Happy Wednesday!
The rain is subsiding just in time to dry things off for a busy, beefy holiday weekend! You may not know it, but Memorial Day Weekend is one of the beefiest holidays of the year. Not only is it the kickoff of summer grilling season, but Sunday, May 28 is National Hamburger Day! May is also recognized as National Beef Month, National Burger Month and National BBQ Month. That in itself calls for a delicious celebration!! We hope your family has a happy and blessed long weekend. The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association would like to tip its hat to America’s fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. As it has been said, “If you ate today, thank a farmer. If you ate in peace, thank a soldier.” There’s some powerful words for an important day of memorializing America’s finest.
Before the long weekend arrives, though, we have to finish up the work week! Take a break from all the business around you to catch up on all that’s happening with the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association this week.
Membership UPdate- Final notices
The membership renewal final notice will go out THIS Friday! All membership remittances will come back to the state office, so be sure to send in all membership before Friday so paid members do not receive a renewal notice in the mail. County leaders: check with the state office to utilize any county credits and expedite the process if available. Call Jessica Kennedy at (334) 265-1867.
We still have plenty of raffle tickets available for each of you to sell for the John Deere Gator drawing. There will be a prize for the person who sells the most raffle tickets. They come in books of 10 and Jessica can mail them out today! Email Jessica
AJCA Round-Up Planning Underway
ACA Intern Logan Strock gathered AJCA directors in the Cattlemen’s Building yesterday under the charge of AJCA President Cameron Catrett to make some very important steps in the finalization of AJCA Round-Up planning. The 11th annual Round-Up will be held July 20-23 at the Garrett Coliseum, and it’s bringing a “South of the Border” flare to Montgomery to help celebrate 11 years of Round-Up fun!
During yesterday’s meeting, directors finalized the show rules and schedule, discussed modifications to the contests and contest rules and planned prizes to be awarded for the contests. Logan would like it noted that there have been a few rule modifications to this year’s AJCA Round Up, so it is important to read the Round Up rules carefully.
Rules and a schedule will be posted online shortly while registration will open June 1 at 8:30 a.m. at www.bamabeef.org/roundup.
Bama’s Best Beef
Bama’s Best Beef is underway and looking delicious! The Week #1 Photo Challenge has kicked off and the competition is fierce between our Asian and Hispanic category finalists!
Old Town Stock House of Gunterville’s “Tteok Galbi” is described as “Korean marinated beef served on house steam buns.” Tuco’s Tex Mex Ca
ntina in Auburn’s “Tex Mex Lasagna” is described as a “three-layer tortilla lasagna of seasoned ground beef, refried beans, and red chili sauce, topped with our delicious Monterey and cheddar blend cheese and finished with pico de gallo and a sprinkle of cotija cheese.”
These two are dueling it out on Facebook this week. At this point, Old Town Stock House is taking the lead in the contest with 189 “reactions” vs Tuco Tex Mex Cantina’s 118 “reactions.” If they’re from your area, be sure to spread the word to VOTE on the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Facebook page. Help us promote Alabama’s delicious and unique beef dishes!
Culinary Fight Club Alabama “Blended Burger Battle”
The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association is excited to sponsor the Culinary Fight Club Alabama “Blended Burger Battle” happening Thursday night from 6-9 p.m. at Central in downtown Montgomery. We’re sponsoring the beef as area chefs go head-to-head to craft the best burger in show. Our own Erin Beasley will be serving as a guest judge while staff attends to support the beef-centric event.
It’s sure to be a delicious time! The winner of this contest will move forward to compete on Alabama’s team in the World Food Championship’s Burger category in Orange Beach this November. The event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased here.
Headed East- Langley Farm Visit
Last but certainly not least, two ACA staffers are spending the day in Lafayette (Chambers County) with Vice President Chris Langley and family. Dr. Billy Powell and Erin Beasley headed east today to visit Langley Farms and explore its operations as well as spend time with Chris to discuss his new role as vice presdient of the association.
We are grateful to the Langley Family for hosting us today and will enjoy getting out of the office to visit a wonderful family and a beautiful farm. If you want to learn more about Chris and his family, click here.
