We’ve
all been hearing on the news that meat consumption is too high and it’s causing
a rise health issues, but this week’s #BeefFactFriday is here to tell you
otherwise!
According
to www.FactsAboutBeef.com,
the average American consumes 5.1oz of protein foods per day, and the 2010
Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming 5.5oz of protein foods
per day. This means that Americans are consuming these types of foods within
dietary guidelines! But wait, there's more...
Even
better than that- research suggests that Americans could benefit from adding a
high-quality protein, such as lean beef, to their diets because of the positive
effect it could have on weight management, disease prevention and healthy
aging. Further, most Americans prefer a lean cut of beef which is packed with
powerful nutrients which, as part of a heart-healthy diet and lifestyle, has
proven to help improve cholesterol levels.
As
the graph shows, total and saturated fat from meats have decreased over the
years despite higher intakes. Beef consumption contributes less cholesterol to
American diets, has the same heart-healthy fatty acids found in olive oil and
contributes less than 5 percent of total calories to an American diet! So #EatMoreBeef
and live a healthy life! Get more information on the benefits of lean beef at http://woman.thenest.com/benefits-lean-beef-1826.html.
The
year 1979 was a good one for Kittiwake Farms of Jasper, Ala! This week’s
#ThrowbackThursday pictures the trophy presentation of the Reserve Champion
Bull at the Alabama Polled Hereford Association’s annual Blue Ribbon Show. From
L-R are Kittiwake owner Grady Sparks, show judge Truman Lawrence and Kittiwake
manager Bob Ebert.
After many out of Alabama while operating in other states, Kittiwake returned to Alabama. Everyone loves a good "return to the farm" story!
The AJCA Round-Up is over and the final "thank you" letters are being sent today, and our staff is catching its breath from the busy weekend and gearing up for a busy month of August! Not too much exciting stuff is going on around the office this week, so for #WhatsGoingOnWednesday, we're going to do more of a #WhatsAheadWednesday! Check it out:
Beef Checkoff at the FACS Summer Conference
Erin Beasley is spending her day doing checkoff work in Birmingham as she runs a beef education course with Culinard Culinary School. This afternoon she will be talking to Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teachers during a breakout session at their summer conference. Erin will be presenting the new lesson plans for beef consumer education materials.
Alabama Legislature
The special session reconvenes Monday, Aug. 3 and following the session at the State House, Ag Commissioner John McMillan with the Department of Ag and other ag organizations in the state are having a dinner meeting with house and senate leadership about topics discussed in the session. The dinner will be hosted at the Alabama Cattlemen's Association building, and ACA reps will be in attendance.
What's Ahead?
While we catch our breath and unwind from the Round-Up, we are also preparing ourselves for the busy month ahead. August brings with it many important meetings that will have an effect on future events hosted by the ACA and the SLE.
During August we will be having a SLE committee meetings to work out a schedule of events for the 2016 rodeo, and the Junior Beef Expo committee will be in to work on the 2016 state show in March during SLE season. Meetings to discuss and plan the remodeling the MOOseum will come back to life in hopes of taking some large steps toward updating the visitor's experience. Last but certainly not least, our Summer Board of Directors meeting will be on August 27 at the ACA building.
Meatloaf is always one of those meals that the kids go "ewwww" to, but now you have a chance to change their minds! The website www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com is packed full of creative, out-of-the-box recipes that can make dinnertime fun! Not only does it come with great recipes, but you can get nutrition information, step-by-step instructions and cooking tips there too!
For example- like we said before- kids aren't historically the biggest fans of meatloaf, but they can be with this week's #TastyTuesday recipe! Make that meatloaf mini and kids will go from turning their noses up to begging for more!
These five-way mini meatloaves are so fun! They come with the base recipe for the meatloaf and four different cultural spins that you can add to give that loaf a little love- including Italian, Greek, Spanish and Asian. If you're more of a cheese and ketchup meatloaf fan, that's fine, but we thought the "Italian" recipe incorporated some typical pantry (or fridge!) items that could add some zest to your family's dinner.
