Showing posts with label BQA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BQA. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday- June 1, 2016

Well hello June! 
When did the past five months happen? If anybody knows, please call and tell us because we can't believe that the summer months are already here! We hope this week's blog post finds our cattlemen staying relatively cool and probably in the cab of a tractor pulling a hay baler. It's that time of year, so hit that tractor into auto pilot, kick back and enjoy finding out what's going on at the ACA this week! 


Bama's Best Beef Winner Announced!

West End Grill’s “Tot Roast” has been named “Bama’s Best Beef” after two months of social media promotion! After last week’s final round which generated over 1000 reactions, more than 100 shares and 139 comments, the Tot Roast was named the winner Friday, May 27 at 9 p.m. over the contest’s other finalist, Deano’s Grill’s “Deano Burger.”

The West End Grill owners and staff will be presented with a

plaque and on-site media conference directed by Alabama Cattlemen’s Association leadership and staff. We encourage all Huntsville-area members to visit West End Grill and offer your congratulations! Erin and Kayla certainly can't wait to try the dish themselves!

As described by the restaurant’s menu, the Tot Roast is, “crispy fried tater tots smothered in [West End Grill’s] Mississippi pot roast, cheese and gravy. One hundred percent Angus beef is slow roasted with a secret blend of spices and layered on top pepperoncinis and sticks of real butter, all to make the pot roast.”
 


AJCA Round-Up

Want to know more about the AJCA Round-Up? Well you can know TODAY! All information for this year's show is available on our website, including links to registration! Don't forget, you must be a paid AJCA member in order to compete in the Round-Up. Join Today

Learn more, sign up and get ready for the 10th annual AJCA Round-Up to be held July 21-24 at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. We can't wait to see all our favorite Juniors, and they'll want to be there because Round-Up Coordinator Madison Tew has ordered some amazing prizes! 


Membership 

The membership number of the day is 10,849 members of the ACA. The renewal drive is over, and we will draw for the winner of the $500 beef certificate on June 8. Stay tuned! 

Don't forget our John Deere Gator drawing sponsored by John Deere, SunSouth, Tri-Green Equipment and Snead Ag. For every new member you recruit, your name and the new member's name will go in the drawing. ACA members also have the opportunity to purchase more chances to win by calling ACA at 334-265-1867.




Don't Miss Your Chance to Advertise!

The July issue of the Alabama Cattleman offers you the opportunity to maximize your advertising dollars and target your audience with this special magazine issue.

Since 1958, cattle producers have used this informative publication to help keep them abreast of industry happenings and learn about managing their business. Our readers are one of the largest purchasers of equipment, fencing materials, bulls, replacement heifers, semen, animal health supplies, chemicals, guns, ATV’s, boots, farmland and so much more. 

The July issue will be a special one, as it will be mailed to over 17,000 cattle producers and industry-related individuals across the state including the 12,000 members of the ACA. This special issue will include numerous educational feature articles and will be used as a reference for months to come. Please contact Nicky to reserve your space in the July issue by June 10th!   

AJCA Round-UP



BQA Mail Outs

Have you gotten BQA certified at an on-site training program this year? If so, be on the lookout for your certificate and bumper sticker in the mail. ACA Director of Checkoff Programs Erin Beasley got those put together and mailed out last week! 

Congrats and great job to our Alabama cattle producers who have become BQA certified! 



Cash for CAFOs

The Alabama Cattlemen's Association with be meeting Thursday morning alongside Alabama Farmers Federation Poultry Producers representatives at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). The primary focus of this meeting is to discuss funding for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs. Over $400,000 was added to the ADEM budget to offset CAFO expenses by the department, and this meeting will help determine a budget for this allowance. 



Make Way for a New BamaBeef.org 

You heard it right, a new ACA website is in the works! Erin Beasley and ACA Director of Social Media and Communications Kayla Greer had a conference call with our representative to get the paperwork in hand to launch the website redesign project.

Kayla has her sights set on this being her major project for the summer, and she hopes for an August launch date! The team of website designers are on board to help her reach that goal! Hmmm...maybe by the Summer Board Meeting? 



