Director’s Report By ROY COPELAN Executive Director, SCCA
August is here, and the summer continues to fly by. Before too long, schools will be back in session, the days will become shorter, and our schedules will be busy with shows, sales, etc. June and July were full of beef promotions and cattle activities including 16 retail in store promotions, eight foodservice promotions, five farm market promotions, two producer activities, four county meetings, and two commodity events. What a fast pace summer! The 2019 S.C. Junior Beef RoundUp will take place at the Garrison Arena outside of Clemson on August 2-4. The committee has planned a great Junior Beef Round-Up for our youth. If your time permits, visit the arena on Saturday and Sunday. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening with a beef burger meal in the Garrison Cattle Complex.
Cattle virtual tour at Foodservice Trade Show
Here are a few questions to ask yourself and others on these hot and long days. Have you encouraged a fellow cattle producer to join the S.C. Cattlemen’s Association? Have you joined NCBA? Have you invited a South Carolina business (feed dealer, banker, livestock supplier, vehicle dealership, etc.) to join SCCA as an Associate Member? Have you contributed to the S.C. Cattlemen’s Foundation? Have you purchased a SCCA cap? Did you attend the 2019 SCCA Annual Meeting? These are all important questions for the beef cattle business in our state. Your individual assistance and cooperation make this business better each and every day. There is no better time than now to get involved!
ATTENTION South Carolina county and regional cattlemen’s association presidents and treasures: you are encouraged to start collecting county and state dues now and into the fall. January 1 is fast approaching. State dues remain at $30 per year. It usually takes 30-45 days to have memberships recorded and to start receiving The Carolina Cattle Connection. Let’s all work to get a head start.
College marketing class on agriculture commodities
Speaking of county and regional cattlemen’s associations, please provide the state office with your president’s name, address, cell number, and email address, as well as your meeting dates, time, and places. I would like to attend your meetings and will write an article for The Carolina Cattle Connection about your event. Call me at 803-917-1119 to schedule. I look forward to visiting your group. Your assistance with contacts at retail, food service, and community events is encouraged during our annual “Tailgating Beef Campaign,” which runs from September 1 through November 16. Talk to others, and let’s plan to continue telling the “beef story” during this period. The S.C. Beef Council encourages all cattle producers in South Carolina to vote in favor of the renewing State Beef Assessment Program (50¢ per head) for another five years. Ballots will be mailed by the S.C. Agriculture Commission, and the vote will be held August 19-30. Please review the list of various projects, programs, and activities your dollars have funded in our state the last 4½ years on page 40. This is your local investment into your producer owned commodity group. Vote YES!
Have you joined the national cattlemen’s organization this year? NCBA needs your participation. So, what does NCBA do for the beef community on a national and international level? The organization covers everything that needs to be done, including taxes, trade, regulations, and policy. We are working hard to get it done and get it done right. We want to build a strong demand for U.S. beef so that your operation stays in business year after year. NCBA is a community organization run by members, for members. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. This year our “drought” is over, and we are making it rain in Washington, D.C. We’ve opened China, made advances on Waters of the U.S., tax and credit, endangered species, the GIPSA rule, and other key policy initiatives. Join NCBA today! Did you know thousands of consumers have come to the checkoff to get answers to their beef cut questions thanks to the checkoff’s Interactive Butcher Counter, now in its second year on www.BeefitsWhatsForDinner.com? In fact, since the start of fiscal 2018, more than 249,000 consumers have generated more than 360,000 page views at the Interactive Butcher Counter. With this popular tool, consumers can find an ideal beef cut for any occasion by clicking, “exploring the cuts,” “guide me to the right cut,” or by simply searching the name of a particular cut. The information included recommended cooking methods, nutritional data, and delicious recipes using the cut. The Interactive Butcher Count is also responsive. They have the same great experience. To learn more about your beef checkoff investment, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.
Cattle tour with Ag in Classroom Field Day
Are there enough hours in the day? That is a question I constantly continue to ask myself, but I still like to give my time. At times I feel like I am never going to get ahead and keep falling further and further behind, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change volunteering my time to organizations, as well as to my family and friends. I encourage you to do the same in any capacity you can. If there is one to take away from this piece, it’s that volunteering is what makes
a difference in today’s world, especially the beef industry. Whether that be serving on a committee, chairing a committee, or letting your opinion and thoughts be heard, it truly is very important. The future of our industry is bright and will be even brighter with the help of new and current volunteers. No work goes unnoticed. It can seem like a difficult task to complete and balance with your work life, but it is worth it.
Beef sampling at a local retail market
The S.C. Beef Council now has a Facebook and Twitter page. These pages feature beef recipes, industry updates, events, and beef news. Send in event descriptions, dates, articles, and pictures. Email them to Marianne Copelan at Marianne.Copelan@gmail.com. Thanks to Marianne for helping us establish both pages. Let’s promote and use these helpful tools. Pass the word around. Continue to visit the SCBC/SCCA website at www.sccattle.org for the latest news. Weekly updates are going up on the website. Also, show your support for the four firms that are advertising on the website. They are Eva Hurley State Farm Insurance in Greenville, S.C., Rusty Thomson & Family (Arrowquip) in Sharon, S.C., Mid-Atlantic Cattle Sales in Richfield, N.C., and Sumner Ag Services in Tifton, Georgia. A big thank you to each firm! The 24th SCCA Annual Meeting is scheduled for March 18-20 at the Garrison Arena in Pendleton. Mark your calendar and tell others about this important opportunity for our cattle producers. Let’s work towards getting more than 400 producers to attend this year! The 2020 NCBA Annual Convention and Trade Show is scheduled for February 5-7 in San Antonio, Texas. Mark your calendar and plan on attending. South Carolina should have a large delegation attending next year. And the next meeting of the S.C. Cattlemen’s Association SCCA Board of Directors will be on August 15 at 10:00 a.m. in Columbia at the Clemson LPH office. All meetings are open. Stay cool in the summer days. Until next month…
The Carolina Cattle Connection
q AUGUST 2019
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