Bama Beef Blog: Cowboy Cookoff

Showing posts with label Cowboy Cookoff. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday: March 9, 2016

Convention has come to a close, and we are saddling up for SLE Rodeo at the Cattlemen's building this week. That's right, the SLE Rodeo comes buckin' into town next week, and our team is gearing up for its many events as well as running around town promoting it! The rodeo isn't all that's going on around the ACA, though.

Keep ready to find out what's going on...

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 & Military Night where FREE general admission is granted to anyone who can present a first responders or military 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 or LIKE US on Facebook.

The MOOseum on Simply Southern

In case you missed it, The MOOseum was featured on last Sunday morning's episode of Simply Southern. Don't worry, you won't have to catch a rerun because it's already on YouTube. Technology is too neat, right? Here's the episode: (Our segment appears at around 10:00 minutes in the show.)

Book your class or group tour of The MOOseum today! It's easy with our online sign up tool or by calling today. (334) 265-1867 Visit the history room, Slim's Kitchen or the Cow Pen or dress up like a real cowboy or cowgirl in the rodeo room! Come on out to The MOOseum, we'd love to see you.

Rodeo Promo

Speaking of television, Dr. Billy Powell and Kayla Greer have been busy appearing on television and radio shows promoting the SLE Rodeo and Livestock week. If you listen to or watch WSFA, WAKA, WBAM Bama Country, I-92 WLWI, WTXT The Ticket with Doug Amos and Charlie Trotman, The River or Cumulus with JT and LeeAnn, you're bound to hear from us about the rodeo. More promotions to come this week and next so be listening or watching out!

Cowboy Cookoff- Sign Up Today

Have you got a Ribeye Steak recipe that's popular among crowds? If so, then get ready to get grillin' at this year's Cowboy Cookoff as part of SLE Rodeo week! Join us in front of Garrett Coliseum on

Saturday, March 19 for a Ribeye Steak cookoff you don't wanna miss. Teams of four or less can compete for monetary prizes in the People's Choice and Judge's Panel categories.

Interested in forming a team? Learn more and sign up today!

Membership Update

Total membership for 2016 to date is 10,159! Help us reach our goal of 12,000 members! Reminder: the dues effect went into
effect as of March 1.

April 30 is the deadline for Top Hand Club (see prizes in the February Alabama Cattleman) and for your county to go "Over the Top" to qualify for the Priefert Squeeze Chute. April 30 is also the deadline for the Gator raffle.

Ag Coalition

The Ag Coalition met Tuesday morning to review legislative matters impacting our industries. Legislation has slowed down and both General Fund and Education budgets are slowly making their way through the House and Senate. According to Dr. Billy Powell, there was lots of discussion on the proposed increase in fuel tax and ensuring that funds are dedicated to fixing rural roads and bridges. The Ag Coalition is also monitoring several HSUS-sponsored bills.

Dietitians Farm Tour

This Wednesday afternoon, your Beef Checkoff dollars will go to work as staffers Erin Beasley and Kayla Greer will be joining forces with the fine folks at Autauga Farming Company, including ACA President Bill Lipscomb, to host over 60 dietitians on a farm tour. This is a pre-conference tour hosted as part of the Alabama Dietetics Association State Convention taking place in Montgomery.

This is an opportunity to show these industry influencers how beef in produced and to answer their questions to teach them that beef is a safe, wholesome, nutritious product.

Collegiate Livestock Judging Competition

Livestock Week will kickoff Thursday with a bang as over 200 students are participating in the first-ever SLE High School and Collegiate Judging Contest at Garrett Coliseum. Jason P’ Poole of Extension in in charge of this event and is excited to host this large group of talented livestock judgers.

In Other News...

Dr. Powell met this week with State Statistician Cynthia Price with the USDA National Ag Statistics Service, and she reported that due to budget restraints, the July 1 cattle inventory survey has been suspended.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday: Feb. 24, 2016

It's certainly not your average week around the ACA! As staff prepares to head to Birmingham tomorrow morning, it's all hands on deck in Convention mode. Selina is stuffing vendor and online registration packets, Curt is putting the finishing touches on his Junior session plans, Kayla is running program copies, planning out the Friday night photo booth and developing a social media presentation, and Martha and Dr. Powell are managing the team and all the tiny details that come along with a convention as well as putting the final touches on the Awards Banquet, Legislative Luncheon, Board Meeting, and well, everything else that's going on. Erin is even working from home managing the trade show and its many vendors!