Check out this fun recipe that kids are sure to love!
Having trouble seeing this graphic? Click here for the recipe.
Nutrition information per serving, Italian version:
229 calories
10 g fat (4 g saturated fat; 4 g monounsaturated fat)
108 mg cholesterol
381 mg sodium
7 g carbohydrate
0.7 g fiber
27 g protein
7.0 mg niacin
0.4 mg vitamin B6
2.4 mcg vitamin B12
3.4 mg iron
21.8 mcg selenium
6.2 mg zinc
108.0 mg choline
This recipe is an excellent source of protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, selenium, zinc and choline; and a good source of iron.
It's no secret that farming can get tiring, redundant and just downright scary at times as family farmers. If you ever find yourself feeling down-and-out about it all, just remember that you are doing something amazing every single day.
You are supplying 25% of the world's beef supply with only 10% of the world's cattle.
You are providing a safe, wholesome, heart-healthy, nutrient-packed product that moms can confidently feed their children.
You are part of the single largest segment of American agriculture.
You are a vital part to the longevity of our industry, and without you, the heritage of the "cowboy" would ultimately disappear.
The Peterson Farm Brothers (PFB) have mastered the art of loving their job and making it fun. They might can help you gain a new perspective on the whoas of everyday farm labor.
Tired of doing the same old chores? Let the PFBs remind you how much your cattle and consumers depend on you:
Wishing you could take off on a summer vacation but can't because you've got cattle to tend? The PFBs can remind you that taking care of livestock can be as fun as it is important:
Got the baling season blues? The PFBs can remind you that it's necessary to stock up for the wintertime. If nothing else, they can give you a catchy tune to sing on those endless hours of pulling a baler:
Volatile market got you dizzy? The PFBs can remind you that's important to farm, farm, farm:
And last, if you're tired of working long hours "farmer style," then let the PFBs cheer you up and remind you that you're not alone:
At the end of the day, farmers are hardworking people. We appreciate our farmers today and everyday for the hours and hours of hard labor they put in to feed the world a safe, wholesome product! We hope these fun videos can cheer you up on a bad day and encourage you to keep on doing what you do best on a good one! Thanks, farmers!
In
honor of the 2015 AJCA Round-Up, this week’s #ThrowbackThursday will throw you
back to 1978’s dapper group of AJCA officers.
Pictured
from L-R are AJCA President Johnny Smith, Cullman County; Vice President Joy
Yeager, Lee County; Secretary Susan Steinhilber, Sumter County; and Treasurer
Kim Yates, Randolph County.
Our AJCA officers were awesome back then, and they're awesome today! Pictured above are today's industry leaders and at the Round-Up, we are working to develop tomorrow's leaders.
Can you believe it?! It's almost August! Where in the world did the summer go?! That's right; soon the kids will go back to school, football season will kick off, cold weather will start working its way in, the holiday season will sneak up on us, then feeding cattle in the snow and ice, calving season...WHOA...rewind.
None of that can happen until July is over, and we have a BUSY end of July to look forward to here at the Alabama Cattlemen's Association!
2015 AJCA Round-Up
Ready, set...AND THEY'RE OFF! It's Round-Up season for the Alabama Junior Cattlemen's Association and by tomorrow, more than 150 participants, their families and their cattle will have made the trek to Montgomery to Catch a Wave with us!
We are so excited (and, we admit, stressed!) with the arrival of the Round-Up and have our staff working overtime to get prepared for it! Last minute details, a lot of printing, coliseum set-up, organization, ballots, raffle tickets, sponsorships, stall assignemnts, check-ins, membership, collecting awards...our heads are spinning! Even some of the AJCA directors came in the office today to help with last minute labor!
It will all be worth it TOMORROW when the Round-Up kicks off! We can't wait to see you there!
