CATTLEMEN’S FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATION
Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarships are now open for application, brought to you by the Cowboy vanity car tag and many, generous endowment families! Opportunities are available for all stages of postsecondary education— from incoming freshmen to doctoral candidates who are members, or whose parents or grandparents are members, for at least two consecutive years. This year’s program features one new award, the Butch and Lisa Smathers Scholarship. Special thanks to the Smathers family for their support of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation! Explore these many opportunities and APPLY today at www.BamaBeef.org/Scholarships
AJCA FALL FIELD DAY
The Alabama Junior Cattlemen’s Association (AJCA) hosted its annual Fall Field Day September 13th at Lawler Farm in Lee County. Over 85 youth from across the state attended for a cattle judging clinic. Participants learned about EPD’s, beef cattle terminology, and live evaluation. They also learned about note taking and ended the day with an oral reasons workshop. AJCA hosts two field days each year, which are made possible by the Alabama Beef Checkoff. Special thanks to Tillman Dudley for hosting the event and all involved in making it a huge success.
DROUGHT RESOURCES
The US Drought Monitor named a few counties in Southwest Alabama as D3 (extreme) drought status. They are Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Washington and Monroe. D3 drought triggers producers for eligibility into the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) which you can sign up for at your local FSA office. LFP provides compensation for grazing loses for covered livestock.
In light of the ongoing drought conditions across many parts of the state, we encourage producers in need of hay— or those who have ample hay to sell— to visit the Alabama Hay Listing webpage housed by our friends at the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries. The hay listing webpage provides Alabama cattle producers a platform to search for hay to purchase or for hay producers to list hay for sale. Through the listings, farmers who have hay available for sale can list available bales under a variety of categories including type, size, quality and quantity available. Farmers in need of hay can search using those categories within their region. Alabama Hay Listing » agi.alabama.gov/alabama-hay-listings/
Fall Beef 101 Programs
On September 6, culinary classes from Bishop State Community College, Coastal Alabama Community College and Opelika High School attended Beef 101 in Auburn. Students learned about beef production in Alabama, discussed industry hot topics with cattle producers, and watched a carcass fabrication demonstration at the Auburn University Meat Lab. We look forward to a full calendar of Beef 101 programs coming up spring 2024.
YCLP CLASS X HEADS NORTH
To round out the month of September, the Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) Class X will have its third session in Dekalb County. Tour stops include D&S Quality Beef, Sand Mountain Research Center, and Lake Majestik Farms. Thanks to our tour hosts, and DeKalb County Cattlemen’s for preparing our Friday night supper.
OCTOBER BEEF MONTH RUNDOWN
October Beef Month in Alabama kicks off Sunday, and we’ve got a month full of celebrations on the menu! Keep reading to hit some of our promotional highlights and don’t forget that county Cattlemen’s chapters across Alabama are activating locally to join in the celebrations!
- BEEF at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 1 — Tune into Motor Sports Network to hear the sound of the sizzle and be on the lookout for BEEF signage in the stadium!
- Checkout your local news station throughout October for Beef Month highlights and fall favorite recipes! We will be featuring delicious chili, tailgate-ready sliders and meatballs, spooky pizzas perfect for trick-or-treating, and nutritious sheet pan meals for the busy family. Be sure to watch WHNT in Huntsville, WKRG in Mobile, WSFA in Montgomery, and WBRC in Birmingham for these beef-tastic segments!
- The ACA is partnering with Mobtown Burger Week to highlight restaurants serving beef in Mobile Sept. 30 – Oct. 7, so if you would like to get involved in this tasty fundraising event, visit www.mobtownburgerweek.com
- Want to be the king of the tailgate? Look no further! Bama-Q is partnering with the ACA to host two beef-focused grilling classes Oct. 14 and Oct. 28 at BBQ Hill in Pike Road. For more information or to sign up for this great event, please visit https://bama-q.tv/
Does your county need last minute supplies for October Beef Month celebrations? Please contact Josie Jones today at josie@bamabeef.org or (334)265-1867 for promotional boxes, banners, or Cowboys In The Classroom books.
DON’T FORGET! We need you to submit all photos AND a summary of your county’s October Beef Month events and celebrations throughout the month to Josie Jones at josie@bamabeef.org to compete in the 2023 Cattlemen of Beef Month contest. You might also see these pictures featured on our social media pages throughout the month, so be sure to follow!
Membership Update
We are just 83 members away from going Over the Top! The current membership count is 9,921. Remember, each county who goes Over the Top by the end of 2023 will go in the hat for a chance to win the Priefert Squeeze Chute. Also, the county with the highest percentage increase in membership will be awarded the Priefert Head Gate. Not to mention the opportunity to win prizes for recruiting new members!
State Beef Checkoff Supports Research
The Alabama Beef Checkoff Council met in September for its third quarter meeting and spent a large portion of time evaluating research proposals related to the cattle industry. Congratulations to the following researchers on projects receiving funding for the upcoming year.