Needless to say, it's busy around here, so forgive us if this week's post is shorter than usual. The them of this week is #BamaBeefMeet.

ACA Convention and Trade Show- FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!

ACA officers and staff are finalizing plans for the “Iron City Beef Bash” this weekend in Birmingham! It's going to be a great time of fellowship and education, so don't miss out.

If you haven't registered for the 73rd annual ACA Convention and Trade Show, don't worry. It's not too late! Onsite registration will be available Friday and Saturday. Cost of registration onsite will be $15 per day!

We have a great lineup of guest speakers and a sold-out trade show for the Iron City Beef Bash 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, nationally-recognized Extension Ag Economist Dr. Derrell Peel from Oklahoma State University and NCBA Executive Director of Producer Education Josh White.

Our trade show is sold out with over 60 vendors including companies like Tri-Green, Priefert, Fuller Supply, Deep South Livestock, Merck, New Holland North America, Southern Silage Company, Drummonds Farms, BamaWise, Verizon Wireless and many, many more! The trade show alone is worth the trip to the Iron City!

Friday night's Rotational Grazing is going to be a great time for all with fun, fellowship and boot, scoot and boogy-in' to Tim Tyler the Piano Man! We also have a great selection of items for Beef PAC auction planned for Friday night with World Champion Auctioneer Branden Neely along with some very interesting items. You do not have to be present to participate and we will send you a list of auction items soon!

A special thanks to this year's Convention sponsors Alabama Farm Credit/Alabama Land Credit, Alabama Farmers Cooperative. Alabama Farmers Federation, AgriLabs, Alabama CattleWomen’s Association, First South Farm Credit, Fuller Supply Company/Preifert Ranch Equipment, Morgan Stanley, ServisFirst Bank, Southeast AgNet and the Southeastern Livestock Exposition.

More information regarding this year's convention is in February's issue of the Alabama Cattleman. We can't wait to see you there- we'll be ready!

Alabama Live! Interview

Monday morning, Dr. Billy Powell and Kayla Greer spent the morning on the set of Alabama Live! promoting the Convention and Trade Show. This was the second talk show interview promoting the Convention and great coverage for the event! To see the interview, click here.

Membership Update

Total membership for 2016 to date is 8,227! Help us reach our goal of 12,000 members! THIS WEEK is your final opportunity to renew or join at the $30 rate. The dues increase will take effect on March 1st.

April 30 is the deadline for Top Hand Club (see prizes in the January Alabama Cattleman) and for your county to go "Over the Top" to qualify for the Priefert Squeeze Chute. April 30 is also the deadline for the Gator raffle- tickets for the Gator will be for sale at the ACA Convention.

Cowboy Cookoff- Sign Up Today

Have you got a Ribeye Steak recipe that's popular among crowds? If so, then get ready to get grillin' at this year's Cowboy Cookoff as part of SLE Rodeo week! Join us in front of Garrett Coliseum on

Social Media Update

You might have started noticing some small changes on our social media sites. If not, take a look! Hopefully some bigger, better and more productive changes are headed the ACA's way! As for this week, though, the Sunday post (pictured below) did excellent! To date, it's gotten 419 likes, 908 shares and reached over 97,000 people and counting! To explain, that means over 97,000 people have been exposed to the good message about producing cattle in the state of Alabama...for FREE! Social media is a powerful tool. Pictured is Jim Akin on his Lauderdale County farm.

FACEBOOK
TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

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.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday: Feb. 17, 2016

The countdown to Convention is beginning to dwindle! The staff is busy in preparation for the big event next week and are looking so forward to seeing all the attendees, hear all the speakers and enjoying all the food, fellowship and fun. There's so much to look forward to, but Convention isn't the only thing on your state staff's calendar. We're here, there and everywhere working to represent Alabama cattlemen and the beef industry.

Saddle up for a update on what's going on around the ACA this week:

Membership Update

Total membership for 2016 to date is 7,512! Help us reach our goal of 12,000 members! This month is your final opportunity to renew or join at the $30 rate. The dues increase will take effect on March 1st.

Dates to remember for membership- Feb. 26 is the final chance for your county to go "Over the Top" by five members to qualify for the President's red coat. Congrats to Colbert, Crenshaw and Sumter counties who have already gone "Over the Top." Good work getting your membership up this year!