See #WhatsGoingOn in the office today to get ready for the Round-Up:
Young Cattlemen's Leadership Program
Speaking of tomorrow...the YCLP-Class II will have it's first session at the Cattlemen's building to kick off an exciting year of learning, advocating, networking and training to become better representatives and leaders of the beef industry. Led by Dr. Don Mulvaney of Auburn University's Dept. of Animal Sciences, and ACA staff, 19 young cattlemen and emerging leaders (ages 22-40) from across the state will join to begin a program to enhance leadership skills and learn more about Alabama’s cattle industry. Funded through the Alabama state beef checkoff, this program ensures development of the next generation of cattlemen leaders for the association.
Alabama's Best Steak
The contest is well underway and nominations are through the roof! We are excited to have already received 7,600 nominations representing 141 restaurants across the state! If you know of an Alabama restaurant that serves up a rockin' ribeye, nominate them at www.AlabamasBestSteak.com.
The Alabama's Best Steak contest is sponsored by the Alabama Beef Checkoff, the National Beef Checkoff and the Alabama Cattlemen's Association.
ACA Officers Working Hard
ACA President Jim Akin, President Elect Bill Lipscomb, Vice President Richard Meadows and Treasurer L.D. Fitzpatrick will be in the big city of Montgomery this week to help judge various events for the AJCA Round-Up. While in town, they will also be meeting to plan August's Board of Directors meeting and discuss legislation that may be considered in the legislative special session that's convening on Aug. 3.
We appreciate the work and devotion of our state officer team to the betterment of our association and our industry!
Show Others You're a Steward of the Land
How, you ask? Purchase a Cowboy Tag to support the funding of youth events and scholarships for our state's future industry leaders. Invest in a tag, invest in a future...
ACA Membership
Sign up now for your 2016 Alabama Cattlemen's Association membership by visiting www.BamaBeef.org or by contacting your county officers. There are great benefits that come with being an ACA member, including receiving our monthly magazine the Alabama Cattleman where you can learn about what's happening in the state, read up on research efforts and find producers in our directory. Sign up today- you won't regret it!
Turn your #TastyTuesday into #TacoTuesday with this beefy quesadilla recipe! The best thing about quesadillas is they are easy to make and fun to eat! Kids love them!
So have a summertime fiesta tonight with your family and serve #BEEF. For more information on the nutrition facts of this meal or to get some great beef cooking tips visit www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com.
Looking
for a way to save a few bucks? With the prices of beef at an all-time high, we understand that serving beef to your family can cause some s t ra i n on the grocery budget, but we have a solution that not only will allow you to feed your family beef, but equip you with some handy skills! We suggest buying beef in bulk and cutting it yourself! We promise it's much easier than it seems!
Strip steak is a popular summertime cut, so check out this week’s #MovieMonday for an easy strip cutting how-to and be sure to talk to your neighborhood butcher about getting a good strip!
Fed
up with all the labels on beef? Grain finished, grass finished, all-natural,
organic…What does it all mean?!
We understand the frustration, but we are here to help! If you ever have questions about the differences in beef labeling, contact us or visit FactsAboutBeef.com. We want to make sure you're not only eating beef, but you're comfortable serving it to your family, no matter what the label says! Check out this #BeefFactFriday infographic to help break down the facts about labels on beef.
This
week’s #ThrowbackThursday goes back to 1977 in Montgomery at the Southeast
Alabama Cattle Marketing Association Sale where attendees paid their 10 cents
per head for promoting beef! This sale is still happens annually and its
producers continue to support the state checkoff.
From
L-R are Harold Johnson, Notasulga; Inez B. Graham, Sylacauga; Henry B. Gray,
Eufala; Grady Brown, Roba; Ham Wilson, ACA Executive Vice President as he accepts
the check from George Walker, Opelika; Bill Lipscomb, representing @Autauga
Farming Company; Oscar Jones, Prattville; Lawrence Alley, Midway and Jimmy
Greene, Roba.
Bill
Lipscomb is now a leader of this group of producers which will host its annual
sale on August 5, 2015 at 7 p.m. and the Will Howard Smith Agricultural Center
in Autaugaville, AL.
