When the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program launched more than 30 years ago, its focus was on improving food safety, specifically eliminating antibiotic residues in beef carcasses. As the program expanded, new research identified injection-caused intramuscular blemishes as a new topic to tackle. That’s where BQA earned its trademark, and those guidelines have stuck with cattle producers. Even today, when producers hear the BQA acronym, most think it’s about giving shots. Even though injection guidelines are still relevant and have helped to nearly eliminate injection abscesses in the loin and round, BQA is about much more than injection technique.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, BQA has transformed into an educational platform that is now being leveraged throughout the beef supply chain. It has become a useful vehicle to share producers’ commitment to not only food safety, but also to cattle wellbeing and beef quality. Coupled with changing consumer dynamics, the BQA program’s scientific approach to production standards is as important as ever.
It’s not the BQA of the ’90s anymore, and here are three ways that the BQA program has changed with the times.
BQA is much more than injection technique. The program’s guidelines have evolved to encompass all animal husbandry related production practices that have been scientifically proven to affect beef quality and safety.For instance, data from the 2022 National Beef Quality Audit has indicated that the industry is experiencing more challenges with carcass bruising. Bruising leads to excess carcass trim, which reduces carcass weight and value—not to mention that bruises are a concern to cattle wellbeing.
The BQA program has taken steps to address this by incorporating training on cattle behavior and handling. In addition to providing education on the principles of cattle behavior, understanding cattle flight zones and blind spots, BQA has also begun to share best practices for facility design and use, as well as transportation. If cattle producers understand the hazards associated with bruising and work to eliminate them through low stress handling, end product bruising will improve. When the amount and size of carcass bruises decrease, so will carcass values.
In addition to the core components of herd health, injections, antimicrobial stewardship and recordkeeping, the program now includes newer topics like biosecurity, implementing worker safety protocols, emergency action planning and addressing environmental concerns on cattle operations. Each of these topics have been adopted by the BQA program to not only promote continuous improvement, but also as a response to recent consumer research, which has found these components to be important to consumers as they make beef purchasing decisions.
You don’t have to attend a meeting to get BQA certified. BQA can be completed online. Modules are available for free thanks to the support of the Beef Checkoff, and are available 24/7 at www.bqa.org. Once a certification is earned, whether by completing the online modules or attending an in-person meeting, producers can now complete continuing education sessions for recertification credits.
Because several of the core BQA concepts have stayed the same over the years and have become second nature on many cattle operations, the new continuing education modules provide an opportunity to earn BQA credit by exploring additional BQA-related topics like stockmanship or biosecurity in more detail. A BQA certification is good for three years.
BQA is recognized, endorsed and rewarded throughout the beef supply chain. BQA has always been the right thing to do but now it is the expectation, and BQA-certified producers are rewarded for their commitment to the program. From a financial standpoint, recent research has found that producers can earn a premium of up to $16 per head when selling feeder cattle on video, simply by noting their BQA certification in their sale listing.
From the fed cattle perspective, BQA is good business, and packers have recognized the benefits of the program when they receive cattle from feedlots who demonstrate BQA principles. Consequently, the major packers have made commitments to BQA, which has enhanced relationships with their customers, resulting in better sentiment from beef consumers.
The BQA program has also proven its importance in other industry programming. For instance, the well-known and respected beef marketing program, Certified Angus Beef, has begun to support and promote BQA to share the positive story of beef production with their loyal customer base. Additionally, the BQA program has also begun to prove its value as an important piece in the beef sustainability puzzle. Groups like the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef are utilizing BQA as the measuring stick to evaluate animal health and wellness within the beef sustainability framework.
If you haven’t updated your BQA certification in over a decade, now is the time. BQA is and always has been, the right thing to do, but today, the program includes timely, relevant training topics, convenient delivery methods and is more valued throughout the industry than ever before. The time-tested BQA program has intentionally evolved through the decades to achieve its mission of guiding producers towards continuous improvement using scienced-based production practices that assure cattle well-being, beef quality and safety. — Libby Bigler, Colorado BQA coordinator
