Importance of Certifying in Beef Quality Assurance

I’m really enjoying the Colorado Protein Producer Summit and am meeting a lot ranchers and those involved in the Colorado’s protein segment. Monday was busy with many meetings. I attended the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association Animal Health and Welfare Committee meeting.
Colorado State University associate professor of beef production systems Dr. Jason Ahola spoke about the Beef Quality Assurance Program and the importance of all segments of the industry participating in the program and becoming certified.
Ahola: “It is a voluntary program. It provides them with an educational experience and three year certification. Really the three main reasons producers have said they have done this. Number one is they say it is the right thing to do. Even though they don’t get paid today to do it, they say it is something I should be doing. The other thing is that they embrace this concept of continuous improvement. The fact that seeing where they are today and what small things they can improve each year they are in business. The third one which is probably where some finical incentive will come in — has to do with the fact that supply chains in the beef industry are increasingly requiring that information be passed along with product that is passed towards consumers. So that is not only what that product is but how it was raised up to that point. That is happening between packers and feedyards right now and the next step is between feedyards and cow-calf producers. The market place will require this that producers are aware of how they affect beef quality.”