BQA Programs Update
Online training modules offer more opportunities for people to become BQA certified.
“The right way is the only way” announced Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) leadership at the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix this past winter. “It’s not quite the golden rule, but it’s up there,” said the narrator in the promotional video created by BQA. Watch the video here.
BQA produced the video to highlight who beef producers really are, explained Chase DeCoite, director of BQA programs, because that’s what BQA is.
In 2017, BQA launched a series of online training modules, DeCoite reported. Those modules had garnered more than 24,000 enrollees and delivered 14,000 certifications by the 2018 convention.
DeCoite reported on BQA’s efforts to join in partnership with the National Pork Board’s Pork Quality Assurance program and the sheep, rabbit and poultry industries to create a multispecies youth quality assurance program. In March of 2017, the program was launched as Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA).
“This program is really geared toward students to provide them the training opportunities appropriate for their age,” said DeCoite.
The curriculum is designed for children as young as age 5 and grows with them to make sure they are getting age-appropriate information through age 21. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to complete each year’s level. There are several states adopting this as their multispecies quality assurance program for youth, he reported.
Since its launch, YQCA has had 5,400 online certifications and 272 in-person certifications.
Josh White, NCBA executive director of producer education, presented attendees of the BQA producer forum with the latest news on the BQA transportation training modules, which launched November 2017. Four hundred twenty-five people had enrolled, and 245 people had certified — 73 of which are farmers/ranchers and 172 are professional drivers.
White said Cargill has been an important partner and is helping fund in-person trainings by BQA state coordinators, as well as promotional ads for the training.
Jesse Fulton, National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) manager, gave an update on the amount of industry reach the latest audit has had. He said since the NCBA summer meeting, more than 2,500 people had attended NBQA meetings. Through digital platforms, print articles and televison programs, the audit has had almost 8 million impressions, including being aired on The Angus Report.
Lastly, DeCoite spoke to the success of the Stockmanship and Stewardship program featuring Curt Pate and Ron Gill. The program, he said, has expanded beyond local events hosted by state cattle associations or beef councils to include multiday regional events. In 2017, the tour visited California, Nebraska, Colorado and Mississippi, in addition to 30 local events.
This year the tour will vist Pasco, Wash.; Montrose, Colo.; Tulare, Calif.; Stephenville, Texas; and Clemson, S.C. Visit www.stockmanshipandstewardship.org for more information and dates.
Editor’s Note: Paige Nelson is a freelance writer and cattlewoman from Rigby, Idaho. This article was written as part of Angus Media’s coverage of the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention. See additional coverage distributed through Angus Media channels including the Angus Journal, Angus Beef Bulletin, Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, The Angus Report and online at www.angus.org.