What's Going On Wednesday: October 26, 2016

Hello, again! We apologize for not posting last week, but our ACA blogger was in Denver learning about NCBA's National Checkoff work plan for 2017. There's exciting new programs and information trickling down from NCBA, and we are looking forward to sharing those new concepts and ideas with our favorite cattlemen here in Alabama. So, kick up your boots and take a few minutes to read and catch up with the Alabama Cattlemen's Association busy October Beef Month activities over the past two weeks.

Partners in Action

ACA Director of Checkoff Programs Erin Beasley and Director of Social Media Kayla Greer spent a

few days last week at NCBA headquarters in Denver, Colo. at the Partners in Action conference. While there, the checkoff staffers learned about 2017 National Checkoff program plans and networked with other state beef council staffers from around the nation. 

They heard about NCBA's newest market research that acts a a guide in formulating new, innovative beef educational and promotional programs. They also were updated on the newly-developed programs and discovered ways to use them on the state level. The duo brought home a wealth of knowledge that they then applied to their breakout sessions at the Alabama Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan Task Force meeting, which you can learn more about further down.

Drought in Alabama

We are have been working with the Department of Agriculture, the Alabama Farmer's Federation and Auburn University to help alleviate affects generated by the critical drought issues. If you are in search of hay due to shortages in your crop, check out the Alabama Hay Listings page to find hay for sale near you. We also worked closely with ALDOT to have oversize load permits waived during this hay crisis to help cattlemen who are having to haul large loads of hay across the state. You can contact the permit office for your FREE permit by calling 1-800-499-2782. 

We've also received word that you can contact your local FSA office about programs housed by USDA for assistance.

Helpful Drought Information from ACES

2017 Membership Kickoff

Next week will bring the kickoff of the 2017 membership year! We've got some cash prizes you'll want to get the word out about and new incentives for making the Top Hand Club! Pay your dues by Nov. 28th to be entered into a drawing for three cash prizes- $250, $150 and $100. 

Also, check out out these awesome new Top Hand Club incentives:

• Recruit 5-9 new members: ACA Cap and Yeti Cup
• Recruit 10-14 new members: Long-sleeved western ACA shirt
• Recruit 15-24 new members: ACA vest
• Recruit 25-34 new members: ACA red and black jacket
• Recruit 35-49 new members: Two-night hotel stay at 2018 Covention and Trade Show or $250 cash
• Recruit 50+ new members: $500 cash

WOW! Don't miss out on these great incentives. Check out a list of recruiters who have already jumped into the contest- great job!

• Jim Akin-2 
• Mark Arledge-1 
• James Barton-1 
• David Box-1 
• Orland Britnell-3 
• Billy Farris-2 
• Winona Gibbons-2 
• Marcus Grace-1 
• Ravon Graham-1 
• Garry Gregg-1 
• Charles Head-1 
• Jimmy Holliman-1 
• Don Hunton-1 
• Phyllis Jones-1 
• Michael Jordan-1 
• Bruce & Marsha Keller-1 
• Richard Meadows- 4 
• Franklin Mitchell-1
• Joseph Palmer-1 
• Claude Scott-1 
• Randy Slay-1 
• Steven Smith-3 
• John Walker-1 
• Ralph Winchester-1 

Big Mike's Presentation

ACA President Bill Lipscomb joined staffers Dr. Billy Powell, Erin Beasley and Kayla Greer on a trip to Thomasville, AL last Thursday to present the 2016 Alabama's Best Steak Winner, Big Mike's Steakhouse, owners Mike Cole, Caine Conway and Scott Powell with a plaque to acknowledge their victory. The group was joined by Clarke County Cattlemen's President Sammy Fendley and reporters from Clarke County press.

We enjoyed our time spent at Big Mike's Steakhouse, and we are gracious for the fine display of Southern hospitality by Mike Cole and his business partners. That ribeye is truly delicious! Congrats to Big Mike's...go check them out!

#ALSteakTrail Update

Speaking of Big Mike's Steakhouse, it's one of the 12 featured restaurants on our October Beef
Month promotional Alabama Steak Trail! This social media promotion/contest has really taken flight throughout the month, and people across Alabama have joined us on the trail to enjoy ribeye steaks at family-owned steakhouses. The trail consists of restaurants that have consistently been fiery competition in past Alabama's Best Steak contests. We have encouraged Facebook users to visit one of the #ALSteakTrail restaurants, order the ribeye, snap a picture and post it for us to see. One winner is selected weekly throughout October to win a $100 gift card to their preferred steakhouse. 