April 30 is the deadline for Top Hand Club (see prizes in the January Alabama Cattleman) and for your county to go "Over the Top" to qualify for the Priefert Squeeze Chute. April 30 is also the deadline for the Gator raffle.

Stay up to date on events coming your way by visiting the Cattlemen's Calendar.

ACA Convention and Trade Show- NEXT WEEK!

ACA officers and staff are finalizing plans for the “Iron City Beef Bash” coming up in Birmingham! It's going to be a great time of fellowship and education, so don't miss out.

If you haven't regisitered for the 73rd annual ACA Convention and Trade Show, then now's the time! Pre-registration, which would sign you up for meals, closes February 18.

We have a great lineup of guest speakers and a sold-out trade show for the Iron City Beef Bash 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, nationally-recognized Extension Ag Economist Dr. Derrell Peel from Oklahoma State University and NCBA Executive Director of Producer Education Josh White.

A special thanks to this year's Convention sponsors Alabama Farm Credit/Alabama Land Credit, Alabama Farmers Cooperative. Alabama Farmers Federation, AgriLabs, Alabama CattleWomen’s Association, First South Farm Credit, Fuller Supply Company/Preifert Ranch Equipment, Morgan Stanley, ServisFirst Bank, Southeast AgNet and the Southeastern Livestock Exposition.

More information regarding this year's convention is in January's issue of the Alabama Cattleman and there will be more in February's upcoming issue. Register online or by mail today by clicking the link above. Reserve your room at the Sheraton: CLICK HERE or call 205-324-500 BEFORE Feb. 21!

(Group code: AL CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION)

ACA Staff Promotes the Convention

Staffers Kayla Greer and Curt Berry hit the road early Monday morning in route to Hoover to do a live interview with ACB33|40 "Talk of Alabama." Want to see the interview? CLICK HERE

Legislative Front- Ag Coalition Meets at ACA

To stay in touch with other agribusinesses and commodities during the ongoing legislative session, the Ag Coalition meets in the ACA building on Tuesday to discuss upcoming bills and legislative discussions.

The Legislature is meeting three days this week instead of the normal two. According to ACA's lobbyist Dr. Billy Powell, hall talk now is that the necessary sunset bills are handled, to start moving on the General Fund budget in the Senate and the Education Budget in the House. Everyone Dr. Powell has spoken with sure hopes to end this session early with all work completed so they will not need to be called back into any Special Sessions.

It's important to have an Association representative monitoring and protecting your livelihood while you continue to invest in it. To donate to the PAC, click here.

Sysco Central Alabama Promotion

The beef checkoff is funding another beef sales promotion with Sysco Foodservice. Three weeks into the two-month promoti

on, an increase of over 10,000 lbs of beef have already been sold. The sales team at Sysco is working hard to sell as much as they can to try and win the grand prize of a Yeti cooler. Stay tuned for the results of this great beef promotion.

Cowboy Cookoff- Sign Up Today

Have you got a Ribeye Steak recipe that's popular among crowds? If so, then get ready to get grillin' at this year's Cowboy Cookoff as part of SLE Rodeo week! Join us in front of Garrett Coliseum on

State Beef Checkoffs Meet in Austin, TX

Dr. Powell will spend Thursday and Friday at a State Checkoff Execs meeting in Austin, TX hosted by the Texas Beef Council. To date, there are 14 states with separate checkoff programs and another 10+ states working on their own program. The purpose of this meeting is to share ideas and discuss ways to work more closely together.

Social Media Update

Staffer Kayla Greer has been working with national staff to get recommendations for improving our social platforms from the NCBA digital lab. After an evaluation and several phone calls and email conversations, some new ideas have been discussed. Stay tuned to our social platforms to see what happens.

FACEBOOK

TWITTER
INSTAGRAM

JBE Planning

Staffer Curt Berry is burning up the Junior Beef Expo planning grounds. This week, his focus has been primarily on breaking up the classes for the heifer and steer shows, organizing and ordering ribbons and finalizing sponsorships. Curt has been working closely with Nate Yeager, Jimmy Holliman, Rusty Roden and Van Smith to plan this year's show and is very appreciative of all the hard work and support this group has put forth! Great job, gentlemen.

The 2016 Junior Beef Expo will take place March 18-20 at the Garrett Coliseum livestock barns.

2016 SLE Rodeo

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.

