Beef Quality Assurance in-person training and recertification available

Jerad Jaborek<jaborekj@msu.edu>, MSU Extension - November 02, 2021

The Michigan Beef Industry Commission and Michigan State University Extension beef team have partnered to provide in-person training and recertification sessions.

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) is a national program that provides education on best management practices for cattle producers. Practicing BQA demonstrates a commitment from the producer to the consumer, that as the producer, they are providing proper care for their animals and providing a wholesome product. Certification in BQA can help capture more value for cattle sold at market while also increasing consumer confidence in the cattle industry.

Beef Quality Assurance training covers a variety of topics such as safe cattle handling, proper record keeping, cattle treatment procedures, biosecurity, fitness for transportation, and euthanasia considerations.

Many major beef packers began to require BQA certification as of January 1, 2019. For those who became BQA certified to meet this deadline, recertification is needed as your BQA certification is set to expire after three years. Online national training and certification is free and can be found at www.bqa.org.

If you are interested in in-person BQA training, the Michigan Beef Industry Commission and Michigan State University Extension beef team have teamed up to provide multiple free training and recertification sessions across Michigan. We ask that you please RSVP at: https://bit.ly/MiBQAreg, however, walk-ins are welcome. See list of BQA sessions below.

Date	Start Time	Location	Address	City
Nov. 4	9 a.m.	Clare Church of the Nazarene	10160 S Grant Ave	Clare
Nov. 18	3 p.m.	United Producers Inc. Livestock Market	7810 N. Croswell Rd	St. Louis
Nov. 18	7 p.m.	Elmer Twp. (Kittle) Hall	863 W. Kittle Rd	Mio
Nov. 20	10 a.m.	Ravenna Auction	3265 S. Slocum Rd	Ravenna
Dec. 1	6 p.m.	Franklin Inn	1070 E. Huron Ave	Bad Axe
Dec. 2	6 p.m.	Napoleon Livestock Commission Co.	6810 Brooklyn Rd (M-50)	Napolean
Dec. 14	7 p.m.	Banks Twp. Hall	6520 Center St	Ellsworth
Dec. 15	6 p.m.	St. Clair Co. MSU Extension Office	200 Grand River Ave	Port Huron
Dec. 16	7 p.m.	Whittemore Chamber of Commerce	405 E. Sherman S	Whittemore
Jan. 19	6 p.m.	Sanilac Co. Fair Grounds - FFA barn	210 N Dawson St	Sandusky
Feb. 18	6 p.m.	Beagio’s Pizza	5795 Sanilac Rd	Kingston

For more information on becoming BQA certified, please contact either Dan Buskirk, MSU Extension beef specialist, 517-432-0400, buskirk@msu.edu; Frank Wardynski, MSU Extension ruminant educator, 906-281-0918, wardynsk@msu.edu or Jerad Jaborek, MSU Extension feedlot educator, 715-451-2035, jaborekj@msu.edu.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).