Hello everyone! It has been some time since I have made my last blog post. This week’s post is dedicated to the BQA Program.
The BQA Program has helped our farm in numerous ways. Both Kevin and I have our BQA certification and we share a common understanding of herd health, handling techniques, and the overall daily operations on our cattle farm. The BQA Program has worked hard to invest in the cattle industry to not only educate farmers, the general public, and the consumer but they have promoted the industry while doing so. When I hear the letters “BQA”, I think of a strong program that invests time, money, and energy into making the cattle industry the best that it can possibly be. This program has expanded our record keeping skills and increased our general management practices. As a cattle farmer, I try to use my “BQA Brain” as I make decisions on my farm related to management, records, herd health, or breeding. I am proud that when I sell my product whether that be a show heifer, a herd bull, or a side of beef that I can advertise that our farm is BQA Certified. This also allows the opportunity to share with others that are not familiar with BQA and help them understand the techniques that we implement on our farm that other farms may not do. As an agriculture educator, I thrive to educate my students about the BQA Program and the many benefits we have received on our farm from being involved in such an unique program. I have taught my students that is an unique program because not only does it benefit the cattle farmer, the cattle, and the industry but it benefits the consumer as well. In conclusion, BQA can be used as a guideline, expectation, or even a marketing tool depending on how you choose to use the program in your cattle operation. We are thankful for the impact that this program has made on our cattle farm and throughout the industry.
BQA No’s:
- Never vaccinate in other area besides the designated upside down triangle in the neck region of the animal.
- Never mix all your vaccinations together to reduce injection sites.
- Never give a vaccination and fail to give the booster (3-4 weeks later or as recommended)
- Never use a needle on more than 10 animals.
- Never leave medicine that is supposed to refrigerator out to get warm/hot.
- Never fail to record what treatments, vaccinations, and etc that were given to each animal.
- Never bring a new animal into your herd unless it has been isolated from the herd for 21-28 days.
*More information can be found at the following website.