Engaging Post of the Week

The popularity of our Facebook is growing, as you may remember from the social media alert on last week's blog post! Last week we celebrated reaching 8,000 followers, and this week that number has already grown to 8,400. 

Even more exciting than that, however, is the popularity of a single post from this week! On Sunday, we posted the picture you see to the right. It reads, "Do not educate children to be rich. Educate them to be happy, so when they grow up they know the value of things, not the price." Pretty picture, pretty quote, pretty big numbers!! 

To date, this post has reached over 145,000 people through the power of liking, sharing and commenting. It has received over 7,000 reactions, over 1,600 shares, 172 comments and 3,800 post clicks. That's huge!

Think about it. That's 145,000 people who have been exposed to the ACA and our message just this week at NO cost to us. Thanks, Facebook! 




The MOOseum

Schools are out. Temperatures are rising. Children are getting bored at home. 

We know how it goes, but we also know that The MOOseum is ready and waiting for your family to learn and play. Learn about beef cattle, sit on saddles, play in Cowboy Slim's kitchen and dress up like a rough-and-tumble cowboy for the afternoon. 

Book a tour for groups or just walk on in for individual families. We are located at 201 S. Bainbridge Street Montgomery, AL 36104. Got questions? Call 265-1867 or email Jessica. 


SASDA

Looking slightly ahead to next week, Dr. Powell will be spending his Sunday and Monday with the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture John McMillan serves as president this year and has invited Dr. Powell to speak at their Monday morning meeting. He will be speaking to 16 different states agricultural leaders on the Alabama beef industry and the impact of the checkoff dollars used to answer the question, "Where does my food come from?" 



Joint Meeting Ahead

The agenda is being made for the upcoming joint meeting of the ACA Executive Committee and the Alabama Cattlemen's Foundation Board. Just as a reminder, that meeting will be held June 21. 

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday: March 30, 2016

As we leave the Convention and SLE Rodeo is our rear view mirror for 2016, we are gearing up a for a busy next couple of months! The MOOseum, checkoff and legislative fronts are looking busy as we begin heading into April and May. We stayed busy through the "winter," as our cattlemen across the state did with feeding and calving seasons, but it's time for beef promotion in Alabama. Keep reading to learn what's going on around the ACA this week!


Checkoff Corner

Busy April Full of Beef: 101

We would like to invite you to join us at Auburn University for the checkoff funded program, BEEF 101. Next month, we will hold 4 of these programs with various influencer groups across the state to learn about beef from “Pasture to Plate”. Your role in this program is to interact with participants who are “non-cattle” folks so that they leave the program with a bright outlook on our industry.

Here are the dates and groups. We have 5 seats at each program
available at first come first serve basis
. RSVP to Erin if you can attend.
  • April 13th- Moody HS and Lawson State Culinary School
  • April 19th- Faulkner State Culinary, Wood Fruitticher Foodservice Sales Team Leadership
  • April 25th- Trenholm State Culinary
  • April 29th- Jeff State Culinary, McAdory Middle School culinary students, American Culinary Federation chefs


Beef Cookoff Weekend Ahead

The Alabama Jr. and Sr. High School Beef Cookoff will take place this Saturday at Carver High School in Montgomery. Thirty-eight students from 29 counties will participate in the state contest this year to show off their coveted beef dish. During the cookoff, students will learn about beef by participating in an educational program discussing beef cuts and careers in the food industry. Stay tuned for an update next week of event winners and highlights!

Bring It On: Bama's Best Beef

We've got an exciting, new spring beef promotion kicking off Monday, April 4 that highlights Alabama's unique beef dishes. Using the power of social media to drive the contest and by promoting it to Alabama's restaurants and chefs, we hope to receive nominations of those not-so-average beef dishes made and served right here in Alabama. We're not looking for your average burger or ribeye. Nope, we got our eyes set on beef tar-tar, beef wellington and all those other unconventional, yet delicious, beef dishes! 

After the nomination round, the contest committee will narrow it down to four top finalists who will then go head-to-head on social media in a photo contest.

Stay tuned for that contest and send us your submissions starting next week! 