We're on the last wind of the #ALSteakTrail contest with the final $100 gift certificate being drawn this weekend. Check out some of the great statistics this Facebook contest has generated:

• 263,696 people reached
• 1,346 shares
• 2,305 post reactions
• 302 comments (featuring great feedback on beef and the restaurants!)
• 61 entries!
• three selected winners, a fourth and final one to come this Sunday! 

These are great numbers with outstanding return on investment. This contest has been exposed to over 263,000 people and put BEEF on their minds! Click Here to See the Contest , read the comments and check out those delicious entries.

Alabama Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan Task Force Meeting

Yesterday, we hosted 45 of Alabama Beef Checkoff Task Force members to lunch and a meeting as we gathered ideas, comments and concerns related to the 2017 Alabama Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan. It was a great meeting with good discussion and dialogue which, in turn, led to some outstanding ideas for next year's marketing plan. The group heard from NCBA's Vice President Federation Services Todd Johnson about the beef industry's long-range plan and about the newest market research. ACA's Erin Beasley and Kayla Greer then highlighted some of our "homerun programs" that performed outstanding in 2016 including Beef 101 and the Bama's Best Beef contest.

Now the staff has a big task ahead to prepare the proposed plan to present at the November ACA Executive Committee and Board meetings. Thanks to all who spent the day with us and offered input! 

October Beef Month- Beef Day at the Farmer's Market

Beef Day at the Farmer’s Market will be held tomorrow, October 27th at Montgomery's State Farmer's Market. Commissioner John McMillan and the ACA will honor the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety by having over 50 firefighters, police officers, EMA staff members and emergency communicators out to enjoy some beef. Steak sandwiches will be enjoyed by all, and a press conference will be held to celebrate Beef Month and the outstanding service that our honorees provide the River Region.

County Highlights

County Cattlemen's Chapters across the state have been promoting October Beef Month in big ways! We wanted to take a second to acknowledge those counties and say thanks for holding programs to help us get the word out about beef. Check out what these counties have been up to and view event images on our Facebook Album or in the November Alabama Cattleman magazine.

• Clay County "Cowboys in the Classroom" Program
• Montgomery County "Cowboys in the Classroom" Program and promotion at Farm City event
• AU Collegiate Cattlemen and CattleWomen Ag Round Up booth and beef sample giveaway
• Madison County steak sandwich sale
• Tallapoosa County steak sandwich sale
• Fayette County's Hamburger Supper
• Lee County's Auburn vs LSU Beef Tailgate Party and "Cowboys in the Classroom" Program
• Franklin County "Cowboys in the Classroom" Program and annual FACS beef donation
• Lauderdale County's steak sandwich sale, Lexington High School cafeteria beef month celebration and "Cowboys in the Classroom" Program
• Mobile County's open house at the South Alabama Agricultural & Forestry Museum
• Cleburne County's "Cowboys in the Classroom" Program
• Jefferson County's fall meeting
• Shelby County Western Supermarkets promotion and steak giveaway

Outstanding job to all these counties! If your county has had an October Beef Month event, send a good picture to Erin Beasley or Kayla Greer. 

That's all for this week! We'll see you back here next Wednesday once November sneaks around. Thanks for reading and call us anytime.

What's Going On Wednesday: October 12, 2016

Can you believe October is already halfway over? Wow time flies when you're operating a cattle farm and promoting beef across the state! Today's blog update has timely information that is important to Alabama's cattlemen, so take just a short break from tagging new calves, rain dancing or planning your county's next beef promotion event to catch up with all that's going on at the state office in Downtown Montgomery this busy week. 

Membership Update

November 1 is rapidly approaching, and it's bringing with it a new membership year for the ACA! Keep that in mind as membership statements will be hitting your mailbox soon. Membership cards are also in the works and will be distributed at the Fall Board of Directors meeting to save on postage. If your meeting falls before that meeting, please email Jessica, and she will ship them to you once they are delivered to our office. 

Here's a few reminders to our county leaders:

• Once you have your annual meeting plans made, email Jessica with the date, time, location and any additional notes that may be important for members. You can also include speaker requests, so that membership staff can line up state leaders and staff members to attend the meetings. Once you've sent that information in, ACA's Kayla Greer can get that event designed into the online Events Calendar for your county to use as a resource for getting the word out. 
• For a nominal fee, Jessica can send a postcard reminder on county meetings, and we can also send emails to those we have on file. Email Jessica About Sending an Annual Meeting Postcard
• Speaking of emails, please get email addresses at county meetings! Pass around a list to get name and email address because they are very useful when getting info to members and are free to the counties to send e-blasts.

