12/23/08 Beef Quality Assurance setting baseline on culled cow health and welfare

Washington Ag December 23, 2008 Ever since the discovery, five years ago today, of BSE in a Washington dairy cow imported from Canada, there has been increased scrutiny of the condition of cattle as they are sent to market, particularly older animals. Washington State University Extension Meat Specialist Jan Busboom says the industry driven Beef Quality Assurance Program in Washington is trying to develop a baseline on those animals as they are marketed. Busboom: "These would be the animals that have reached the end of their useful life from a milking standpoint or from production of a calf standpoint, and monitoring the health of those animals and welfare of those animals today. Then we will be revisiting this in a few years and hopefully partially at least due to our program, there will be improvement in the health and welfare of those animals being marketed." A national audit found more problems with dairy cows than with beef cows, something Busboom says the dairy industry is quite aware of and is interested in taking strides to improve. Busboom says it is a matter of timely culling, before problems become an animal welfare issue. I'm Bob Hoff.