Welcome to the Bama Beef Blog, where you can check out the latest news from the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program and the Southeastern Livestock Expo. Keep reading for more info!
Primary Election Recap
The primary election took place yesterday across Alabama, and several races were decided or will go to a runoff next month. A full list of results from last night can be found here. The runoff election is June 21, so get ready to go back to the voting box. The ACA sends a huge congratulations to Governor Kay Ivey for her win last night! We look forward to working with her for another four years.
2022 REGIONAL CATTLEMEN’S COOKOUTS
After such fun success in 2021, we are looking forward to hosting the Regional Cattlemen’s Cookouts again in 2022! Click here for a map to check out your region, so you can save the date for your local event while we firm up locations! This event is FREE for ACA members to attend— all you have to do is click here to RSVP to attend your local meeting or call us at 334-265-1867.
- June 7, 2022: Southwest Alabama; Clarke Prep School, Grove Hill
- June 14, 2022: Southeast Alabama; Pike County Cattleman’s Park, Troy
- June 30, 2022: West Central Alabama; Gvillo Lodge, Moundville
- July 12, 2022: East Central Alabama; Wetumpka Civic Center, Wetumpka
- July 19, 2022: Northwest Alabama, Moulton Rec Center, Moulton
- August 2, 2022: Northeast Alabama, Guntersville Rec Center, Guntersville
NOW HIRING— DIRECTOR OF FIELD SERVICES
With the news that Morgan Desselle is leaving for a new position with Purina and Alabama Farmers Cooperative, we are seeking to fill the position of Director of Field Services. An application period is now open, and a job description can be found HERE. This position involves working with the state’s beef cattle industry, representing the ACA at producer meetings, cattle sales, county cattlemen chapter meetings and agribusinesses events. The position will be the lead staffer for coordinating the Association’s junior cattlemen programs and young producer programs.
YCLP Reunion Recap
The Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) Alumni Reunion was held last weekend in south Montgomery County. Special thanks to all the sponsors who made this event possible! YCLP alumni and their families gathered for a weekend of networking, education and fun. On Friday night, the alumni enjoyed a taco bar and catching up with old friends while meeting new alumni. Saturday morning, the education began! We kicked off the morning with updates from ACA President Jim Jordan, Checkoff Staff and SLE member Tina Hammonds. Next, alumni welcomed Jeff Stolle of Nebraska Cattlemen to discuss cattle markets. Participants had the pleasure of a virtual NCBA update from Colin Woodall and Mary Bea Halimeh. The education portion of the weekend ended with hands-on media training provided by ACA Director of Communications Kayla Greer. After a morning of updates and education, the alumni spent the afternoon enjoying Kick Back Ranch amenities and a friendly goat roping competition! The weekend concluded with a steak dinner, sponsored by our friends at Ag Credit.
Summer Grilling, Ready for Lift Off!
Memorial Day Weekend is the official start to summer grilling, and checkoff dollars will go to work to kick off our Spotify, Connected TV, cooking segment and billboard campaigns across the state! ACA has partnered with NCBA to roll out Spotify and connected tv (streaming service) ads for the next five months, through October. During the summer, if you listen to Spotify or subscribe to a streaming service, you should hear or see summer grilling ads as well as some words from our “A List” beef industry spokesperson, Tony Romo, about tailgating with beef. Then in October, we will switch gears to have ads that promote Beef Month in Alabama!
As you travel down the I-65 corridor to the coastline, be on the lookout for BEEF billboards in Huntsville, Cullman, Hope Hull/Letohatchee, Rabun and on the Foley Beach Express in Robertsdale. If you see it, ask your passenger to snap a photo and share it on Facebook for all to see!
Also this summer, ACA Director of Education & Outreach Ali Cantrell has lined up beef cooking segments in markets across the state. Next week, she’s set to film cooking segments with John Nodar on WKRG Mobile. She will serve up a bacon cheeseburger and a T-Bone steak to showcase for summer grilling. She’ll travel back to Mobile when WKRG finishes their new demo kitchen later this year to film three more segments with beef producer and ag teacher, Emily Dent, and Alabama Junior Cattlemen Association Director Alivia Watson.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
The second membership statement has hit mailboxes, targeting all non-renewed members for 2022! Hopefully you’ve started receiving some renewals.
We are headed boldly in the direction of 10,000 members! Many counties are hosting annual meetings. Please, contact Jessica Kennedy at our office to let her know about county meeting dates and leadership changes OR complete this online form to notify us of your meeting, assign a mailout, and request a guest speaker. As always, leaders, we encourage you to enter new members and renewals by the 15th of each month to guarantee they stay on the magazine distribution list and to deposit checks in a timely manner. Also, PLEASE send county leader updates to the state office so we can update them for future mailings, emails, etc. Contact Jessica to let her know who your county officers are!
AJCA Round-Up Registration Live
The 16th Annual Round-Up registration is now live! Join us July 14-17 at the Garrett Coliseum for a weekend packed full of educational events and cattle shows. We look forward to welcoming the youth of Alabama to compete and exhibit. Events like this are not possible without sponsorships. We are asking counties to consider a donation of $250.00. The counties that show their support of our youth by sponsoring at the amount of $250.00 or more will receive a star on the county sponsorship map that will be on display ringside. However, anyway you can support our juniors would be appreciated. Please consider supporting the AJCA Round-Up. It is requested that all donations be mailed to 201 South Bainbridge Street, Montgomery, AL 36104 by June 24, 2022. Thank you in advance for your continued support of Alabama’s youth in livestock.
For the full sponsor details, please check out our event website » https://cvent.me/KRGM5z
SLE Rodeo, Always at Work
ACA Director of Rodeo Programs Sarah Hunter has enjoyed visiting other rodeos in the region to study their shows and event formats in an effort to bring home new ideas to enhance our show in Montgomery! Last weekend, she visited the Franklin Rodeo in Franklin, TN and next month, she will travel west with Texan native Ali Cantrell to her hometown’s Parker County Sheriffs Posse Rodeo, just outside of Fort Worth. Sarah has also stayed busy promoting the March event and is putting in the hours to make the 2023 show bigger and better.
BAINBRIDGE BLOCK PARTY
The staff of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, Alabama Poultry and Egg Association, and Alabama Forestry Association would like to invite you to our Bainbridge Block Party on Friday, June 24, 2022 at The MOOseum in downtown Montgomery. This event is meant to showcase the different ag commodities, associations, and entities within the state and how they can provide educational opportunities into your classrooms. All teachers that RSVP and attend will receive professional development hours and a certificate. Please RSVP to acantrell@bamabeef.org with your name and school by June 22, 2022!
We will be hosting a Sweet Grown Alabama Farmers market along with educational booths spread throughout. We encourage teachers, students, and the general public to come visit, tour The MOOseum, and head up to the 3rd floor of the building for specialty videos and booths to explore. This event will be open to the general public from 11:00am – 2:00pm and food will be served from 11:30am – 1:30pm. We will be serving burgers, chicken wings, chips, and ice cream from Blue Ribbon Dairy!
ACA at AACAAS
Next week, ACA Executive Vice President Erin Beasley will be a speaker at the Alabama Association of County Agricultural Agents and Specialists (AACAAS) Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference. She will focus on talking to attendees about ACA’s grassroots structure and how the association represents its members in a number of arenas. The event will be held in Tuscaloosa, AL.
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