We’ve got two themes floating around the office this week. (1) Praying for rain and (2) National Blue and Corn Gold. We’re hoping for a rainy FFA Week here in Montgomery and across the state. As thousands of FFA students head to the Capital City, we pray rain clouds head to Alabama, and the forecast is looking good for both. Get that hay in and saddle up for a rainy weekend…finally!
FFA Week in Montgomery
Those iconic corduroy jackets have painted Downtown Montgomery as thousands of young students in agriculture are in town for the annual Alabama FFA Convention! We’re proud to be involved with this outstanding association in a number of ways this week as today we host the FFA Wall of Honor Luncheon, man a booth representing the AJCA at the Trade Show and tomorrow President Chris Langley will have the honor of presenting the Livestock and Meats Evaluation CDE awards to outstanding FFA chapters who competed in these events. The MOOseum is also open for tours, and the opportunity to tour the entire ACA building is on the table for any teacher who stops by with a group. If you’ve got children or students in town, make sure to tell them to stop by and see us!
Disaster Relief Bill awaits Signature
The long-awaited and much-needed disaster relief bill received final 
passage and is on its way to the desk of President Trump for consideration. The ACA would like to the thank the Alabama delegation for its continuous efforts to see this bill through.
“For eight long months, farmers in the Wiregrass and throughout the Southeast have waited for disaster relief aid after Hurricane Michael devastated the region last October,” Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) said in a statement. “I am very proud that Congress has at last delivered this long-overdue assistance, and I am eager to see President (Donald) Trump sign this bill into law to finally help the many Americans who have suffered extreme devastation in the wake of natural disasters across the country.”
The $19.1 billion disaster aid package includes over $3 billion for agricultural programs; payments for crop and livestock losses due to hurricanes, typhoons, volcanic activities, tornados, floods, snowstorms or wildfires during 2018 and 2019; $480 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program, which provides assistance to owners of private forests to restore disaster-damaged forests; $558 million for the Emergency Conservation Program, which provides emergency funding and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters; and $150 million for Rural Community Facilities Program, which provides grants for facilities to provide health care, education, public safety and public services to rural communities.
(Info: Alabama Political Reporter)
Grilling, Marinating and Talkin’ Beef
MOOving Along in The MOOseum
The MOOseum renovation is making strides as final edits have been sent along to the designers, quotes are being collected and the project’s lead designer is making a final trip to town for complete review before fabrication begins! ACA staffers Erin Beasley and Kayla Greer are adding the finishing touches to some of the new features of the children’s educational center and are excited for the project to begin coming to life in the near future with plans for completion by AUGUST! Stay tuned as The MOOseum moooooves forward with renovation.
AJCA ROUND-UP registration now open
Registration for the 2019 “Christmas in July” AJCA Round-Up is now live at BamaBeef.org/RoundUp. We’ve got contest entry, animal entry and novice entry…so enter the site prepared with alllllllll the info you’ll need to successfully complete including AJCA membership number, EID tag numbers, premise I.D.’s, etc. You don’t want to miss this holly jolly youth development event riding in on its sleigh July 18-21 at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery!
Speaking of youth cattle shows, ACA Director of Field Services Morgan Pounds enjoyed her weekend at the Crenshaw County Belt Buckle Classic: Summer Edition…and boy, what a show! With over 150 participants, Saturday was an eventful day in Luverne for this first-time show. Morgan enjoyed helping at check-in where she saw so many bright, young faces of Junior Cattlemen and in the ring throughout the day. Two thumbs up for a great event, Crenshaw County!
From the Membership Desk
The membership count of the day is 8,250 members and counting! HELP US GET OVER 10,000! Don’t forget that the “Over the Top” deadline is coming in hot- in fact, it’s next week! To qualify four your red coat, your county has to go Over the Top by June 15. Got questions about our “Over the Top” program? Give Jessica a call at (334) 265-1867.