Busy is an understatement this week as we lead into the Round-Up and planning for Fall events, meetings and campaigns is underway. Keep reading to see what the Cattlemen's staff is up to this week so you can stay in the know about #WhatsGoingOn around the ACA.
AJCA Round-Up
We are ONE week and ONE day away from the kickoff for the 2015 AJCA Round-Up held here in Montgomery at the Garrett Coliseum. ACA intern Madison Tew is working hard to finish up last minute details, plans and getting awards in and situated. We are excited for the Round-Up to finally be here, and we cannot wait to #CatchAWave with our more than 150 participants, over 200 cattle and 14 fun-filled contests! For a tentative stall assignment list, view our 2015 AJCA Stall Assignment Google Sheet. We are excited to announce that district board member nominations are in! Check out who's running for the AJCA Board of Directors:
If you're interested in sponsoring this year's Round-Up, contact cberry@bamabeef.org.
Speaking of cberry@bamabeef.org, Who Is This Guy?
As of today, the ACA staff is excited to welcome its newest employee, and we are sure ACA and AJCA members are thrilled to finally find out who "the new Cobie" is! Well, it's Curt Berry from Saluda, South Carolina. A recent Clemson graduate with a degree in animal sciences who grew up on a cattle farm, Curt will serve the ACA as the Director of Industry Relations and Youth Activities. He comes from an experienced background in leadership as he was served on the Clemson SGA Senate, was Block and Bridle president and spent a year as a State FFA officer during high school. He will be responsible for the AJCA, the emerging leaders program and coordinating other youth livestock activities with State FFA and 4-H. He will also help coordinate producer education programs as he is largely funded by the state beef checkoff program.
Legislative Front
Following the Governor’s call for the Special Session of the Alabama Legislature to begin this past Monday rather than the “agreed” upon August date, the House and Senate convened and immediately adjourn until August 3rd. This will give them three weeks to hopefully come up with an agreement on resolving the $200 million short fall in the General Fund. Dr. Powell, along with the other members of the Ag and Forestry Legislative Coalition members, met Tuesday to strategize plans for resolving the shortfall.
2015 ACA Membership Numbers
The 2015 membership year is up at the ACA, and we ended the year with 11,860 members- 2067 new members and an increase of 293 members total from 2014! We would like to commend our largest chapters in the state:
Limestone County 653 members Franklin County 591 members Lauderdale County 514 members Pike County 424 members Cullman County 421 members We would also like to shout out our Auburn University Collegiate Cattlemen and Cattlewomen who had the largest percent increase in membership over the past year with 126.83% increase. Closely behind are Cherokee County (122.35%), Jefferson County (120%), Colbert County (119.51%) and Dekalb County (117.84%). It's a great membership year for ACA, but let's break 12,000 in 2016!
Alabama's Best Steak contest nominations rolling in
Visit www.AlabamasBestSteak.com to nominate your favorite Alabama steakhouse who serves an awesome ribeye steak. We already have 3,546 nominations that account for 143 Alabama restaurants! Keep the nominations coming in and get ready to gear up for the Sizzlin' 16 bracket challenge beginning August 3.
Stockyard Checkoff Update and Promotional Items
Alabama stockyards will receive a checkoff update and box of promotional items this week. Boxes will contain an introduction to new staff at the ACA, an update on summer promotions, new beef brochures and the newly printed 2014 checkoff annual reports. Any stockyards interested in receiving more of these items can contact the office for another shipment.
Randolph County Cattlemen's Association Field Day
When: Thursday, July 16 at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Whelan Farms (15418 Alabama Highway 77 Wadley, AL 36276)
What: Tour Whelan Farms and learn about thier seedstock operation. Following the farm tour will be a dinner served at 6:30 p.m.
Monroe County Cattlemen's Association Field Day
What: Summer tour and hamburger supper When: Thursday, July 23, 2015 The tour will be leaving the Farmers Coop in Frisco City @ 1:00 p.m., and the first tour will start in Clarke County and the meal will follow at Dickson Farm in Thomasville @ 6:30.