1. Understanding the Digestion of Warm-Season Grass-Legume Mixtures by Micayla West, Dr. Maggie Justice, Dr. Kim Mullenix, Dr. Brandon Smith
2. Auburn University Variety Selection Platform by Henry Jordan, Joshua Elmore
3. Evaluating Byproduct Feedstuff Utilized in Alabama to Optimize Their Application in Beef Cattle Production by Dr. Brandon Smith, Dr. Aghata Moreira da Silva, Dr. Kim Mullenix, Dr. Leanne Dillard, Dr. Jose Pereira Neto
4. Development of Alabama Representative Farms to Produce Timely Cost Studies for Alabama Cattle Producers (Phase Two) by Ken Kelley, Dr. Max Runge, Dr. Kelly Palmer, Dr. Michelle Elmore, Dr. Adam Rabinowitz, Dr. Windiam Sawadgo
5. Factors Affecting the Success of Biofertilizers in Bermudagrass Pastures by Dr. David Held, Dr. Tony Adesemoye, Dr. Leanne Dillard
6. Predicting the Ground Beef Shelf Life From the Initial Microbial Community Profile by Dr. Aeriel Belk, Dr. Jason Sawyer
SOUTHEASTERN LIVESTOCK EXPO NEWS
The Southeastern Livestock Exposition is gearing up for the 2024 SLE Rodeo and Livestock Week! The board of directors met earlier in September to discuss final details of the 2024 event, and the entire membership gathered in Troy this week for the SLE Annual Meeting and Dinner. Big Mike’s Steakhouse provided delicious steaks to enjoy – something our cattlemen friends will be glad to hear! Thank you to Dr. Nealy Barrett, Tina Hammonds and Dr. Doug Smith for three years of outstanding service to the SLE Board of Directors, and congratulations to newly-elected board members— Tommy Fuller, Jim Jordan and William Martin! Also, a special thank you goes to the Pike County Cattlemen’s Association for hosting us for this event.
Speaking of Pike County, the Miss SLE Rodeo Pageant will be held March 2, 2024 at the Pike County Cattleman Park. Applications open October 15 and are due by January 15. Follow the SLE Rodeo Facebook page for more details. (Miss SLE Rodeo age: 17-20, Junior Miss SLE Rodeo age: 13-16).
Sponsorship opportunities for the 2024 SLE Rodeo will open on October 6. If you are interested in details, please contact Sarah Hunter (shunter@bamabeef.org). Sponsorship packages will be sold first come, first served.
Sunbelt Ag Expo Features a Road Trip through Sweet Grown Alabama
Make plans to join us at the 2023 Sunbelt Ag Expo October 17-19 in Moultrie, GA as we highlight agriculture in Sweet Grown Alabama! For 2023, Alabama is the expo’s Spotlight State.
Engaging activities and snappy swag abound as visitors learn about Alabama’s diverse agricultural landscape. The bounty includes agritourism, catfish, cattle, corn, cotton, dairy, forestry, greenhouse products, peaches, peanuts, pecans, poultry, sod, soybeans, strawberries and sweet potatoes.
Numerous Alabama agricultural organizations and businesses have worked tirelessly this year to support the Sweet Grown Alabama mission and produce a worthy Spotlight State exhibit. Their employees are the masterminds behind the road trip design of the building, as well as the exhibit’s volunteers, who are all excited to share their expertise about and passion for Alabama’s agricultural industry. Through all its related industries, agriculture has a $70.4 billion economic impact on the state and employs more than 580,000 people.
The Sunbelt Ag Expo is North America’s Premier Farm Show with more than 1,200 exhibitors on the grounds at Spence Field in Moultrie. The event highlights the latest agricultural technology, research and equipment, which draws thousands of attendees. Learn more at sunbeltexpo.com.
BEEF CHECKOFF TASK FORCE MEETING- YOU’RE INVITED!
Invitations to participate in the Beef Checkoff Task Force meeting are going out soon. At this meeting attendees from the beef cattle industry will work to develop ideas and programs for FY24 utilizing beef checkoff dollars. Any cattlemen is welcome to attend but we do need to know you are coming so we can make sure to have enough lunch. The meeting will take place at 10:00AM at the Cattlemen’s building on November 2. This is the best way to have a direct voice in how beef checkoff dollars are spent in the upcoming year. Please let us know if you would like to attend by contacting Erin at the office, ebeasley@bamabeef.org.
Christmas from Cowboys
What do you get the person that has everything? The ACA has just what you need! This year, you can gift your friends or colleagues a membership to the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association. For $50, the person who receives your gifted membership will receive all of the member benefits, including 12 issues of the Alabama Cattleman magazine. The promotion will run from October-December and is a great way to get a new member into the organization. To learn more and get to gifting, visit BamaBeef.org/Join or call our office at (334) 265-1867.
BLACK VULTURE DEPREDATION SUB-PERMIT
Livestock producers experiencing depredation from black vultures may now apply for a no cost Black Vulture Depredation Sub-Permit through the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries. All approved applicants will be allowed to take up to three black vultures as long as the statewide take number has not exceeded 500. Approved applicants must report each take within 48 hours. If 500 vultures are harvested in the state, applicants will receive an email notifying them that no more vultures may be taken during the permit period. For more information, visit agi.alabama.gov.
Thanks for reading this month’s post! Until we post again, we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook or Instagram.