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
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
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
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| 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
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
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
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.
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