Bama Beef News | October 2024

Welcome to the Bama Beef Blog, where you can check out the latest monthly news from the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program and the Southeastern Livestock Expo. Keep reading for more info!

October Beef Month State Promotion Activities

What a month of beef promotion it has been! Check out all that’s been happening from the state office as we celebrated 60 years of October Beef Month, a tradition that began in 1964!

OCTOBER IS BEEF MONTH PROCLAMATION SIGNING

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey proclaimed October to be Beef Month in Alabama for 2024 ahead of the many 60th October Beef Month festivities held across the state. 

TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

October Beef Month kicked off in Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood500 October 4-6! During the series weekend attended by 100,000 race fans, over 5,500 steak samples, coloring books, stickers, seasoning packets and education were shared by cattlemen and cattlewomen to help attendees celebrate the Alabama beef industry. We want to give a special thanks to Clay County Cattlemen and the Alabama Cattlewomen’s Association for their help!

MOBTOWN BURGER WEEK

The Alabama Beef Checkoff Program partnered with Restore Mobile for Mobtown Burger Week, October 4-13, to highlight beef in the southwest region of Alabama through restaurant highlights. Over 3,000 consumers participated in the burger stops and voting to crown Frank n’ Lola’s as the winner with their Supernova Burger.

SMOKE ON THE FARM

Beef was at the center of the plate during the inaugural Smoke on the Farm event at Mason Hills Farm in Grand Bay, Alabama October 11-13. October Beef Month was highlighted during the steak cookoff, a burger eating contest, a team burger cookoff and on-site media coverage. Beef cookery resources and beef production education were provided for both competitive pitmasters and local consumers throughout the weekend. Special thanks to Baldwin County Cattlemen for their help!

ALABAMA NATIONAL FAIR BEEF CONTESTS

The Alabama Beef Checkoff Program partnered with the Alabama National Fair to host three beef-centered contests on October 12 during the “11 Best Days of Fall” in Montgomery. Competitors filled three divisions – Gameday Beef Sliders, Beef Stew and Beef Tacos (youth) – with fall comfort food favorites.

WALK OF LIFE

October brings together two important promotions: Beef and Breast Cancer Awareness! During the Joy to Life Foundation’s Walk of Life on October 19, participants fueled up halfway through the 5K in Montgomery with Peanut Butter, Chocolate-Hazelnut and Chocolate Chip Beef Jerky Cookies. While families munched on these sweet and savory bites just outside The MOOseum, kids learned about beef production in Alabama.

BAINBRIDGE BLOCK PARTY

Over 350 people gathered on October 29th along Bainbridge Street in Montgomery for the Bainbridge Block Party! This annual event is a partnership between the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, Sweet Grown Alabama, the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association and the Alabama Forestry Association to familiarize Alabama consumers with the agricultural organizations housed on Bainbridge Street. Attendees enjoyed burgers, beef hotdogs, chicken wings, live music, and agriculture education just outside The MOOseum.

BEEF 101

Students from Alexander City Schools enjoyed a Beef 101 session in Auburn on October 19! Thanks to the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program, culinary students enjoyed a pasture to plate session, Q&A with industry experts, a beef-centered lunch and a beef carcass fabrication demonstration.

INFLUENCERS

Alabama Beef Checkoff Program influencers highlighted beef recipes for families on social media and cooking segments on news outlets across the state! Kathy Adams Phillips with Kathy’s Southern Kitchen partnered with WSFA, WBRC and WTVY to share some of her 10 total beef-focused segments with consumers. Dietitian Jessica Ivey shared an easy beef burger slider on WBRC in Birmingham to highlight beef’s nutrition benefits. 

NEWS FEATURES

“Sixty Savory Years” of October Beef Month was highlighted through staff interviews and beef features with WSFA, WKRG, The Land Show and Capitol Journal. Additionally, October Beef Month features were placed on WSFA, WBRC, WHNT, and WKRG to encourage Alabama Consumer celebrations.

DIGITAL MARKETING

October Beef Month was highlighted through digital ads, Head2Head social media features, and connected TV and audio streaming commercials centered around SEC Football and NASCAR races during October across Alabama. 