For more info call Ronnie Joe Jordan or Tim Tucker. Contact ksellers@bamabeef.org for their contact information.
NCBA Graduate Scholarship
"The National Cattlemen’s Foundation is honoring the successful career of the late W.D. Farr of Greeley, Colorado through two $12,000 graduate scholarships bearing his name. We lost a true industry leader and friend with W.D.'s passing on August 13, 2007, at the age of 97. Farr, a third generation Coloradan, pioneer rancher, statesman and banker is known for his extraordinary vision. His dedication to improving agriculture, livestock and water development has resulted in significant changes in farming methods that have influenced the practices of ranchers and farmers throughout the nation. You need:
-Cover Letter -Curriculum Vitae – a summary of your educational and academic background, resume -Description of applicant’s professional goals and leadership experience -Statement of belief in the industry -Review of applicant’s graduate research -Three letters of recommendation (at least one letter must be from a person within the applicant’s department, college or university)"
Skillet
meals are a win-win! They taste great and keep the dirty dishes at a minimum!
Serve up this #TastyTuesday recipe for Chuck Wagon Beef and Pasta Skillet and
#LiveAFlavorLife.
Ground
Beef is a common ingredient for meals in American households. In fact, it’s so common
that Ground Beef accounts for 51 percent of beef purchases in one year!
More
common than it’s appearances in family dinners is the mishandling of Ground
Beef by consumers. Check out Southern Living's video on five tips for correctly
handling Ground Beef for this week’s #MovieMonday.
Beef exports are a major player in the beef markets as last
year alone we exported 2.573 billion pounds of beef to 122 countries worldwide.
For this week’s #BeefFactFriday, check out who our top export countries for beef
are and how much our exports compared in 2013 to 2014.
Here's our top five exports. Visit here to see the top 100!
Cattle
rustling is something that’s always been around and something authorities have
always taken very seriously. The ACA used to have a Cattle Theft Reward Program
that offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction
of anyone stealing cattle from the premises of a member.
Fun Fact- that program is still active today, and the award is now worth $1,000!
This
week’s #tbt is of that program and one of its recipients in 1976. Pictured is Earl
Davidson (left) of Athens as he’s presented his $500 check for helping convict
two cattle rustlers stealing cattle from a Limestone County Cattlemen’s
Association member. (R-L) Presenting the check was 1976 ACA President Ray
Jones, Limestone
County Cattlemen’s Association President Billy Maples and Department of
Agriculture Cattle Theft Investigator Joe Scott.
July is a busy month at the Alabama Cattlemen's Association, and we want to make sure our members stay in-the-know about #WhatsGoingOn around our office. Check out what we are up to this week.
Alabama's Best Steak Has Great Kickoff
In only one week, the Alabama's Best Steak contest has generated 1400 nominations that accounts for 104 Alabama restaurants! Big numbers for a beefy contest! This contest usually causes a rise in beef sales across the state. Check out what ACA Director of Consumer Marketing Erin Beasley has to say about it here!
Be sure to visit www.AlabamasBestSteak.com to nominate your favorite Alabama steakhouse that serves up a rockin' ribeye!
AJCA Round-Up
The 2015 Round-Up is two weeks away, and our staff is constantly working on the ins and outs of making it happen! We are excited to Catch a Wave at this year's show with more than 150 participants, 200 head of cattle and 14 different contests!
ACA Intern Madison Tew is ordering some great awards, prizes and gear, and you're not going to want to miss out on getting at chance at what she's bought up.
If you have any questions email Madison or call (334) 265-1867. We will see you July 23-26 at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, AL.
Magazine Advertising
The August issue of the Alabama Cattleman will feature the
Simmental breed and Nicky Bechard is taking ad reservations until July 17th.
Also, October is the Bull Buying issue, and Nicky has already started taking reservations for that issue.
Call or email her today to reserve your spot in the magazine!