If you are a county president or secretary who did not receive your 2019-2020 leadership handbook at the May Board Meeting, please email Jessica to have your copy mailed today. It’s packed with officer and staff information and resources you need in your county such as an Regional Extension Agent map, a by-laws template, ACA merchandise and postcard service information and much more. Contact Jessica Kennedy today to get your copy sent the in mail!
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ICYMI: House Bill 518— the association’s meat labeling bill— received final passage last Thursday morning, May 23. Special thank you’s are in store for Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay) and Rep. Danny Crawford (R-Athens) for the support and sponsorship of this bill. The bill ensures that the definition of “meat” only applies to products sourced from livestock on farms and ranches and harvested through processing. It also clarifies that laboratory-grown products cannot be labeled as meat. “This is proactive legislation to ensure clarity in food labeling. Around the country, there are more and more companies trying to market lab-grown products as meat, which is misleading since they aren’t derived from actual livestock production,” Sessions said. “The passage of this bill is a win-win for the consumers who love to buy beef, and the cattlemen who work hard to produce a high-quality product,” ACA Executive VP Erin Beasley concluded.
On Tuesday, ACA Director of Field Services Morgan Pounds headed south to visit Opp Stockyards. She is working with the goal of introducing herself to all of the yards in the state in an effort to build mutually beneficial relationships at each yard. Morgan delivered Opp their “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” sign and got to speak to the crowd. Be on the lookout for Morgan at your local yard, and be sure to say hi if you see her!
A summer grilling consumer e-newsletter shipped out to over 10,000 inboxes on Friday just in time for the Memorial Day holiday, which also happens to be the kickoff of summer grilling season! This digital newsletter featured recipe collections, a doneness chart, rub and marinade inspiration, tips for delicious side dishes to serve alongside beef and a quick grilling guide. It also featured information on grilling provided by Registered Dietitian Elesha Ergle, whose summer grilling information can be found by 
New to the staff at ACA, Director of Field Services Morgan Pounds wants to engage with youth at field days across the state. On Saturday, Morgan visited Blountsville, AL for the Alabama Santa Gertrudis Association Field Day & Show. Hats off to the Alabama Santa Gertrudis Association and Quail Valley Farms for hosting an excellent event. Morgan engaged in conversations with cattlemen throughout the day and enjoyed welcoming juniors to the field day and speaking to the audience about 2019 Round-Up.
Farmers Conference at Wallace State Community College. ACA provided a gold-level sponsorship for the event as well as resource materials to the attendees of the conference. Cullman County cattlemen provided a delicious lunch! Ali had the honor to talk with farmers who have served our country and are now stewards of the land as well. We tip our hat to those with a servant’s heart, especially as we head into Memorial Day weekend!
If you are spending a weekend with family by the pool, don’t forget to break out those burgers and fire up the grill. Memorial Day Weekend is the official kick-off to summer grilling season! Celebrate with a juicy burger, a sizzlin’ steak or fall-off-the-bone beef ribs.
It’s the final week of the 2019 Bama’s Best Beef contest, hosted on the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Facebook page. We’re on the hunt for a delicious, well-loved dish served up at an Alabama restaurant or food truck, and our finalists have come down to the Beef Brisket at Smokin’ on the Boulevard in Florence and the Bourbonzola Brisket Burger at Roadside ‘Que in Fort Payne. Let us tell you, folks, it’s a nail-biter of a contest. Right now, only 10 votes separate these finalists from their fight for the title. Polling ends Thursday morning, and we’ll have a statewide announcement out by the afternoon. If you haven’t already, 
floor this afternoon. If it passes, it will be sent upstairs to the Senate next week for committee action. The bill outlines that cell-cultured products cannot be labeled as meat in Alabama. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Danny Crawford and co-sponsored by Reps. Joe Lovvorn, Will Dismukes, Ralph Howard, Reid Ingram, Rodney Sullivan and Wes Kitchens. Stay tuned!
This week we hosted Congressman Mike Rogers for a brunch at the Cattlemen’s building. This event draws several associations in Montgomery to attend as he provides an snapshot of the current events in Washington, D.C. ACA President Chris Langley was able to attend and visit with the Congressman.