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.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday: January 20, 2016

January is slipping away from us! Only one more Wednesday post before we are hopping along into Convention month. There's still a lot to be done to prepare, but plans for Convention are really shaping up. It's going to be a great time of fellowship, learning and experiencing all this industry has to offer. There's a lot more than just Convention going on, however. Keep reading to see #WhatsGoingOn around the Cattlemen's this week.

Membership Report

2016 ACA membership entered the day with 5,754 members so far. There's a lot of upcoming county meetings where numbers will jump. Be sure to check out the Cattlemen's Calendar to find out when your county annual meeting is and be sure to pay your dues before the increase goes into effect on March 1.

Help your county go “Over the Top” by Feb. 26th, and your county president will receive a red coat along with 20 rodeo tickets to share among the county chapter. "Over the Top" counties will also entered into the drawing to win the Priefet Squeeze Chute (Side Note: Counties must have at least 100 members to qualify for the squeeze chute). Congratualtions to Sumter County who's gone "Over the Top" with 93 members, seven more than 2015.

73rd Annual ACA Convention and Trade Show

Have you registered for the ACA Convention and Trade Show yet? Now's the time!

We have a great lineup of guest speakers and a sold-out trade show 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.

Our trade show is sold out with over 60 vendors including companies like Tri-Green, Priefert, Fuller Supply, Deep South Livestock, Merck, New Holland North America, Southern Silage Company, Drummonds Farms, BamaWise, Verizon Wireless and many, many more! The trade show alone is worth the trip to the Iron City!

Friday night's Rotational Grazing is going to be a great time for all with fun, fellowship and boot, scoot and boogy-in' to Tim Tyler the Piano Man! Other entertainment and a photo booth sponsored by the Southeastern Livestock Expo will be available as well!

A special thanks to this year's Convention sponsors Alabama Farm Credit/Alabama Land Credit, Alabama Farmers Cooperative. Alabama Farmers Federation, AgriLabs, Alabama CattleWomen’s Association, First South Farm Credit, Fuller Supply Company/Preifert Ranch Equipment, Morgan Stanley, ServisFirst Bank, Southeast AgNet and the Southeastern Livestock Exposition.

More information regarding this year's convention is in January's issue of the Alabama Cattleman and there will be more in February's upcoming issue. Register online or by mail today by clicking the link above. Reserve your room at the Sheraton: CLICK HERE or call 205-324-500

(Group code: AL CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION)

Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame

The ballots have been mailed to the 37 living members encouraging them to vote on individuals for induction into the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame at Convention on Saturday, February 27. Two new honarees and a Pioneer Inductee will be inducted with their families at side. Be sure to get those ballots in!

Farm Tours

On Tuesday, ACA Director of Industry Relations Curt Berry traveled north to St. Clair and Cullman counties to four different operations. Curt's objective was to view nominations for the NCBA, NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation's Environmental Stewardship Award. Stay tuned to follow the progress of this award.

2016 SLE Rodeo

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.

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 Cowboy Cookoff

Round up your team for the Cowboy Cookoff! Online registration

is now available for teams interested in competing in the 2016 Cowboy Cookoff, held in conjunction with the SLE Rodeo on March 19 in Montgomery at the Garrett Coliseum. Prize money will be given to the Judges Choice winner ($500) and the People’s Choice winner ($250). Entry fee is only $100 and we will provide you with the steaks! Questions? Contact Erin at the ACA office.

Rodeo and Junior Beef Expo Planning

Dr. Billy Powell met with Garrett Coliseum staff this week and is holding a meeting Friday with SLE officers to finalize plans for this year's SLE Rodeo. He says it's shaping up to be the best one in 59 years!

Dr. Powell also talked to Alabama Junior Cinch and Senior High School Rodeos, and SLE is allowing them to hold rodeos in the Coliseum on March 12 and 13, prior to SLE week. This will be a great learning experience for these upcoming rodeo cowboys and cowgirls.

ACA staffer Curt Berry has been busy with Junior Beef Expo (JBE) planning and fundraising, and he, along with Dr. Powell, is in discussion with Extension's 4-H and Youth Development Specialist Jason P’Poole to discuss plans for 1st Annual Southeastern Livestock Expo 4-H/FFA and Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

What's Going On Wednesday: January 13, 2016

Howdy, folks! Has it already been a week since the last #WhatsGoingOnWednesday post? Wow time sure does fly when you're busy working for Alabama's cattlemen. It's a very busy time of year for the ACA state staff as we are preparing for the 73rd annual ACA Convention and Trade Show and the upcoming SLE Rodeo! Aside from those two large-scale events, there's smaller projects, events and meetings happening constantly around the ACA building. Keep reading to stay in-the-know about #WhatsGoingOn with your state ACA staffers.

