2024 REGIONAL CATTLEMEN’S COOKOUTS
The 2024 Regional Cattlemen’s Cookouts are rapidly approaching! In addition to dinner and a state office update, this year’s events will feature Livestock Marketing Association’s Producer Profitability Initiative, a grassroots movement started and led by cattle producers who have a vision to create a sustainable future for the American livestock industry.
Meeting dates and locations include:
Goosepond Civic Center, Scottsboro, Alabama – June 11
Oxford Civic Center, Oxford, Alabama – June 20
The Greensboro Armory, Greensboro, Alabama – June 25
Wetumpka Civic Center, Wetumpka, Alabama – June 27
A.W. Todd Center, Russellville, Alabama – July 16
The Warehouse, Ozark, Alabama – July 23
Grace Fellowship Church, Atmore, Alabama *IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GULF COAST CATTLEMEN’S CONFERENCE* – August 9
Learn more about the meetings: tinyurl.com/2024CattlemenCookouts
Meals are FREE to current ACA members. Guest plates are $25/adult, $15/child. RSVP now at tinyurl.com/Regional-Cookout-RSVP or by calling (334) 265-1867.
2024 ALABAMA LEGISLATIVE SESSION ADJOURNS SINE DIE
After a gauntlet of a session, the Alabama Legislature adjourned sine die on May 9th, completing all 30 days of the session. In a session that amassed hundreds of bills and several large items at play, including gaming, school choice, and the Working for Alabama workforce package, the association had a very successful session. To begin, no legislation was passed that would negatively impact the beef cattle industry, which is always the first goal of the session.
Additionally, several positive pieces of legislation passed that affect our industry.
- The association’s priority bill to exempt fencing materials for livestock from sales tax received final passage. Sponsored by Sen. Jack Williams and Rep. Danny Crawford, the bill was amended before passage to have a gross sales cap of $25,000 annually per livestock producer. This will go into effect on October 1, 2024.
- The property tax cap bill, sponsored by Sen. David Sessions and Rep. Phillip Pettus, passed, and will provide a 7% cap on annual property tax reappraisals.
- The bovine liability bill, sponsored by Senator Randy Price, passed. This bill provides producers hosting independent activities, like sales and field days, on their farm general liability coverage should something happen to an attendee.
- A bill banning the sale and distribution of lab-grown proteins (also known as “fake meat”), sponsored by Sen. Jack Williams and carried by Rep. Danny Crawford in the house, passed.
- The legislation to establish the board for the Alabama Farm Center, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt and Rep. Danny Crawford, received final passage.
- Several budgetary items in the education trust fund passed, including new funding for junior cattlemen’s educational activities, and continued funding for FFA memberships, the Auburn University livestock judging coach, and a youth livestock specialist.
- In the general fund, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries received additional funding for the animal disease and diagnostics office.
USDA PUBLISHES FINAL RULE FOR ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY
The USDA recently released a much-anticipated final rule for animal disease traceability. The USDA final traceability rule amends a previous 2013 rule that requires sexually intact cattle 18 months of age or older – specifically rodeo, exhibition, and dairy cattle – moving interstate to have an official form of animal identification. The 2013 rule, which cattle producers already comply with, instituted visual ID tags for interstate movement. The new final rule switches producers to electronic identification (EID) tags, which are easier to read and would yield a faster traceability response during a foreign animal disease outbreak. This rule has no bearing on feeder calf movement. For years, Alabama has been preparing for this rule change that moves to utilize EID tags. The state veterinarian’s office has been working with stockyards in the state to use EID tags provided for free on required cattle. The association has been committed to ensuring that the use of these tags will not be set on the backs of cow-calf producers or slow down the speed of commerce. There is funding secured in both the state and federal budgets to allow tags to be given free of charge for cattle that require official animal identification.
ALABAMA CATTLEMEN’S FOUNDATION AWARDS OVER $113,000 TO HARDWORKING ALABAMA STUDENTs
On Friday, May 3, the Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation (ACF) awarded over $113,000 to 110 deserving students from across Alabama. These scholarships would not be possible without those who have purchased the Cowboy vanity car tag and the generous endowment families. We wish these students the best in their future endeavors and appreciate the involvement of their parents or grandparents in our association, which is a requirement for qualification for an ACF scholarship award!
YOUTH PRODUCTION FIELD DAYS
The Alabama Junior Cattlemen’s Association (AJCA) held its second and final Spring Field Day for 2024 on Wednesday, May 8 at the Covington Center Arena in Andalusia. Youth attendees enjoyed a BQA certification course, a roping demonstration and hands-on herd health activities.