It’s a busy season…and one perfect for county field day events before the weather gets too steamy! This past weekend, staffer Kayla Greer enjoyed gathering with the Montgomery County Cattlemen’s Association for a farm tour of CK Cattle and Frank Turner & Sons farms. The group of 20+ enjoyed a day of learning about local farms’ beef cattle and forage programs! Meanwhile, ACA President Chris Langley visited the St. Clair County Cattlemen’s Association who also hosted an excellent field day with over 70 in attendance. Kayla Greer is also looking forward to spending this coming Saturday in Lee County for the chapter’s annual field day with an added bonus…a steak cook-off!!
a.m. on Thursday morning, May 16 to update you on association and checkoff news where Board members even get a sneak peak into the upcoming construction project of the The MOOseum. GET EXCITED! After lunch, we’ll head over to the State House to mingle with our legislators and learn more about the legislative process and get updated on current issues taking place. Don’t forget to
Board meeting, but because we’ll be kicking off the SIXTH class of the Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP). This program, funded by the Alabama State Beef Checkoff, is designed to develop young cattlemen ages 20-40 into future leaders for Alabama’s beef cattle industry. We meet throughout the year, learn about our many different leadership styles, discuss industry hot topics, encourage leadership growth and explore the industry from pasture to plate through farm tours, educational workshops and consumer events. We’re excited next week to kick off the class with the Board meeting, where the 25 students will be introduced to the Board and will explore the legislative world, followed by farm tours at Frank Ellis Charolais, McLane-Garrett Cattle Company and a tour of the Cargill Feed Mill here in Montgomery. We’ll also host a social on the evening of May 16 at Kick Back Ranch & Events Center for alumni of the program! It’s gonna be a great time. Be on the lookout for photos.
ACA staffer Ali Cantrell attended a briefing on Alabama Bicentennial Day on Monday to learn more about the upcoming festivities to come on December 13 -14. To celebrate Alabama’s 200 years of statehood, Montgomery will be hosting a parade on December 14 with 75 floats and entries showcasing Alabama history, counties, high school All-Star bands, Alabama notables, and the parade would not be complete without the beef truck and steer in tow! The rest of the day will host several celebrations, performances and demonstrations throughout downtown Montgomery including The MOOseum. Make it a point to come see us on December 14 and witness a wonderful chapter of history for the great state of Alabama!
and throw down those steaks and burgers…yuuummmm. Also, throughout April we celebrated the bright, flavorful tastes of spring with savory springtime salads! Beef Checkoff Contract Dietician Elesha Ergle 
This week’s Facebook poll challenge has the Steak & Mushroom Pie going head-to-head with the Bourbonzola Brisket Burger, and so far, the burger has got the lead! Walker County folks- get voting! And great work to Jackson County fans on pushing your local dive so far to the lead! Next week’s contest will put our other two finalists in a dual…then the two winners will duke it out for the title! Head on over to the 
It may come as no surprise to you- especially you parents out there- as kids these days are just busy! Due to so many spring activities lining up on top of each other here at the end of another school year, we decided it best to reschedule the Spring Youth Production Field Day scheduled for this Friday, April 26 in Atmore to a later date! Between important FFA eliminations, sporting events, a judging clinic and end-of-year activities, youth have too much on their calendars for now! We look forward to getting down to south Alabama for this field day later on in the year.
activities! Your state checkoff team is at work pulling numbers, putting our writing caps on and evaluating programs from 2018. After the report comes together, it will take a trip to Denver for design and approval then come back just in time for the June issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine. Be on the look out and get last year’s report in the palm of your hand!
The Alabama CattleWomen’s BEEFit 5k is THIS SATURDAY, April 13 in downtown Montgomery, and we’re excited to launch Team Bama Beef at this event. Team Bama Beef will be comprised of beef-loving fitness enthusiasts and will be supported by the beef checkoff. We’re looking for people who are committed to living an active, healthy lifestyle and who love eating beef! If you’re interested in being a part of Team Bama Beef, contact Ali Cantrell by phone or email to get some more information.
