Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. His faithful love endures forever.” -Psalm 136:1
Christmas From Cowboys
Give someone the gift of membership this holiday season! Gift your friends, family 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 gifting, visit BamaBeef.org/Christmas.
REGISTER FOR ACA CONVENTION
Make plans to join us for the 82nd annual ACA Convention & Trade Show February 21-22, 2025 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (BJCC) in Birmingham, AL. In addition to vast networking opportunities, banquets featuring delicious beef meals and the Alabama beef industry’s largest trade show, the event will provide educational workshops, youth competitions and industry meetings.
While the 2025 event will bring back old favorites, it also welcomes some *NEW* features to the event, including: a Friday & SATURDAY Evening Happy Hour, earlier trade show hours on Friday, a Friday Lunch & Learn opportunity for BQA certification, and a LIVE Elite Livestock Sales video cattle auction in the trade show on Friday afternoon!
- Convention Website: https://cvent.me/kz5RYK
- Registration: https://cvent.me/82XM85
- Lodging: https://cvent.me/m8QLg1
- Trade Show Information: https://cvent.me/ENnM0y
- Schedule: https://cvent.me/g54N7w
- Youth Contest Registration: https://cvent.me/Z58zn0
We’ll be beefin’ up the ‘Ham February 21-22, 2025, and we hope to see you there!
Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program Update
The Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) Council went on an industry trip to Oklahoma in early November. The group— consisting of Daniel Adams, Bullock County; John Gibson, Choctaw County; William Morgan, Coffee County; Chris Bell, Monroe County; Michael Smith, Shelby County; Shelby Marsh, Hale County; and Aisling Walding, Dale County; and ACA President Dr. Terry Slaten— toured the Oklahoma State University Beef Unit, Oklahoma National Stockyards, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Oklahoma State Capitol, and Bullnanza Collection Facility. They also enjoyed a meal and industry discussion at the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.
Back home the following week, Class 11 of the YCLP held its fourth session in the Blackbelt region. The class toured Middle Creek Cattle Company in Minter, as well as Prairie Lakes Farms and Drury Catfish and Cattle in Greensboro. The young leaders also participated in a leadership workshop on organizational change as well as a workshop on soil and hay testing.
Applications for YCLP Class 12 will open Monday, December 2. Young people who are ACA members aged 22-40 are encouraged to apply at BamaBeef.org/YCLP.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
Representing 10,381 members, we are grateful for the grassroots efforts that got us over the top in 2024!
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.
County Cattlemen’s Give Generously During Relief Effort
Following the catastrophic landfalls of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation organized clean up efforts, a fencing materials collection and facilitated monetary donations to cattlemen in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and County Cattlemen’s chapters across the state, a total of $33,656 was donated to affected states. In addition, a truckload of materials was delivered to North Carolina for distribution, and a clean up team went to work in Georgia.
The County Cattlemen’s chapters who made monetary contributions were:
- Autauga County
- Bullock County
- Clay County
- Colbert County
- Coosa County
- Crenshaw County
- Dekalb County
- Elmore County
- Hale County
- Henry County
- Limestone County
- Macon County
- Russell County
- Winston County
Thank you, individuals and county chapters, for your generosity!
Don’t Forget Private Treaty Remittance
As the end of the year approaches, cattlemen are encouraged to check their records and remit any private treaty beef checkoff collections that are due. By law, cattlemen are required to submit the $1 National Beef Checkoff and $1 Alabama Beef Checkoff for each head of cattle sold. This applies to any cattle sold off the farm through private treaty sale or direct to consumer. Online payment is accepted on BamaBeef.org/PrivateTreaty. Your compliance is greatly appreciated so beef education, marketing, research and youth programs can continue to be strong in Alabama.
Beef Promotion & Education Efforts Strong in November
BEEF 101
High school culinary students from Daphne, Opelika and Talladega rounded out the 2024 Beef 101 sessions at Auburn University’s Beef Unit and Meat Lab in November. Students learned about beef production from the pasture to the plate and furthered their culinary education during a carcass fabrication demonstration. Beef 101 session dates for Spring 2025 will be released soon! For more information about this program, contact Josie Jones at josie@bamabeef.org.
Elberta Middle School
Elberta Middle School students in Baldwin County enjoyed a beef basics discussion with ACA’s Josie Jones on November 12. The students enjoyed pasture to plate and agriculture career discussions as part of their culinary education. For beef education resources in classrooms, contact Josie Jones at josie@bamabeef.org.
Feeding Change Conference
ACA’s Josie Jones offered beef education to attendees of the 2024 Hunger Solutions Institute at Auburn University Feeding Change Conference in Montgomery, November 6-7. Major topics included agriculture education, food deserts and improving local food systems.
Checkoff Task Force
Educators, Extension employees, cattle producers and other partners gathered for the Alabama Beef Checkoff Task Force meeting on November 21 to evaluate 2024 Alabama Beef Checkoff programming and brainstorm for programs in 2025. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Rollins Tapped for Secretary of Agriculture
The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) would like to congratulate Brooke Rollins on her nomination for Secretary of Agriculture.
NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane issued a statement regarding the nomination: “From her time as a college student studying agriculture development to her distinguished career in Texas and Washington, Brooke Rollins has a history of fighting for Main Street and rural America. America’s cattle producers need a Secretary of Agriculture who will protect family farms and ranches, roll back crushing regulations, and stand up for rural values—and we look forward to working with Secretary-Designate Rollins to make it happen.”
SADDLE UP FOR THE 2025 SLE RODEO
The 2025 SLE Rodeo is only 107 days away, and the organization is now accepting sponsor partners! 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.
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 40 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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