You've reached the Virginia Cooperative Extension Newsletter Archive. These files cover more than ten years of newsletters posted on our old website (through April/May 2009), and are provided for historical purposes only. As such, they may contain out-of-date references and broken links.
To see our latest newsletters and current information, visit our website at http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/.
Newsletter Archive index: http://sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Meeting Scheduled for Fall
Livestock Update, October 2003
John B. Hall, Extension Animal Scientist, Beef, VA Tech
The Virginia Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program certified 1291 producers last year. Beef Quality Assurance certification is becoming increasingly important to ensure market access for beef producers. Already groups of cattle feeders such as Nebraska Corn Feed Beef will only accept cattle from BQA certified farms. In addition, many Pennsylvania cattle feeders are looking for calves from BQA certified farms as these cattle feeders are also BQA certified. In order to sell certified vaccinated feeder cattle through the Virginia Quality Assured Feeder Cattle program producers must be BQA certified.
To become BQA certified producers need to attend one of the thirteen training and certification sessions scheduled for this fall (see table below). The four hour instruction includes information on BQA's impact, feed management, vaccinations and implanting, cattle handling, non-fed beef, and targeted breeding. Also included are hands-on sessions on administering and using cattle health products and BQA record keeping. To register for BQA certification contact the Extension Agent associated with the location most convenient to you (listed below).
Producers receive the BQA manual and instruction free of charge. Most locations will charge a nominal fee for a meal. The Virginia BQA program is funded by the VA Beef Council and VA Cooperative Extension.
The Virginia BQA program is part of the Mid-Atlantic BQA group which includes Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia. The Virginia BQA program meets or exceeds all the national BQA requirements and Virginia BQA certification is recognized by all other states. For more information on BQA certification contact your local Agricultural Extension Agent or Dr. John B. Hall at 540-231-9153 or jbhall@vt.edu
| Date | Location | Time | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/8 | Augusta/Rockingham | 3:30pm-8:00pm | Troy Lawson (540-564-3080) |
| 10/9 | Red House - Knoll Crest Farm | 5:30pm-9:00pm | Scott Reiter (434-332-9538) Scott Baker (540-586-7675) |
| 10/10 | Delaplane - Hill Crest Farm | 9:00am-2:00pm | Keith Dickenson (540-341-7950) Steve Hopkins (540-672-1361) |
| 10/18 | Tazewell - Extension Office | 1:00pm-5:00pm | Mike Harris (276-988-0405) |
| 10/20 | Steeles Tavern- AREC | 3:30pm-8:00pm | John Repair (540-463-4734) |
| 10/23 | Russell/Scott | TBA | Scott Jessee (276-889-8056) Scottie Jerrell (276-452-2772) |
| 10/28 | Courtland- Southampton Fairgrounds | 3:00pm-7:30pm | Rex Cotten (757-923-2050) |
| 10/29 | Dinwiddie | 4:00pm-9:00pm | Mike Parrish (804-469-4514) |
| 11/5 | Buckingham | 3:30pm-8:00pm | Mark Davis- 434-969-4261 |
| 11/6 | Franklin/Pittsylvania- Waidsboro Ruritan Bldg. | 10:00am-2:30pm | John Hamrick (540-483-5161) |
| 11/17 | Smyth/Bland/Wythe | 4:30pm-8:30pm | Walter Robinson (276-783-5175) |
| 11/19 | Halifax/Brunswick- Ag Marketing Center, Halifax | TBA | Cynthia Gregg (434-848-2151) Traci Talley (434-476-2147) |
| **** | Patrick | TBA | Jimmy Osborne (276-773-2491) |