A little rain, a little warm weather, a little Easter celebration…it all makes for a heart-warming week for Alabama’s cattlemen. We hope you enjoyed Easter festivities with family this past weekend and that spring is bursting out on your farm. We know green grass is a welcomed sight for cattlemen following a long winter of feeding hay! While you enjoy looking out over your pastures, your state staff is looking out over a FULL calendar of events headed our way. Between the Cattlemen’s Bus Tour, the upcoming Bama’s Best Beef contest, BEEF 101 programs, the AJCA Production Field Day and Round-Up events…there’s much to look forward to if you’re part of Alabama’s beef cattle industry. Keep reading to learn more and always feel free to reach out to us with questions!
April BEEF 101 Programs
April is not short on BEEF 101 programs by any means…in fact, there’s SIX throughout the month! This week alone, staffers are spending two days at the Auburn University Beef Unit and Meats Lab to head up BEEF 101 programs with Lawson State Culinary program today and Trenholm State Culinary and Greenville High School Culinary students on Friday. Be sure to check out the May magazine for an update on these programs and big thanks to the cattlemen and meats lab staff who help us make this program a success!
YOUTH PRODUCTION FIELD DAY
Registration is now available for our upcoming Youth Production Field Day happening at Langley Farms in Chambers County, Alabama on April 21. We’re going to cover a variety of topics using the expertise of Alabama Extension personnel including forages, assisted calving, Beef Quality Assurance and body condition scoring. Following a morning of learning and lunch, attendees will have the opportunity to tour Langley Farms with ACA President-Elect Chris Langley and family.
This event is FREE and open to all Alabama youth. If you have any questions, please contact Michael Agar at (334) 265-1867. To register, visit BamaBeef.org/ProductionFD.
Legislative Session Wrap Up
The legislative session finished last week, and your ACA Executive Vice President and registered lobbyist Erin Beasley spent plenty of time at the Alabama State House where she acted in a watchdog role protecting cattlemens’ interests and your right to farm. Hear more of what Erin had to say about this session by clicking here.
April Magazine In Your Inbox
If you’re a member of the ACA, and you’ve supplied us with your email address, then you should have received your digital copy of the Alabama Cattleman magazine in your email inbox on Tuesday! If you didn’t get that email and would like to receive it each month as part of a perk of your membership, give Jessica Kennedy a call at (334) 265-1867 and make sure she has your email address. If you’re a member and would like access, give Kayla Greer a call at the number above to receive the password to the magazine online!
Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program Class V
The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association recognizes the need to cultivate our future leaders of the association and industry. The Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP), funded in part by the Alabama State Beef Checkoff, aims to do just that by identifying the state’s top young cattlemen and developing them into leaders of the future.
We are thrilled with all the outstanding applicants for Class V and regret to announce that the application period is now closed for 2018-2019. We’re excited, however, to announce that an invitation to be part YCLP Class V has been extended to 26 young cattlemen from across Alabama, and they’ll gather in Montgomery on May 16-17 for their first session in conjunction with the Spring Board of Directors Meeting. This session will include a day full of farm tours, a cookout social with program alumni leadership training with Dr. Don Mulvaney and an inside peek at what goes on during a Board meeting.
Congratulations to all who have been selected for the 2018-2019 class of the Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program. If you’d like to get in on next year’s program, contact Michael Agar today!
PRODUCER NEWS Hits Inboxes
Thanks to outstanding input from Alabama’s beef cattle producers, the 2018
Alabama Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan budgeted for four quarterly producer communications pieces to be generated and email blasted to members’ inboxes throughout this year. Last week, we emailed the first edition of the Cattle Call out to over 10,000 inboxes. This newsletter takes important tidbits from the Bama Beef Blog that highlight overall activities from the first few months of 2018 and summarize them in an easy-to-read format that can be read on your phone, tablet or desktop computer!
This is just one more way we are keeping Alabama’s cattle producers connected to their state association. We want you to be informed because there is as much strength in knowledge as there is in numbers! If you want to be sure you’re on the list to receive this newsletter next time, send ACA Director of Social Media & Communications Kayla Greer your preferred email address today!
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
ACA Membership Coordinator Jessica Kennedy is hard at work inputting membership. Her stack is growing- which is a great problem to have- but county secretaries can help out by calling her at 334-265-1867 and scheduling a webinar so they can learn how to input county information! This will help greatly as we approach our Over the Top deadline which is APRIL 15! Yes, the deadline has been extended!
VISIT THE MOOSEUM
As spring arrives, school groups are heading out to enjoy the beautiful weather in downtown Montgomery. With that comes a full scene at The MOOseum! County chapters- we encourage you all to reach out to local fourth grade classes and sponsor their trip to The MOOseum. It’s free to attend, but some assistance in gas costs could go a long way toward teaching our young people about Alabama’s very important beef cattle industry! We’d even love to see you tag along on their trip and enjoy a day with us. To learn more about The MOOseum, visit BamaBeef.org/TheMOOseum!
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