working the beef shows. Hats off to the Alabama Farmers Federation and National Fair show crew for continuing to host several species livestock shows during the pandemic. We know here at ACA first-hand that this is not an easy task to undertake from our experience with the AJCA Round-Up this summer, BUT our youth need this! If your county is hosting a show for youth, be sure to let us know so we can add it to our Youth Livestock Events calendar. Email Morgan with your event information
Membership Update
As of today, our statewide membership number is at 9,502 members. We can almost taste that 10,000….so keep recruiting! Board members are encouraged to save the date for November 12 as we plan to host our Fall Board of Directors meetings. Notices will be mailing out soon. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Day of the Cowboy
This weekend ahead, ACA Director of Rodeo Programs Lauren Wilson will be hosting a booth at Falkville’s Day of the Cowboy Ranch Rodeo event. The SLE is proud to sponsor the hospitality chuckwagon meal, and Lauren will be there selling ACA and SLE swag. Be sure to stop by and tell her hi! Speaking of rodeo, save the dates for the 2021 SLE Rodeo- March 18-20, 2021 at Garrett Coliseum.
USDA’s CFAP 2 Program
Late in September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture opened application for a second round of COVID assistance relief through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), or CFAP 2. Key details include:
Cattle Payments: The CFAP 2 payment rate for eligible beef cattle is $55 per head. Payments will be based on the maximum owned inventory of eligible livestock, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer, between Apr. 16, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2020.
Signups will run through December 11, 2020.
More CFAP 2 details are available on USDA’s website: https://www.farmers.gov/cfap/livestock.
Foundation Scholarships Now Open
Applications for the 2021-2022 Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarships are now open online at www.BamaBeef.org/Scholarships. The ACF is proud to award over $65,000 in scholarships annually to Alabama’s youth in livestock and those who are the children or grandchildren of longtime members. We offer a variety of scholarships with a range of requirements— there’s truly something to fit any student! We appreciate those who purchase the Cowboy vanity car tag that help fund these scholarships, as well as the generous families who have endowed scholarships through our foundation. Applications CLOSE on November 6 at midnight, so be sure your favorite student(s) submits today!
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