October Beef Month

It's Beef Month in Alabama, and cattlemen are out and about

promoting beef! Your state staff has been burning up the roads attending or hosting different beef promtional and educational events. We've also been very impressed with the amount of county activities. Keep sharing those pictures with us so we can add them to our "October Beef Month County Activities" album on Facebook and share them in the magazine. Email Erin Beasley your pictures.

Check out all the state staff has been up to this week during October Beef Month promotions:

BEEF 101 

On Tuesday, ACA Director of Checkoff Programs Erin Beasley hosted a group of Sysco Gulf Coast salesmen at Beef 101. This gave sales team members who sell beef in bulk to restaurants across the Gulf Coast a thorough lesson on beef from "pasture to plate." This class also allowed them the platform to ask their questions about beef, so they can better field those questions when out working in the industry. We've said it before, and we'll say it again...Beef 101 is our best beef checkoff program!


Alabama Steak Trail

The #ALSteakTrail is without a doubt a hit! We were excited on Sunday to have 19 entries in our weekly drawing bucket, and we want to congratulate Jill Walden on winning last week's $100 gift card giveaway! Jill will be receiving a gift card to Conestoga Steakhouse in Dothan because of the picture she entered in the contest! Check out some of the amazing numbers we've gotten from the promotion:

• 182,492 total reach
• 852 shares
• 1,400+ likes
• 174 comments
• 26 entries
• 663 new page likes

In summary, SUCCESS, and the best part is that we're only halfway through the contest! 

DIG Conference in Auburn

PC: Caleb Hicks,
Auburn Ag Ambassador

ACA Director of Social Media and Communications Kayla Greer spent Tuesday in Auburn at the College of Agriculture-hosted DIG Conference. The DIG (Dedication, Innovation, Growth) Conference is open to high school students interested in pursuing a degree in agriculture. Kayla spoke to four different groups about issues in animal agriculture and how to effectively combat those issues while speaking with fellow school mates who do not come from agricultural roots. 

Western Supermarket
Tomorrow, we will be celebrating the grand opening of the new Western Market in Mountain Brook. Local cattlemen will be in attendance to talk with customers, give out beef samples and draw winners for beef gift certificates. Western Markets has a long relationship with the ACA and has always been a huge promoter of beef in their stores.


Beefing Up Breast Cancer Awareness

Saturday, we will be “pinking out” the ACA building for the Breast Cancer walk in downtown Montgomery. The Montgomery County cattlemen will be joining us to cheer on walkers and give them a boost of protein with a beef sample.

Meetings, Meetings, and Did We Mention, Meetings? 

Meeting with industry partners and media is a major part of what your state staff does to represent and protect Alabama's cattlemen. ACA Executive Vice President Dr. Billy Powell spends many hours meeting with different groups, organizations and individuals for the betterment of Alabama's beef cattle industry. Here's a summary of the meetings he has been a part of just this week:

• Spoke Packers and Stockyards concerning a small Alabama auction market that is not in compliance with checkoff collections. Packers and Stockyards already has an auditor investigating this issue.
• On Tuesday. Dr. Powell met with Ag in the Classroom trustees at the Alabama Farmers Federation to plan next year’s projects. 
• He met with committee chairs for SLE Rodeo sponsorship and group ticket sales to develop programs for the 2017 SLE Rodeo. 
• Dr. Powell participated in NCBA’s Region II (8 Southeastern states) conference call and expressed concerns about communications with NCBA Policy Division staff. Her received updates from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina about Hurricane Matthew’s impact on cattle, and North Carolina was hardest hit with rain and flooding. The impact with continue as rivers crest Friday. 
• Also on Tuesday, he responded to TV reporter’s request to visit cattlemen in the Tennessee Valley to talk about the screwworm threat. The first case of screwworms was found in Key Deer in the Everglades recently, and this is the first case seen in the U.S. since the eradication of the pest in the 1960's. The USDA and State Veterinarians have quarantined the area and feel like the isolated screwworm situation is under control and will not spread. Extension article on screwworms
• Today, Dr. Powell will be meeting with Auburn College of Agriculture leaders to discuss beef cattle programs and youth livestock programs.