Iron City Beef Bash

Have you registered for the ACA Convention and Trade Show yet? Now's the time!

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 clicking the link above. Reserve your room at the Sheraton: CLICK HERE or call 205-324-500

(Group code: AL CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION)

Trade Show Vendors

Attention all vendors, trade show is filling up quick! It won’t be long until our trade show will reach maximum capacity. We encourage any interested company to complete their vendor registration in the next week to ensure a booth space. Online registration can be found by visiting, http://www.bamabeef.org/pdf/2016/01-05/exhibitor_form.pdf. Questions? Contact Erin or Selina at the ACA office.

2016 Membership

We are off to a great start in membership for 2016 and it's expected to take a major jump after annual meetings take place. As of today, 2016 membership is at 5,259 paid members!

There are county meetings happening all across the state during January and February! Check out the ACA Calendar and make sure to go to your county's annual meeting!

February Magazine

The February magazine is the Convention issue, so hang on to it to

use as a reference while you're in Birmingham! Just in case you lose it, though, copies will be available at the Convention, and that means it's a great time to advertise! Get the best bang for your advertising dollar by contacting Nicky Bechard by January 15 to advertise in our next issue! (334) 265-1867

4-H Skill-A-Thon and Quiz Bowl

Saturday ACA staffer Curt Berry went to the 4-H Skill-A-Thon and Quiz Bowl at the 4-H Center in Columbiana. While there, Curt visited with junior cattlemen from across the state, learned more about the contest and watched the well-prepared students compete with their knowledge of animal agriculture. He was impressed with the amount of preparation and farm knowledge goes into this event. Great job, juniors!

JBE Fundraising

Speaking of juniors, Curt has been very busy working with the Junior Beef Expo Fundraising Committee to gain sponsorships for this year's show. SLE President Thomas Ellis, Van Smith, Rusty Roden, Jimmy Parnell and Paul Pinyan have multiple meetings this week to discuess fundraising efforts. If you're interested in sponsoring the 2016 JBE, contact Curt.

2015 DYW contestants enjoying
time spent in The MOOseum

DYW at ACA

Tomorrow the ACA will host the Distinguished Young Women of Alabama for a lunch and learn about the state’s cattle industry. Contestants from across the state will enjoy a beef lunch, try to stump Dr. Powell with their hometown’s county location, tour The MOOseum and participate in a beef trivia contest to test their knowledge about beef. Full coverage of the event will be in the February edition of the Alabama Cattleman.

YCLP Weekend Getaway

For the last meeting before Convention, the YCLP Class II students will be joining Dr. Don Mulvaney in southeast Alabama this Saturday and Sunday for farm tours and leadership training. The group will take their first stop in Eufala at Corcoran Farms, visit the Headland Research Center, tour Meadow Creek Farm then retire to Dothan for dinner and leadership sessions. Sunday morning, the group will enjoy breakfast and more training and head back to the farm. This is the final get together before their graduation from the program which will take place at Convention. This group has visted farms across the state, toured a packing facility, participated in hours of leadership training, networked among millennial cattlemen in Alabama and learned about the ACA and the legislative process. It's been a successful year for the class, and they are excited for the upcoming Class III to experience all they have.

Cowboy Cookoff

Round up your team for the Cowboy Cookoff! Online registration

Facebook Contest

Did you know that lean beef is part of a healthy lifestyle? As you kick off your 2016 diet and fitness plan, 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.

3L Ranch Photo Shoot

Bill said one of his favorite spots
on his Prattville ranch is behind
the wheel of his Ranger side-by-side.

In preparation for a new president after his installation at the upcoming convention, ACA staffers Kayla Greer and Curt Berry spent Tuesday afternoon at President-Elect Bill Lipscomb's homestead. While there, the staffers took Alabama Cattleman cover pictures of Bill and his wife, Susan, and visited with the couple while learning about their Prattville operation. Bill is very excited for his upcoming presidency and cannot wait to meet as many members as possible.

He and Susan are picture-perfect! Thanks, Mr. Bill and Mrs. Susan for spending the afternoon with Kayla and Curt!

2016 SLE Rodeo

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.

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.