What's Going On Wednesday: January 6, 2016

Welcome 2016! Just as suspected, your state staffers hit the ground running after returning from a long and appreciated Christmas and New Year break. With convention and the SLE Rodeo just around the corner atop multiple new and ongoing projects, there's lots of planning, fundraising and meeting to be done around the ACA Building in the next couple of months. This post is just about #WhatsGoingOn with your state staffers this week, though, so keep reading for updates regarding convention, the rodeo, The MOOseum, beef marketing and lots more! 

ACA Convention and Trade Show

We have a great lineup of guest speakers and trade show vendors for the Iron City Beef Bash 73rd Annual ACA Convention and Trade Show. Alabama Senior Senator Richard Shelby will be the keynote speaker at the legislative luncheon while Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Ph.D., Administrator for the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, will be the general session guest speaker. Other guest speakers include USMEF's Dan Halstrom  who will speak on "What Lies Ahead for the Beef Export Market," Soren Rodning, DMV, from Auburn University, Extension Ag Economist Derrell Peel from Oklahoma State University and NCBA Executive Director of Producer Education Josh White. 

Be on the lookout for more information regarding this year's convention in January's issue of the Alabama Cattleman. Register online or by mail today by visiting our website.  Reserve your room at the Sheraton: CLICK HERE or call 205-324-500

(Group code: AL CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION)

Scholarships

The scholarship committee has made final decisions and is pleased

to report that over 50 students will be awarded scholarships at the

2016 ACA Convention. Scholarships totals will exceed $50,000 to well deserving students who have excelled both academically and through leadership roles. Letters will go out soon to scholarship recipients!

2016 SLE Rodeo

The 59th Annual SLE Rodeo comes bucking into town March 17-19. This is a family event you don't wanna miss because this year has all kinds of new events including a parade to kick off SLE week! Tickets are easy to buy:

• Call 1-888-2RODEO2 and order over phone
• Visit www.SLERodeo.com and order online through Ticketmaster.
• Visit the Cattlemen's building in Downtown Montgomery or the Garrett Coliseum and buy your tickets in person
• Mail in a ticket order form, which can her found here. 

You're not going to want to miss this family fun show packed with entertainment! Frontier Rodeo Company, PRCA's Stock Contractor of the Year, will be bringing their best including PRCA Saddle Bronc of the Year, Medicine Woman! In between the bucking, bulldoggin' and barrels, Pro Rodeo master comedian Lecile Harris

will entertain the crowd while celebrating 60 years in the business! Don't forget your boogie boots because following Friday and Saturday nights' performances, you'll get to go Dancin' in the Dirt to the Sweet Young'Uns (Friday) and the Wes Loper Band (Saturday). Just in case that's not enough excitement, Thursday night is First Responders Night where FREE general admission is granted to anyone who can present a first responders identification. Friday night is Ladies Night where all ladies tickets will be submitted for some juicy door prizes drawn throughout the show! Lastly, bring those battle cries to the rodeo Saturday

The Sweet Young'Uns will perform
Friday evening following the
show, and the Wes Loper Band will
party in true rodeo fashion Saturday! 

night for College Night, where college students can receive 4 tickets for only $40 with the presentation of a valid college i.d. 

Saddle up and join in the family fun and entertainment for all ages all while enjoying America's original sport, rodeo! Visit our website for more information and a schedule of events.

2016 Membership

This is the best start in years for our membership! As of today our 2016 membership is up to 4,785 with several more to enter from the holidays. Membership deadline is Februrary 26th at noon to go "over the top." Counties must be over by five to qualify for the presidents red coat, 20 SLE rodeo tickets and a secretary shirt. We are happy to have AgriLabs back as the 2016 Over the Top sponsor! They have continued to support ACA for years. Thanks you, AgriLabs!

Don’t forget about the individual prizes all members can qualify to win! The Top Hand club is sponsored by Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farm Credit, and current members can win prizes simply by recruiting new members. Check out the January magazine to find a list of prizes.

There are county meetings galore this month! Check out the ACA Calendar and make sure to go to your county's annual meeting! 

Alabama Cattleman Magazine

Were you beginning to think about advertising in the Alabama Catleman magazine this year? If so, February is a great month to do so because it will be the Convention issue handed out to all in attendance at our Convention. Contact Nicky Bechard by January 15 to advertise in our next issue! (334) 265-1867

Checkoff Corner

New Year’s Foodservice Promotion Kicks off with Sysco

 Sysco Central Alabama salesmen will be competing from January 18-March 17 to sell the most pounds of beef. This promotion should generate a nice bump in beef sales of 12-15,000 lbs. (approximately $100,000) of beef in an otherwise quiet selling time for beef in foodservice. Stay tuned for information on the winners in early spring!

Stockyard and Co-Op Mailouts

ACA's Erin Beasley is working on a mailout to all stockyards and Alabama Farmer’s Cooperative stores. These packets will include a newsletter with association updates, copies of the 2016 Beef Checkoff Marketing Plan, Convention speaker and schedule info and SLE Rodeo ticket order forms.

COOL Repealed

Erin has also been in communication this week with retailers regarding the repeal of COOL and a new final rule on ground beef grinding requirements in the supermarket. One of our jobs is to provide information to small retailers to help them better transition when new laws are put in place. Erin does a great job communicating with these retailers. Dr. Powell has been on the phone with Sen. Richard Shelby about this matter (and others) as well. 

Junior Beef Expo

ACA Director of Industry Relations and Youth Activities Curt Berry has been busy planning and fundraising for the 2016 Junior Beef Expo. Now that registration is closed, we can announce that we have 342 entries for this year's show! 

If you have questions or would like to be a sponsor for the show, visit our website, email Curt or call (334) 265-1867. 

January Beef Promotion

Did you know that lean beef is part of a healthy diet? As you kick off your new healthy lifestyle, don’t forget to incorporate lean beef into your meals for a punch of protein and other essential vitamins and nutrients! On Facebook now through January 15 you can comment on the below picture with your favorite meal featuring lean beef to win a $25 beef certificate, a "Beef Strong" fitness tank and a cookbook featuring healthy guides to cooking with lean beef.

The MOOseum

Call today or email Jessica today to book your tour at The MOOseum. Exciting things are in the future for our educational center including a little facelift along with the incorporation of some modern technology! We are excited for what it will offer Alabama's youth in the future. 

AU Agriculture Dean Search

The search for the next Dean for the Auburn University College of Agriculture is coming to a close with four outstanding candidates coming in for their final interviews. Dr. Billy Powell hosted steak dinners for two of the candidates this week at the ACA building and will meet the the other two next week.

Movie Monday: COOL repealed

In the latest government action, Congress passed the omnibus appropriations bill, which included a provision to drop mandatory origin labeling. Find out why this is a good thing for the beef industry with today’s #MovieMonday from 

NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen. 

What's Going On Wednesday

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.