Alabama Cattlemen's Foundation Scholarships

Scholarship applicaitons are now LIVE on the website through

Dec. 1. All you have to do is visit www.BamaBeef.org/scholarships to find out information on our many "Cowboy" tag and endowed scholarships and apply! Encourage young people in your county to get those applications in today and don't miss out on the more that $50,000 in scholarships we award annually!

Junior Beef Expo Registration

Junior Beef Expo registration is also now LIVE on the site through November 1! Register your child and their animal(s) today with our online form and payment process. The link below is also where you can find rules and information about upcoming validation points for market animals participating in this year's show. Note: Market Animals MUST be validated at one of the validation locations listed on the website before registration can occur.
Click Here for JBE Information and Registration

Beef Quality Assurance- FREE

Now through November 13, you can become Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified for FREE, courtesy of our friends at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. Simply visit www.bqa.org and use the code BIVIBQA to waive registration costs. Being BQA certified is your consumer-friendly story to tell, and we want you to tell it today! Contact Erin Beasley with questions about your certification. 

That wraps up this week's activities. To find county meeting or Extension workshop information, please refer to our online Events Calendar. We'll see you back here next Wednesday for your next weekly update from the ACA state staff! Have a great rest of the week. 

What's Going On Wednesday: September in Review and the First Week of October

Hello again, everyone, and Happy Fall! We haven't been blogging the past few weeks because we've been on the road in different areas of the state meeting with county leaders at our regional workshops. That being said, there's a lot to catch up on, so take short break from feeding, working new calves, baling hay or rain dancing to catch up on all things that have been going on at the ACA the past month. Enjoy!

Regional Meetings

 Success. That's one word we would choose to describe the six regional meetings we hosted across the state during September. We were thrilled to have 56/67 counties and over 100 county officers in attendance. The meetings offered a platform for state staff to update counties on the 2017 membership campaign, strengthening county chapters, October Beef Month promotions and utilizing social media.

Here's a few brief reminders from the regional meetings to jog county leaders' memories:

• Check your leadership information on the County Chapters Page of the website. If there is any wrong information, let Jessica know. 
• Send Jessica the information for your upcoming annual meeting as soon as you have it. This will allow us to get it on our online Events Calendar as well as help line up an ACA representative to attend. 
• When submitting membership, all counties are required to send in payment before members can be processed.
• 2017 Renewal Statements will be mailed on November 1st. Those who pay their 2017 dues and have them turned into the state office by November 28th will be entered into a drawing to win one of three cash prizes- $250, $150, $100
• The "Over the Top" deadline is February 28th. This means all memberships must be submitted on or before that date to go "Over the Top."
• Email addresses are vital during the 2017 membership drive because this is how members will gain access to the online magazine. 
• If you are interested in participating in the Cowboys in the Classroom program for October Beef Month, contact Jessica and she will mail those books your way. We have two books this year for ages kindergarten- 2nd grade and 3rd-5th grades. Please specify which books you'd like!

October Beef Month

October means one thing here at the ACA office...BEEF MONTH!

We're looking forward to seeing all the activities hosted in the counties to promote our favorite protein, beef. Be sure to send pictures of your county activities to Kayla Greer so she can share them on Facebook! Get out there and promote beef...as for the state office, we're doing LOTS of beef promotion this month. Check it out:

Breaking Bread Food Festival
ACA staff kicked off October Beef Month at Sloss Furnaces late September to attend the Breaking Bread Food Festival hosted by the Birmingham Originals group. We handed out hundreds of beef samples and informational tools and spoke with many millennial-aged consumers about beef! Special thanks to Jefferson County President Jim Miller, Shelby County cattleman Cynthia Hylton-Murer, Lee County member Dr. Wayne Greene and ACWA Vice President Evelyn Brown for their help in the promotion! 


Alabama's Best Steak Winner Announced

We are proud to announce the winner of the Alabama's Best Steak contest! Big Mike's Steakhouse of Thomasville is serving up the best ribeye in Alabama in 2016, so stop by and give it a try. Congrats to Big Mike's! 

#ALSteakTrail

We've got an exciting new promotion going on this year for October Beef Month, and it's been extremely successful in only five short days! On Oct. 1, we launched on Facebook our #ALSteakTrail promotion that features 12 outstanding restaurants that have been consistent competition in past Alabama's Best Steak contests. Facebook fans are encouraged to visit one of the restaurants, order the ribeye, snap a picture of their plate and post the picture as a comment on the contest announcement using the hashtag #ALSteakTrail. Each week throughout October, one lucky winner will win a drawing for a $100 gift card to that restaurant. 

