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By David Lovell

The Lowndes Signal

Lowndes County Cattlemen’s Association introduces officers

Cattlemen and cattlewomen from around Lowndes County gathered in Hayneville Saturday evening for the Lowndes County Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting. Members of the cattlemen’s association look forward to the meeting each year as time to gather together, hear the latest trends in the cattle industry, and enjoy a steak dinner. 

In addition to the food and fellowship enjoyed, the men who will lead Lowndes County’s local chapter for the next two years were also introduced. 

“Nathan Lipscomb will be going in as the secretary/treasurer, Richard Holladay is moving to the vice president position, and Darren Hammonds will be moving to president,” said Bradfield Evans, current Lowndes County Cattlemen’s Association president. 

Membership will be a focal point for the new leadership as the cattlemen’s associations across the state strive to add to their rolls. 

“The most important thing that a membership offers, beyond private landowner rights and a voice at the statehouse on legislation, is access to a lot of education and opportunities,”  Evans said. “There are just a lot of positives that come out of that membership that takes place behind the scenes.” 

It was also announced that local cattleman and owner of CK Cattle, Chuck Madaris, would be serving as the incoming president for the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association for the upcoming year. 

“It is so important for organizations like this to have members and representation,” Madaris said. “It is a great honor to be able to follow in the footsteps of great leaders from Lowndes County. We have great leadership in Lowndes County and we are a tremendous county for the cattle industry.” 

“It is nice to see a full time cattleman going into this position to be able to lead the state association. He has a wealth of knowledge, a lifetime of experience, and I don’t think we could ask for a better person to be at the helm for the next year,” Evans said. 

The evening’s speaker was Max Runge, extension professor from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Sociology at Auburn University. Runge spoke briefly about the outlook of the cattle industry and is optimistic about what the trends are showing for the next few years. “Max Runge did a great job speaking and I think the big takeaway is the fact that there is a lot of optimism particularly with inventory being lower than usual.” Evans said. “Generally when we have low inventory, prices tend to increase due to supply and demand so there is certainly a lot of optimism.” 

The evening concluded with a live cake auction that is held each year by the Lowndes County Cattlewomen. This auction raises money for two $1,000 scholarships to be awarded to young men and women in Lowndes County who choose to focus on agriculture studies in college. $2,275 was raised from the five cakes that were auctioned, funding the scholarships for the upcoming year. If you are interested in becoming part of the Lowndes County Cattlemen’s Association or have any questions you may reach out to any of the new officers.