Legislative Front
We know many of you may be concerned with the recent WTO ruling that stated the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) legislation is against trade rules and Canada and Mexico could retaliate, but the Cattlemen’s Association has your back. We worked with our Congressional delegation in the House where legislation has passed repealing COOL. Now we are asking Senator Shelby to also vote to repeal the legislation that has largely negative affects on our industry. If you have questions or concerns about the legislation, give us a call. We encourage all who are against COOL to call our senators in DC and ask them to vote to repeal this legislation.
Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program
The second class of YCLP is set. Twenty-one emerging leaders across the state will be joining together on July 23 at the ACA office under the leadership of ACA staff and Dr. Don Mulvaney, ACA regional vice president and Auburn University faculty member, to learn about the association’s program of work, the checkoff program and to discuss industry hot topics. Following the discussion, the group will visit the Alabama Senate Chamber where Dr. Powell will lead a discussion on how a bill becomes a law and what to expect in the upcoming General Session.
Summertime
means the kids are home and what do kids love more than pizza?! Serve this
#TastyTusday recipe for Cheese Steak Pizza at their next summertime sleepover
to have a house full of happy kids!
Did you miss out on watching this year’s 52nd annual LMA World Livestock Auctioneer Competition?
In case you missed it, Brandon Neely of Southside, AL took home the championship with his performance. Check out his chant and some of his competition with this week’s #MovieMonday.
In honor
of our membership drive to reach 12,000 members for 2015, this week’s #ThrowbackThursday
goes back to the year the ACA had the most members in our history- 1974. That
year, ACA had 18,620 members in the state!
Speaking
of lots of folks, the summer of 1974 was a big time for the Cullman County
Cattlemen and CattleWomen’s Association as it hosted an annual meeting with
over 400 attendees.
Pictured
from left to right are the county leaders of that year- Hoyt Perdue, Vice
President; Edwin Carter, Vice President; Dois Sims, President; Davis Hassell,
Secretary Treasurer; Kenneth Neal, Vice President; W.A. Fullilove, Vice
President. The group had a steak dinner and heard from 1974 ACA President,
Forrest Killough.
It's a whirlwind week at the ACA- meetings, deadlines and kickoffs galore! We hope you're ready to hear #What'sGoingOn this Wednesday around the Alabama Cattlemen's headquarters in beautiful downtown Montgomery.
AJCA Round-Up Registration Deadline TODAY
Today's your last chance to register your child for the 2015 AJCA Round-Up to be held at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery on July 23-26! This year's theme is "Catch a Wave." Online registration can be submitted here.
Contests for the Round-Up include: Career Development, Showmanship, Sales Talk, Skill-A-Thon, Team Grooming, Build a Better Burger, Volleyball, Photography, Poster, Record Book, Essay, Ad Design, Public Speaking and Cattle Judging
2015 ACA Membership
It was ACA's goal to reach 12,000 members during 2015, and we are SO CLOSE. If you or your friends and family haven't paid your dues yet, now's the time! Help us reach our goal and get some great benefits in return. Register online or check out our member benefits on our website.
Alabama's Best Steak Contest
Alabama’s Best Steak contest kicks off TODAY (July 1) at noon. Visit www.AlabamasBestSteak.com to submit your nomination for your favorite Alabama steakhouse who serves an outstanding ribeye!
July 1-31: Kickoff round for nominations.
August 3-10: Sizzlin' 16 bracket challenge.
August 11-17: Enticing 8 bracket challenge.
August 18-24: Final 4 bracket challenge.
September: a panel of judges will anonymously visit to judge taste, tenderness and juiciness.
Beginning of October: Winners will be announcedto kick off Alabama's Beef Month!
Sysco Central Alabama Spring Promotion
Pictured from R-L is the winner of the Big Green Egg Craig Smitherman, CEO of Sysco Central Alabama David Dickson and Vice President of Sales Danny Ralph
The results are in from the Sysco Central Alabama spring promotion, and
they are remarkable! Sysco salesmen were charged with selling the most beef
they could during May and June, in efforts to win a Big Green Egg smoker,
funded by the Alabama Beef Checkoff program. The final numbers showed an
unprecedented 127,000-pound increase in beef over sales from last May and
June.
