Alabama Extension Farm & Agribusiness Management

Our Southeast Region Agent, Calen Monroe, had a wonderful evening at the Wiregrass Cattlemen’s Beef Up Your Knowledge Educational Event!

With more than 70 attendees, the event provided a great opportunity to connect with local producers, share information about the upcoming Wiregrass Direct-to-Consumer Producer-to-Buyer Mixer, and discuss practical solutions to challenges facing today’s cattle industry.

Thank you to the Houston County Cattlemen’s Association for having us!

🌾🤝 NEW DATE ANNOUNCEMENT 🤝🌾

Due to feedback from farmers, buyers, and community partners, we have rescheduled our Farmers-to-Buyers Mixer to allow more producers and businesses the opportunity to participate after the busy summer growing season.

📅 August 19, 2026📍 National Peanut Festival Volunteer Building📌 Dothan, AL

This event brings together local farmers, restaurants, retailers, schools, and other food buyers to build relationships, create new market opportunities, and strengthen our local food system.

✅ Meet local producers and buyers
✅ Learn from experienced farmers and purchasers during our discussion panel
✅ Network with potential business partners
✅ Enjoy local hors d'oeuvres from Southrngritskitchen

Producer tables are available, and buyers are encouraged to attend and make valuable local connections.

Registration closes August 14th:
https://www.aces.edu/go/farmerstobuyers2026

We look forward to connecting local food with local businesses and helping grow opportunities across the Wiregrass!

We are incredibly proud of our team members — Ken Kelley, Wendiam Sawadgo, Max Runge, Kelli Russell, and Calen Monroe — for being recognized with awards this week at the Alabama Association of Agriculture Agents & Specialists Conference in Mobile! 🎉

Their hard work, dedication, and commitment to serving our communities and advancing agriculture continue to make a difference every day. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition — we are proud to have you representing our team! 🌾🏆

Day #2 of our team meeting with Clemson Extension Agribusiness in Mobile, AL was full of learning and collaboration! 🌾🐂

Today, we ventured to Perdido River Meats in Atmore, AL, a processing facility owned and operated by the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe We had the opportunity to learn more about their operation, the importance of value-added agriculture, and how local processing facilities play a vital role in supporting producers and strengthening rural communities.

We wrapped up the day with a series of presentations from team members highlighting programming that WORKS and innovative ways Extension continues to serve communities across state lines.

A special thank you to Dennis Brothers from Auburn, Roshell Roshell Rosales Aguilar from Auburn, and Steve Richards from Clemson for sharing their expertise and successful programming efforts.

We look forward to finishing the meeting strong tomorrow morning with even more presentations from team members and continuing to learn from one another!

Our team, along with our teammates from Clemson Extension Agribusiness, are attending our first joint Team Meeting since COVID in Mobile, AL this week! We have some exciting tours and trainings planned and are enjoying learning more about agriculture across the Southwest Region of Alabama.

Today we visited the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences’s Shellfish Lab on Dauphin Island!

Here are a few fun things we learned this week: 🦪

🦪 Oyster farming is one of the biggest suppliers of oysters in this area in comparison to wild caught oysters.

🦪 Hurricane Katrina greatly impacted local wild reefs by burying large portions of them.

🦪 Wild oyster harvests became heavily regulated after reef recovery efforts began.

🦪 This area receives some of its highest rainfall in May—around 16 inches—which impacts oyster production.

🦪 During hot months, Alabama requires oysters to reach mechanical refrigeration quickly after harvest for food safety.

🦪 Farm-raised oysters are known for producing a high-quality, safe product—just like other areas of agriculture.

🦪 Labs spend thousands each season feeding developing shellfish specialized algae diets to support production and reefs. This cost is small in comparison to what it would cost to supply live algae.

We’re excited for the rest of the meeting and all the opportunities to continue learning!

Please remember this event and get registered!

🌾 Farmers-to-Buyers Mixer – June 15th! 🍅🥩

Calling all local producers, retailers, and restaurants! Join us for a morning of connection, collaboration, and community building at our Farmers-to-Buyers Mixer.

📅 June 15, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
📍National Peanut Festival Volunteer Building

This event brings together the people who grow our food and the people who serve and sell it—opening doors for new partnerships, fresh ideas, and stronger local food networks.
✨ Producers: Reserve a table to showcase your operation and meet potential buyers.
✨ Retailers & Restaurants: Bring your business cards and connect with local growers.
✨ Panel Discussion: Hear from experienced farmers & buyers at 10:00 AM.
✨ Local hors d'oeuvres by Southrngritskitchen

👉 Sign up by June 8th:
https://www.aces.edu/go/farmerstobuyers2026

For questions or help preparing for this event, contact Calen Monroe at 334-752-1767.

Let’s strengthen our local food system—together! 🌱

Happy (late) Cinco de Mayo! 🌮🎉

As the celebrations wrap up, we’re still thinking about all our amazing local Mexican restaurants that bring so much flavor and fun to our communities—especially as they navigate rising costs on everyday ingredients like beef, chicken, and tomatoes.

Our own Wendiam Sawadgo shared insight on how these changes are impacting restaurants right now, just as one of their busiest seasons kicks off. Be sure to give it a watch/read!

So here’s to the small businesses keeping the fiesta going no matter what—your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed! 💛🌶️

Rising beef, chicken, and tomato costs pinch local Mexican restaurants ahead of Cinco de Mayo Tuesday is Cinco de Mayo, and many local Mexican restaurant owners expect a rush of customers and business.

Our agents Calen Monroe and Zack Smith are attending the DBAN Gathering in Birmingham this week, joining partners from across the region who are committed to supporting farmers facing financial challenges.

The Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network (DBAN) connects producers with trusted resources and advocates while working to keep family farms on the land. Events like this strengthen collaboration, share resources, and remind farmers that they are not alone.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn and connect with so many organizations doing meaningful work for agriculture and rural communities. 💰🚜

Our team hosted a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Resources program in Talladega County - Alabama Extension today, led by Calen Monroe and Zach Smith.

We are incredibly thankful for the support and participation from our partners, including the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs and loans division, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Talladega County Conservation District. We also had Bob Plaster from Alabama Ag & Industries! Their presence and willingness to share valuable resources truly made this program a success.

We appreciate everyone who attended and look forward to continuing to support and serve our local farmers and ranchers. 🌱🚜

Our team has had a wonderful time here in Salt Lake City this week! What better way to celebrate Alabama Extension Week than by representing our incredible system at the Extension Risk Management Education Conference?

Eight of us attended the conference, making it a great opportunity for collaboration, learning, and team building!

Our team truly showed up and showed out—

Calen Monroe presented a concurrent session on the “Faces of Direct-to-Consumer Series”. 🎥🐂

Dennis Brother led a concurrent session on “Broiler Buddy: Helping Contract Broiler Growers Make Better Business Decisions.” 📈🐓

And graduate student Justin Anderson represented the Heirs Property Alliance with a research poster titled “Alabama Heirs Property Alliance: Protecting Land, Lineage, and Legacy.” 🌲🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