AJCA Round-up registration is open
The Alabama Junior Cattlemen’s Association is hosting its 18th Annual Round-Up, July 18-21, 2024, in Montgomery! This Alabama Beef Checkoff-funded event features 14 youth cattle shows and contests— including a heifer show, steer show, bull show, showmanship, cattle judging, skill-a-thon, salesmanship, photography, poster, golden pitchfork, record book, ad design, battle of the beef, and team grooming. Additionally, author, speaker, and rancher Amanda Radke will be speaking at the AJCA Membership Meeting on July 19th. Registration closes July 3. For more information or to register, visit https://cvent.me/79N3A9
FFA WEEK COMING SOON
ACA staff will be participating in the FFA Career Expo June 5-6 as a part of the State FFA Convention. Any students or teachers wishing to learn about the educational resources and opportunities offered by the ACA and the Beef Checkoff Program are welcome to come by our booth.
YCLP CLASS XI KICKS OFF
Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) Class XI kicked the year off in May in conjunction with the Spring Board of Directors Meeting. The crew of young leaders spent time with our volunteer leaders from across the state to learn more about the association’s involvement and membership recruitment. Following, they toured the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and Alabama Farmers Federation facilities before wrapping up the evening with beef education at BBQ Hill in Pike Road. The next day, they traveled to Auburn to participate in a leadership training session with Dr. Adam Cletzer, followed by a tour of the Auburn University Lambert-Powell Meats Laboratory. To learn more about this year’s class, visit www.BamaBeef.org/YCLP
SOUTHEASTERN LIVESTOCK EXPOSITION UPDATE
The Garrett Coliseum has experienced personnel changes within the last year. Bill Hardin (Coliseum Manager) passed away in July 2023, and Connie Luckie (Coliseum Office Manager) retired in May 2024. Two new employees are now in place, so SLE and ACA invited the new Garrett Coliseum staff to the Cattlemen’s building for lunch in May. This was a great opportunity to get to know our new colleagues and discuss ideas for future improvements throughout the Coliseum grounds. They were open to suggestions of how to make the facilities more usable during the SLE Rodeo & Livestock Week and the AJCA Round-Up. This was a very positive meeting, and we look forward to working with them on future events.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
The ACA is aiming to go Over the Top again in 2024— help us get over 10,000 members! We are proud to report that we currently represent 9,341 members. We are grateful for the grassroots efforts of our county organizations and look forward to another year of membership advocacy alongside you!
Membership Deadlines to Remember
Remember, the Over the Top County Chapter deadline to earn your president a coveted ACA red coat is June 30. Membership must be in the office or entered in the database by June 30. Congratulations to the counties who have already gone Over the Top in 2024 – Bibb, Franklin, Geneva, Hale, Henry, Madison, Mobile, and Sumter counties!
County Meetings
As most counties across Alabama have held local chapter membership meetings, we encourage county leaders to send in updated officer information following the meeting. Submit the names and contact information of your county president and secretary to Jessica Kennedy so they can be added to our correspondence list for upcoming meetings and pertinent membership information!
ACA SPRING BOARD MEETING FOCUSES ON MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
The Spring Board of Directors Meeting was held in May, welcoming several new county presidents to the ACA headquarters building. At the meeting, board members heard an extensive report from Associate State Veterinarian Dr. Misty Edmondson about the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) situation in dairy cattle and the newly released USDA final rule for animal disease traceability. Following updates from association staff about the legislative session and spring beef checkoff programming, members were engaged by ACA President Terry Slaten regarding membership growth. During this discussion, information was shared about retaining members, recruiting new members and how county chapters already do activities in their communities. The board meeting also included the new Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YLCP) class as they learned about association business. Thank you to everyone who attended, and we look forward to seeing you in August!
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. 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.
AADA
The Alabama Agricultural Development Authority (AADA) is now accepting applications for low interest loans intended to support meat and poultry processing businesses in Alabama. Loans can be used to purchase or construct new facilities, expand existing facilities, purchase new equipment, cover start-up costs and hire additional employees.
Phase II applications are now open and will close June 14. For more information and loan application details, visit www.agi.alabama.gov/news/usda/mpilp.
CATTLE CONNECT PODCAST, TUNE IN TODAY!
In January of this year, the Cattle Connect podcast hit streaming platforms to launch the 2024 season, and it airs weekly on Friday mornings at 7AM. Listen is as staff discusses beef industry news and explores the many facets of the ACA! This podcast is available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube and at www.BamaBeef.org/Podcast. So far, this season has featured information on the history of the ACA, The MOOseum, ACA’s 2024 Legislative Priorities and recap, a convention recap, the SLE Rodeo’s unique mission, Spring culinary activities, youth event highlights and introductions to some of our association leaders. Tune in on your favorite streaming platform today to catch up on the first 16 episodes and subscribe to get notifications when a new episode airs!
BAMA BEEF EVENTS CALENDAR
The Bama Beef Events Calendar (www.BamaBeef.org/Events) is filling up with county cattlemen’s, youth and Extension activities as we look toward the summer months. Check it daily to make sure you don’t miss an event near you!
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