Sysco Promotion Winners

Sysco Foodservice sales promotion kicks the year off strong for beef sales: The sales team at Sysco Calera set out to up their beef sales from January 18-March 17th. As a result, the team posted a 72,000 lb. increase in beef tonnage compared to this time last year. The top sellers were awarded Yeti coolers, funded through the beef checkoff. These promotions produce a fantastic return on investment for your checkoff dollars. Pictured are the winners from the promotion- Todd Johnston, Frank Odell, Andy Slaten, Nat Weis and Craig Smitherman. 



YCLP Class III

County Presidents, applications are out now for the Young Cattlemen's Leadership Program- Class III. Send us your nominations asap as the first meeting will be held May 11 in Montgomery. We look forward to another great year with Alabama's young cattle producers. Get the application

Membership

We are at 10,520 members out of our 12000 member goal. Get out and get recruiting; not only will it help the state association, but it could win you some awesome prizes. We have had 16 counties go "Over the Top." Just in case you need some incentive to get out and recruit, check out these prizes:

  • 5 new members – ACA cap and knife
  • 15 new members – ACA shirt
  • 25 new members – ACA vest
  • 35 new members – ACA Red/Black jacket
  • 50 new members - $250

Top Hand Club sponsored by Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farm Credit

Just in case you need some more incentive in your recruiting efforts, let your non-renewed friends and neighbors know this! The April Alabama Cattleman magazine is the LAST magazine you'll get if you do not renew by April 15, and if you renew now online, you'll get a package in the mail from us with some nifty ACA gadgets and gizmos such as a hat, iWallet and other goodies. Don't miss out- renew today! 


Also, don't forget our John Deere Gator drawing sponsored by John Deere, SunSouth, Tri-Green Equipment, Snead Ag. For every new member you recruit, your name and the new members names go in the drawing. ACA members also have the opportunity to purchase more chances to win by calling ACA at 334-265-1867.

YCLP and BQA Meetings 

Dr. Billy Powell, Erin Beasley and Kayla Greer had a successful meeting this morning with Auburn University Dept. of Animal Sciences' Dr. Wayne Greene, Dr. Don Mulvaney and Dr. Soren Rodning to make way to enhance the YCLP and Alabama BQA programs. The group also discussed ways of better implementing the Alabama Beef Cattle Strategic Plan

If you're not BQA-certified, become certified today for FREE thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim. Also, be on the look out for upcoming cattle meetings in the state that will offer you the chance to become BQA certified. 


Ag Awareness Day at Auburn 

Pending the weather tomorrow, ACA staffer Kayla Greer will be taking to her alma mater to help the College of Agriculture (COA) students with their "Ag Awareness Day" on campus as part of Ag Week 2016. The COA students will be taking over Haley Concourse on Auburn's campus and fill it with agriculture-related games, booths and equipment to expose non-agriculture students to the many commodities. ACA's steer trailer featuring the beef cuts will be there too! Check out the College's Facebook page to see all the fun events happening this week on Auburn's campus. 


Trip to D.C.

Dr. Billy Powell, ACA President Bill Lipscomb and President-Elect Richard Meadows are finalizing their plans for their trip to Washington D.C. in the next two weeks. While there, the trio will join with 30 other state cattlemen's associations to attend the Spring Legislative Conference. This trip will provide our state cattlemen's representatives with the opportunity to go on office visits with Alabama's congressional delegation!


Monday, November 2, 2015

Movie Monday- Effectively Moving Bulls


Buying Bulls This Fall?

If you’re buying bulls this time of year, then we’ve got a video for you. Buying the bull is only the first step in the process. Step two is moving him!

With a bull’s volatile temperament, that’s easier said than done sometimes! Check out this week’s #MovieMonday and get some tips from the folks with the National BQA Certification Program on what to do when moving bulls.




Monday, June 15, 2015

Movie Monday: Low-Stress Handling

Lowndes County cattleman Chuck Madaris of
CK Cattle Co. practicing low-stress
handling along with Dr. Harold Pate.
Producers: 
We don’t have to tell you that cattle are skittish animals. That’s why low-stress handling practices are very important for overall quality assurance and animal welfare for your cattle.

Low-stress handling can even help prevent BRD (bovine respiratory disease) and other ailments or diseases that come about when animals are placed in high-stress situations.

Check it out for this week’s #WatchThisWednesday.