So far, the contest (with the help of its allocated budget) has yielded an impressive reach of over 109,800 Facebook fans and received eight entries, 745 "reactions," 426 shares, 85 comments and gotten us to OVER 14,000 FACEBOOK FANS! We are thrilled with the return on the contest so far! 

We've also got some standard ads out featuring beautiful beef imagery that offer Facebook and Instagram users a direct link to BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com . This is what they look like! If you see them, be sure to share!!

Beef 101

Director of Checkoff Programs Erin Beasley will be hosting a few Beef 101 programs throughout October Beef Month to teach industry influencers about beef from "pasture to plate." In fact, she's in Auburn today with a group at the Lambert-Powell Meats Lab. 

Alabama Cattlemen's Foundation Scholarships

Scholarship applicaitons are now LIVE on the website through Dec. 1. All you have to do is visit www.BamaBeef.org/scholarships to find out information on our many "Cowboy" tag and endowed scholarships and apply! Encourage young people in your county to get those applications in today and don't miss out on the more that $50,000 in scholarships we award annually! 

Junior Beef Expo Registration

Junior Beef Expo registration is also now LIVE on the site through November 1! Register your child and their animal(s) today with our online form and payment process. The link below is also where you can find rules and information about upcoming validation points for market animals participating in this year's show. Note: Market Animals MUST be validated at one of the validation locations listed on the website before registration can occur.  

Click Here for JBE Information and Registration

Beef Quality Assurance- FREE

Now through November 13, you can become Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified for FREE, courtesy of our friends at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. Simply visit www.bqa.org and use the code BIVIBQA to waive registration costs. Being BQA certified is your consumer-friendly story to tell, and we want you to tell it today! Contact Erin Beasley with questions about your certification. 

EMERGENCY Hay Shortages

ACA state officers and staff met with Gov. Bentley following the

October Beef Month proclamation signing and updated him on the critical hay shortages in northeast Alabama. We informed Gov. Bentley that we may need an emergency declaration to aid in hauling hay into this area as winter approaches. He said he would work with us to ease restrictions.  

Following that meeting, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Farmers Federation, ACA and others held a conference call to discuss the issue further. During the conference call plans for establishing a Hay Directory for those who have hay for sale and those needing hay for locate a source were discussed. The hope is to have that Hay Directory available within two weeks at the Dept. of Ag. We will inform members when that Hay Directory is available. Extension will have more information on wintering cows using other feedstuffs. 

Meetings, Dinners, Discussions and Special Deliveries

Your state staff and officers stay busy meeting with different individuals and groups on your behalf. Here's a list of the many meetings ACA Executive Vice President Dr. Billy Powell has been to lately:

• He had a nice visit with Andy White, LMA’s World Livestock
  
  Champion Auctioneer, during a Monday sale at Montgomery Stockyards late in September. Dr. Powell spoke with the Ohio native then stuck around at the sale to hear his chant. 
• Dr. Powell met with Rep. David Standridge and Rep. Randall Shedd recently to discuss ways to work with the House Rural Caucus and other organizations representing rural Alabama during the 2017 Regular Session.
• Chuck Sykes, Conservation Department Director, and Dr. Powell spoke about a problem with black vultures along the Tennessee River. ACA is working with the Alabama Farmers Federation on getting a system in place to make it easier for producers to obtain permit.
• He also attended dinner with University of West Alabama's president and Board of Trustees to get an update on the state’s only collegiate rodeo team. Following the dinner meeting, he attended a collegiate rodeo on campus.
  
• Lastly, Dr. Powell made a special delivery to Joe Reed’s farm to meet with a SunSouth Demopolis representative as he delivered the John Deere Gator that Joe won by joining as a 2016 new member. Congrats to Joe! 

Bull Sales in Alabama

It's bull sale season in Alabama, and you can stay informed on upcoming sales by visiting our Events Calendar. State staff and officers are traveling across state to attend the many upcoming sales, and we look forward to seeing you there. As an added incentive for our magazine advertisers, when you buy an ad in our magazine, your event is published on our events calendar. That way, all the upcoming sales are always available in your back pocket on your smartphone.

Check out the many other courses, Extension workshops, meetings and sales available on our website today. 

Thanks for tuning into this week's blog! We'll be here next week with more news so you can stay in touch with the Alabama Cattlemen's Association state staffers. To stay in touch between now and then, visit our website or follow us on Facebook.