MBA & YCLP Summertime Digital Tool Kit
MBA State Coordinator and ACA Director of Social Media & Communications Kayla Greer has been working to create a “digital took kit” for graduates of both the Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program and the Masters of Beef Advocacy program to use during the summertime. The tool kit features graphics, captions, images and ideas about how to effectively post about all that goes on around the beef cattle industry during the summer months.
Recipients will be given beef imagery, tips on how to post about summer farm work such as baling and forage management and ideas on how to put a “face to the beef” by promoting beef as a cattle producer. If you’re an active or alumni YCLP or a graduate of the MBA program, be on the lookout for those to appear in your inbox today! Call Kayla at (334) 265-1867 with questions.
Until then, be sure to celebrate National Burger Day this Sunday, May 28 with a delicious Burger Bar!
Here’s a Few Handy Links You May Enjoy:
Thanks for reading this week’s post! Until we post again next week , we want to remind you that you can stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Have a great week!
We’ve got a new face in the office as Logan Strock has started his summer internship with the ACA this week! Logan is from White City in Autauga County and is a student at Mississippi State pursuing his degree in agriscience education. He’s with us this summer to help plan the 11th annual, Fiesta-themed AJCA Round-Up held at the Garrett Coliseum July 20-23. He’s already off to a great start as he’s lining up contest judges and preparing to host Junior directors for a planning meeting next Tuesday!
ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy wanted to make sure you all got the reminder that the year-end “Over the Top” deadline is the May 9th Board Meeting. Counties who have gone “Over the Top” and have at least 100 members will be included in the drawing for the Priefert Chute. We have 20 counties who are within an arm’s length of going “Over the Top,” and your chance at a $5,000 Priefert squeeze chute should be encouragement enough! If that’s not enough, county presidents who go “Over the Top” will receive an award at the 2018 ACA Convention and TWO free banquet tickets.
It’s an exciting week for social media! The 2nd annual Bama’s Best Beef contest has kicked off in search of Alabama’s most unique beef dish! The contest starts out with a nomination round which will be open until midnight on May 13. Following a week of deliberation to select a finalist in the Asian, Hispanic, All-American and Other categories, the final four dishes will go head-to-head in Facebook Photo Challenges with the hopes of being crowned “Bama’s Best Beef.”
Erin Beasley enjoyed a nice visit with longtime friend of the Cattlemen’s Association, Gov. Kay Ivey. During the meeting, the trio discussed issues relating to the beef cattle industry and rural Alabama.
kick off next Monday and Tuesday for the year. Twenty-five outstanding cattlemen between 21-40 years of age will commit to this program over the next year to learn more about the association, develop leadership skills and increase their overall knowledge of the cattle industry. Moving forward, this program will continue to show its worth by seeing graduates move into leadership roles at the county and state level.
For those who may have missed the news last week, the ACA is excited to have Logan Strock in our office this summer as he has accepted an internship where he will lead the effort in putting on the 11th annual AJCA Round-Up. Logan is a current AJCA director and a student at Mississippi State University where he is studying agricultural education.
Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum. Stay tuned as rules and registration information will be made available late May. We can’t wait to see you there!
met to discuss final reports on the 2017 SLE Rodeo and livestock week and to make decisions regarding the 2018 show. The committee is excited to announce that the 61st annual SLE Rodeo, along with Frontier Rodeo Company and PRCA Freestyle Bullfighting, will come bucking back to Montgomery March 15-17, 2018. Save the dates now!
The ACA Facebook page has reached another milestone this week as we broke through to 16,000 followers!! For those non-Facebookers out there, this means that we reach over 16,000 people a day with our positive message about beef and beef cattle production. This year’s goal is 25,000 so help us get there and spread the word to LIKE our page!
On Tuesday, the Ag Coalition met at the ACA to continue monitoring activity in the state legislature then ACA leaders Dr. Billy Powell and Erin Beasley spent this afternoon at the State House meeting with staff and visiting with elected officials. This afternoon, we were pleased to host a luncheon for Sen. Luther Strange as he is in town on his Spring Break. He gave us an update from Washington D.C. and made a few comments on the special election announced for August 15.