60 SAVORY STOPS

As a spin-off of the original Bama’s Best Burger, Bama’s Best Steak, and Bama’s Best Beef contests, the 60 Savory Stops campaign was created to highlight 60 previous winning and finalist restaurants across the state. Consumers were encouraged to visit their local restaurants and partake in the award-winning beef dishes to celebrate Beef Month. This feature reached well over 1 million Alabama consumers through the ACA social platforms, local media outlets and restaurant shares. 

County Cattlemen Celebrate Big in Beef Month!

County Cattlemen’s chapters have also gone all out as they have activated promotions in their local communities, and we could not be more proud of the creative, fun and educational opportunities they have designed to promote October Beef Month. Follow us on Facebook to get the fifth and final week’s coverage of October Beef Month county activities, coming this Friday. 

Franklin County County Cattlemen’s

  • President Michael Pounders was a guest on the Hutty Radio Show to promote the many upcoming beef promotion activities in their county and explain the vital role farmers and ranchers play in raising cattle to produce beef. 
  • Participated in the Franklin County Agricultural Industry Tour by promoting beef, discussing scholarship opportunities, and connecting with youth through a farm tour. 
  • Passed out coloring books to kids and recipes to adults at the Pumpkin Palooza in Russellville. 
  • Franklin County Cattlemen visited local schools to encourage ag literacy among local elementary students.
  • Donated beef product to several local FACS classrooms to support beef education in their communities.
  • Participated in the Spirit of Hodges Festival, where they provided local consumers with beef education resources. 
  • Were guests on a local radio show to discuss the importance of the beef industry in Alabama. 
  • President Michael Pounders spoke with attendees of the Franklin County Senior Health Fair about including beef for a well-balanced diet thanks to its many benefits, including protein, Iron, and B-Vitamins.
  • Franklin County Cattlemen Phillip Hamilton and Madeline Cooper spent some time with third graders at Russellville Elementary talking about beef cattle production and reading Madeline’s new book highlighting the beef industry! 
  • Franklin County Cattlemen Phillip Hamilton and David DeFoor had fun and enjoyed great conversation while promoting beef at the Annual Spruce Pine Day Festival.
  • County cattlemen and cattlewomen enjoyed attending the Northwest Alabama RC&D Annual Meeting held at the AW Todd Centre. This event brought multiple stakeholders and leaders together to promote committed improvements in local communities.

Elmore County Cattlemen’s

  • Elmore County Cattlemen gave out all-beef hotdogs to attendees of the Farm City Festival in Wetumpka. 
  • Visited eight local classrooms to participate in the Cowboys in the Classroom program, which highlights agriculture literacy. 
  • Partnered with Stanhope Elmore FFA to host a steak sandwich sale with proceeds going back to the youth agriculture education program.

Lauderdale County Cattlemen’s

  • ·Cooked at their Annual Oktoberfest.
  • Partnered with the Lauderdale County Farmers Federation to provide the meal for the groundbreaking ceremony at the new Lauderdale County Ag Center.
  • Participated in the Lauderdale County 4-H Beef Cookoff by assisting with judges and prizes. 
  • Held its annual heifer show on October 19 to highlight the youth cattle projects they have been working on!  
  • Were featured throughout their local “October Beef Month” newspaper edition! 

Montgomery County Cattlemen’s

  • Local cattlemen enjoyed a delicious spread and bull selection education at the October Beef Breakfast hosted by Montgomery County Extension and sponsored by the Montgomery County Cattlemen’s Association.
  • President Eddie Westbrook hosted a group of FFA students to apply the hands-on cattle handling skills they have learned about. Students were able to practice working cattle in a chute, give injections and visit with a veterinarian to learn more about animal husbandry. 
  • Grilled a steak dinner pre-game meal for members of the Hooper Academy Colts varsity football team, cheerleaders and coaches. At the center of the plate was a ribeye steak, raised and processed locally by a Montgomery County cattle operation.

Morgan County Cattlemen’s

  • Morgan County kicked off their October Beef Month festivities with their quarterly membership meeting, where ACA President Dr. Terry Slaten was the guest speaker. 

Sumter County Cattlemen’s

  • Sumter County kicked off beef month festivities by placing a sign at their local school promoting October as Beef Month and encouraging students to post a picture with it on their way in every morning!
  • Visited a local school as part of the Cowboys in the Classroom program, where they read to almost 300 students.
  • Participated in BQA training at their local school, complete with a burger lunch and hands-on application. 

Dale County Cattlemen’s

  • Featured in their local paper highlighting their involvement in Farm-City. 
  • Visited a local school as part of the Cowboys in the Classroom program, where they read to eight classrooms. 

