Bama Beef Blog Weekly Update | November 2, 2022

The results are in and our Cattlemen of Beef Month Award goes to…CLAY COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION! They hosted 7 steak sandwich sales, were part of at least 3 big Beef Month events, were featured in a radio interview to promote Beef Month, read to 41 elementary school classrooms, were part of 3 local festivals, hosted a beef cook-off, and had 14 social media posts throughout the entire October Beef Month! This garnered them 90 points for their efforts and gave them the bragging rights of being declared The 2022 Cattlemen of Beef Month. Congrats!

However, they had some stiff competition among 25 counties who participated. And we appreciate every county that put their best foot forward this month to promote our delicious product, BEEF! Below is the list of the top 5 counties that participated and the entire list of counties that had a hand in making this the best Beef Month yet.

In no particular order, the rest of the counties that participated:

Thank you to the counties, volunteers, and members who put in such great efforts for 2022 October Beef Month!

Bama’s Best Beef Announced

In a narrow, but firm, margin, the winner of the 2022 Bama’s Best Beef contest is…McLin’s Restaurant of Daleville, AL! The third-generation, family-owned-and-operated eatery won both the People’s Choice and Judge’s Pick divisions, making them the overall contest winner.

A 12-oz. Certified Angus Beef® ribeye aged 45 days and seasoned with a secret blend of 16 ingredients that only owner Ricky McLin knows, the McLin’s Special Ribeye has garnered the attention (and appetites) of more than 410,000 fans on Facebook.

“I run the front of house,” said manager Matt McLin. “I’m the one that sees the face, and it’s my job to learn people. I’ve probably seen three-or-four dozen new families in the past two weeks that I know have never dined with us. They said they had seen us on Facebook and wanted to try the steak.”

McLin’s Restaurant owner, Ricky McLin, and managers, Matt McLin and Zach McLin, were visited by ACA staff, officers and judges on Wednesday, Oct. 26 where the dish was judged and a finalist plaque was presented. As a result of the win, McLin’s Restaurant will also receive additional Facebook advertising, airtime on The Land Show to share their restaurant’s story, roadside signage and coverage in the Alabama Cattleman magazine. Their opponent, Boondocks BBQ & Creamery in Wedowee will also receive coverage as the state runner-up for its Brisket Plate, which also gets two thumbs up from staff and judges!

The annual Bama’s Best Beef contest, which highlights local restaurants’ beef dishes, is sponsored by the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) and funded by the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program.

CATTLEMEN’S FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS, closing soon

Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarships are LIVE for application, and they close THIS SUNDAY, November 6! These scholarships are for high school seniors and collegiate students who are members, or whose parents or grandparents, for at least two consecutive years. In addition to the many scholarships we’ve traditionally offered, we are thrilled to announce SIX new scholarship opportunities for students pursuing higher education. They are:

 “Tagged for Academic Excellence” Scholarship

 “Tagged for Civic Engagement” Scholarship

 “Tagged for Campus Involvement” Scholarship

“Tagged for Industry Involvement” Scholarship

 Agricultural Law Scholarship

 Rural Medicine Scholarship

Explore these many opportunities and APPLY BY SUNDAYat www.BamaBeef.org/Scholarships

Industry Relations & YCLP

The first weekend of this month ACA Director of Field Services Reid McGuire was on hand for the beef cattle show at the Alabama National Fair. Exhibitors from across the state exhibited their projects and fair attendees got to see first hand all of the hard work of our youth. This was great exposure for our state’s beef industry to the public.

We also had our third YCLP session in DeKalb County. Special thanks to Zane Troxell, D&S Quality Meats, and John and Randa Starnes of Tennessee River Music for hosting us for tours. Also, a huge thanks to the Northeast Alabama Agribusiness Center for the use of their facility for our Friday night meal and leadership session. We heard from Kathy Gotcher of the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee, as well as YCLP Council members Will Gotcher and Katie Sowell. Thanks to the DeKalb County Cattlemen’s Association for sponsoring a delicious steak dinner!

At the end of October, Reid was also in attendance for the annual bull sales at CK Cattle and Tennessee River Music. Both sales were excellent offerings that yielded strong results, and we are optimistic that the momentum will continue through the remainder of the sale season!

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

We are so close to the goal of 10,000 members! As of today, the ACA is proud to represent 9,847 members across the state. If you need county annual meeting or October Beef Month supplies, contact our office at 334-265-1867.

County leaders: in order for your meeting to make it into the ACA magazine you will need to get your meeting info to Jessica Kennedy by the 15th of the month prior. You can email Jessica with your meeting details or submit them online by clicking here. Be sure to RSVP for the November 17 Board of Directors meeting at the ACA in Montgomery.

SOUTHEASTERN LIVESTOCK EXPO NEWS

The Southeastern Livestock Exposition is excited to announce all things new to 2023! It is our mission to impact and support youth in agriculture, and we are thrilled to extend our reach. Not only are we hosting the Junior Beef and Swine Expos, but we are adding the Junior Dairy Expo to the line up in 2023. We are also inviting three state youth rodeo associations to compete at the Garrett Coliseum the weekend before the SLE Rodeo: Alabama Junior Rodeo Association (3/10/23), Alabama Little Britches Rodeo Association (3/11/23), and Alabama High School Rodeo Association (3/12/23). This event will be known as the SLE Youth Rodeo Showdown. It is our hope that these young cowboys and cowgirls will one day come back and compete in the SLE Rodeo once they earn their PRCA cards! Moreover, the SLE leadership has decided it is time to bring some elegance back to the arena, so we are hosting the Miss SLE Rodeo pageant on March 9, 2023. You can find all details regarding the queen contest by visiting www.SLErodeo.com/queen.

Last but not least, we are ecstatic to announce that John Harrison is our 2023 SLE Rodeo clown, barrrelman, and featured act!  He is sure to keep you laughing while you sit back and enjoy some good ‘ole clean, family friendly fun!

Just this year, he has been selected by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association for the following:

– 2022 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Barrelman

– 2022 Top 5 Coors Man in the Can Nominee

– 2022 Top 5 Comedy Act of the Year Nominee

– 2022 Top 5 Clown of the Year Nominee

Not only is he on fire in 2022, but John has been one of the best in the business for years! He was selected to go to the WNFR as the barrelman 8X, won the Coors Man in the Can award 4X, and has held the title of Comedy Act of the Year 4X. He creates a lively atmosphere that you will not want to miss!

We have a few more fun announcements up our sleeve, so us follow us on Facebook (@SLE Rodeo) to learn more in the coming weeks!

If you want to be part of this organization whether that be through membership, sponsorship, or volunteering, please reach out to Sarah Hunter, Director of Rodeo Programs, by emailing Sarah Hunter.

Save the dates for next year’s rodeo— March 17-19, 2023!  

BEEF 101

On Friday, ACA Director of Education & Outreach Ali Cantrell will host her last Beef 101 for the year for culinary students from Jefferson State Community College and for the Maranathan Academy Family and Consumer Science program. There will be a total of 35 students in attendance. This program has hosted over 400 students, foodservice employees, producers, and consumers in this year alone! We have hosted 10 Beef 101 programs throughout 2022 with an average of 42 participants or more at each session. Please contact Ali if you would like to be a part of a Beef 101 program in the future or if you would like to schedule a Beef 101 in 2023.

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