Tomorrow stopped by today to visit The MOOseum and to learn more about our association. This is a crop of students at Auburn’s College of Agriculture who are studying under the Agricultural Communication curriculum and will become the marketing, PR, communication and journalism leaders of the agricultural industry throughout their diverse careers. After touring the building and meeting the staff, the group had a Q&A session with ACA Director of Social Media and Communications and Agricultural Communication alumna Kayla Greer.
During April, the state beef checkoff has supported multiple hands-on BQA workshops at Research and Extension Centers across the state. We anticipate that close to 200 cattlemen will become BQA certified through this effort, led by Dr. Soren Rodning who is the BQA coordinator for Alabama. Great work to Dr. Rodning and his team as well as the many cattlemen who have come out to learn and get certified!
Board Members: Please don’t forget that the Spring Board Meeting is set for Tuesday, May 9. Make plans to attend as it will be a great meeting and day spent at the State House meeting elected officials from your districts!
This week we are excited to host a special group of youngsters to The MOOseum as the First Family brings a group from their home county. ACA President Richard Meadows will be joining his youngest, Luke, and his fourth grade class from Houston Academy as they tour The MOOseum today. This is a busy time of year in our children’s educational center as fourth graders from across the state are traveling to Montgomery to put their entire year’s worth of Alabama History education to the test by touring Capitol Hill.
Be sure to check out all of the BQA trainings that will be held during April and May at the Research & Extension Centers across the state. All of these will be hands-on, interactive trainings to achieve BQA certification. Earning your BQA certification has never been easier, so don’t miss out on the opportunity. Visit us online to learn more. 
Auburn University. The checkoff-funded program, BEEF 101, will host over 200 individuals from culinary students to Extension personnel who all share an interest of learning more about beef from pasture to plate. Cattlemen are encouraged to attend if they are interested. The dates are April 5, 10, 21 and 26. 
Who’s seen one of those catchy recipe videos produced by Buzzfeed Tasty? They’re quick, fun and make preparing even the most difficult dishes look like a breeze. Well, your Beef Checkoff here in Alabama is jumping on the recipe video bandwagon. Last week, Checkoff staffers Kayla Greer and Erin Beasley set up shop to film four different recipes perfect for different times of the year including summertime, back to school season, tailgating and the holidays.
We would like to remind you to keep these fellow cattle families in your prayers. We would also like to give a shout out to Cullman County cattleman Cody Rasco and his team of volunteers for answering the cry for help out west. Cody worked to gather fencing supplies and organized a team to take the load out west to donate and offer a helping hand. In his 
Chandler of Titus, Ala. Sarah Grace is 14 years old and has a beautiful voice you can all hear at the Friday night performance of the show. Not only was Sarah Grace’s audition outstanding, we had many!! So many, in fact, that the committee elected to select an entry for each show! We are excited to have Sydni Sikes with her sign language interpretation to perform at Wednesday’s Miracle Rodeo, Ella Langley of Hope Hull perform Thursday night, Sarah Grace Chandler on Friday and Mary Kate McPherson of Faunsdale at the Saturday matinee show.
ACA Assistant Executive Vice President Erin Beasley is spending time today the Certified Angus Beef Specialist Seminar in Mobile as it features foodservice and retail specialists from around the world. The conference focuses on education about the product from Pasture to Plate. By gaining more knowledge about this product, we can improve our education programs with retail and foodservice partners who sell CAB.
The members of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition met at the building on Tuesday for rodeo committee updates and to host Montgomery-area media in for a steak luncheon. SLE President Walter Crim, color commentator and Frontier Rodeo Company General Manager Don Gay and 2017 SLE Rodeo entertainer Trent McFarland informed the media about what to expect at this year’s show!
Max Bozeman will shining their faces on the Charlie Platt show on Thursday in Dothan to present him with “TV Broadcaster of the Year” plaque he was awarded at this year’s convention. Charlie does an outstanding job of helping us promote beef during October Beef Month and is a big fan of Alabama’s beef cattle industry.