DeKalb & Jackson counties

  • DeKalb and Jackson County Cattlemen partnered to host the Livestock Wintering Strategies program for producers in their area, complete with steak sandwiches. 

Marengo County Cattlemen’s

  • Posted a billboard in their community encouraging consumers to celebrate October Beef Month and become a part of the association. 

St. Clair County Cattlemen’s

  • Partnered with others in their community to gather supplies for affected areas and provide transportation to deliver them. 
  • Provided steak samples to third graders and volunteers at the St. Clair County Soil and Water Conservation District annual Farm Day field trip. Board members held a station and educated students about the beef industry and provided a small steak sample for them to try. 

Walker County Cattlemen’s

  • Hosted its 2024 Beef Cookoff. 

Covington County Cattlemen’s

  • Hosted a group of local ag students for an on-farm field day. Students learned about hands-on agriculture production and had the opportunity to build relationships with local cattlemen who are established in the industry. 
  • Partnered with Covington County 4-H to sponsor their cooking club and the kids cooked hamburgers. Volunteers also talked to the kids about different cuts of meat and safe cooking temps.
  • Cooked steak sandwiches for 135 high school teachers to show appreciation to them and in honor of Beef Month. 

Cullman County Cattlemen’s

  • Joined Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs to proclaim “October is Beef Month’’ in Cullman. 

Clay County Cattlemen’s

  • Clay County Cattlemen visited 12 local classes to participate in the Cowboys in the Classroom program, complete with live animal demonstrations. 
  • Hosted its Youth Beef Cookoff in celebration of October Beef Month. 

Pike County Cattlemen’s

  • Pike County Cattlemen’s Rodeo Queen, Junior Miss and Little Miss passed out beef samples at the Pike County Fair. 

Geneva County Cattlemen’s

  • Geneva County cattle producers took beef education to their kids during Mission Kids classes. 

Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarships— Apps Closing Soon!

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. Explore these many opportunities and APPLY today at www.BamaBeef.org/Scholarships. Applications close THIS Sunday, November 3.

Hurricane Relief Gives Big

Many states in the Southeast suffered catastrophic damage this month with two large hurricanes making landfall within two weeks of each other. Hurricane Helene hit the Florida Panhandle before trekking up through southeast Georgia and into the Carolinas, impacting cattle country through all the states. Following, Hurricane Milton hit south Florida with tremendous flooding and wind damage, again having huge impacts on cattle operations across the state. To assist those affected by the storms, the Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation organized clean up crews in Georgia and donated to hurricane relief funds in states. Additionally, monetary donations equaling more than $17,000 and fencing materials were collected at drop points in Alabama and delivered to neighboring Cattlemen’s Associations for use in repairing cattle farms. A big thank you goes to each individual and county Cattlemen’s Association that gave to these efforts!

Christmas From Cowboys

Give someone the gift of membership this holiday season! Gift your friends or colleagues a membership to the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association through the Christmas From Cowboys membership drive. For $50, the person who receives your gifted membership will receive all of our exclusive member benefits, including 12 issues of the Alabama Cattleman magazine. The promotion is now live, and is a great way to get a new member into the organization. To learn more and get to gifting, visit BamaBeef.org/Christmas. 

Alabama National Fair

Junior Cattlemen from across the state came to Montgomery October 3-4 to exhibit their cattle at the Alabama National Fair. Congratulations to the winners:

Junior Premier Exhibitor

1st: Camden Upchurch of Clay County

2nd: Claire Smith of Chilton County

3rd: Anthony Mezrano of Shelby County

4th: Collins Cofield of Randolph County

5th: Kandili McCain of Clay County

Intermediate Premier Exhibitor

1st: Caleb Cook of Autauga County

2nd: Lilly Smith of Chilton County

3rd: Mason Smith of Marshall County

4th: Kloee Sewell of Dale County

5th: Lily Downey of Autauga County

Senior Premier Exhibitor

1st: Shae McCain of Clay County

2nd: Rileigh Mears of Blount County

3rd: Lyndee Meadows of Randolph County

4th (tie): Ashbee Norman of Montgomery County

4th (tie): Amelia Thrower of Marshall County

Top 5 Market Animals

Champion: Mason Smith, Marshall

Reserve: Carson Fallin, Blount

3rd Overall: Emma King Armstrong, Dale

4th Overall: Sara Beth Faust, Blount

5th Overall: Jessi Maples, Lee

Top 5 Breeding Heifers

Supreme: Laura-Landers Franklin, Marshall

Reserve Supreme: Mary Elliot Martin, Lee

3rd Overall: Camden Upchurch, Clay

4th Overall: Sara Beth Faust, Blount

5th Overall: Laura-Landers Franklin, Marshall

Supreme Bred & Owned Heifer: Camden Upchurch, Clay

Reserve Supreme Bred & Owned Heifer: Cole Eubanks, Cullman

Saddle Up for the 2025 SLE Rodeo

The 2025 SLE Rodeo is only 135 days away, and we are now accepting sponsor partners! Countless cattlemen across the state are wonderful supporters of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition, and for that we are grateful! If you are interested in helping to fulfill the SLE mission of supporting youth in agriculture through sponsorship of the SLE Rodeo,  please take a moment to review through this 2025 SLE Rodeo Sponsorship Guide. Want to learn a little more? Check out our Official SLE Rodeo Video to fully understand the purpose of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition. If you have questions about sponsorships, don’t hesitate to reach out to SLE Executive Director Sarah Hunter.

Be sure to mark your calendars to join us in Montgomery at the Garrett Coliseum for the SLE Rodeo March 14-16, 2025. Tickets will go on sale December 3 (rodeo tickets make great stocking stuffers for Christmas!). Be sure to only purchase tickets through the SLE or Garrett Coliseum box offices or online through the SLE website: www.SLERodeo.com. 

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

We are proud to announce that the ACA has gone OVER THE TOP in 2024! Representing more than 10,339 members, we are grateful for the grassroots efforts that got us to this point, with time to spare in the membership year! We look forward to awarding Over the Top County presidents their iconic red coats at the Nov. 14 Board Meeting in Montgomery.

Membership Deadlines to Remember

We are in the last stretch to recruit new members for Top Hand prizes. The top recruiter will be awarded ten 12’ Priefert panels. Also, new members recruited will go into the drawing for a John Deere Gator and your name will be entered for each new member you recruit. Don’t forget, all county chapters who go Over the Top by year end will go into the drawing for the Priefert Squeeze Chute. Get those memberships entered or sent to the office by the deadline to count! Special thanks to our membership sponsors at SunSouth, LLC, TriGreen Equipment, John Deere, and Priefert Ranch Equipment for their generous support of our membership recruitment prizes.

County Meetings

We need your county meeting dates ASAP if you would like them to run in the magazine or order a postcard to be sent. This is the easiest way to get the word out to your members! Send the date, time, and location information to ACA Director of Membership Jessica Kennedy. 

Magazine Deadlines for County Meetings

December Magazine

  • Meetings on or before December 5 – Send information by Nov 5 for the magazine.

January Magazine

  • Meeting dates on or before January 10 – Need information by Nov 5 for the December magazine.
  • Meeting dates after January 10 – Need information by December 5 for the January magazine.

February Magazine

  • Meeting dates on or before February 10 – Need information by Dec 5 for the January magazine.
  • Meeting dates after February 10 – Need information by January 5 for the February magazine.

Beef Checkoff Task Force Meeting— You’re Invited! 

If you’re interested in engaging with the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program, join us at the upcoming Beef Checkoff Task Force Meeting. At this meeting, attendees from the beef cattle industry will work to develop ideas and programs for FY25 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 21. 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.

Rebates Available on Livestock and Grazing Practices

Alabama’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts are reminding cattle producers that application sign-up for the Alabama Conservation Incentive Program (CIP) has begun! CIP supports several conservation practices for livestock and grazing including watering facilities, exclusion and cross fencing. corral systems and feed troughs. Eligible applicants can receive a 75 percent rebate on the cost of installation. Check with your local soil and water conservation district for price caps and application deadlines. For more information, visit https://alabamasoilandwater.gov/cip/

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.

CATTLE CONNECT PODCAST, TUNE IN TODAY! 

Tune into the Cattle Connect podcast weekly on Friday mornings at 7AM. Listen is as staff discusses beef industry news, hits on a variety of educational topics and explores the many facets of the ACA! This podcast is available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and at www.BamaBeef.org/Podcast. Tune in on your favorite streaming platform today to catch up on the first 30+ 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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