University of Minnesota Extension, along with Minnesota Beef Council, will host Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) trainings starting in February 2023. Producers attending any of the free workshops will receive a three-year BQA certification.
In the past, beef producers have been asked to complete the BQA program to market cattle to certain processors. However, BQA certification is still voluntary. Specific companies have chosen to extend their own quality assurance protocol requirements to cattle producers who are a part of their supply chain. BQA certification is now being required by many major industry buyers and processors. When a producer does not have current BQA certification, the result is that many packers and feedlots simply cannot purchase those cattle because their company cannot source cattle from a producer who does not meet their certification requirements. BQA trainings that will be offered in 2023 include:
•Online Zoom training: Tuesday, February 21, 2023, 7:008:30 p.m.
•Register at: https://z.umn. edu/BQAFeb21
•In-person training: Thursday, March 9, 2023, 3:00-4:30 p.m. at Pipestone Livestock Auction Market. Note, if the Special Feeder Calf sale is still going at 3:00 p.m. the training will start immediately following the conclusion of the sale. Pipestone Livestock Auction Market is located at 1500 7th St SE, Pipestone, MN 56164. Link to preregister online: https://z. umn.edu/BQAMarch9
•Online Zoom training: Thursday, March 21, 2023, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
•Register at: https://z.umn. edu/BQAMarch21 BQA trainings are free to attend, but attendees must preregister online at the correct link, or by calling the Pipestone County Extension Office at 507-825-1190 for the in-person training on March 9. Only one person from each operation is required to be certified to ensure the entire operation follows the BQA standards. However, everyone who handles and manages fed cattle is encouraged to become BQA certified. You only need to attend one of the training options to complete BQA certification.
About the ONLINE Zoom trainings: Pre-registration is required. You will not be able to access the Zoom meeting room without first pre-registering and receiving the secure Zoom link and passcode from Extension staff. Accessing Zoom is as simple as clicking on the secure link that will be emailed directly to you.
Families can view the training on the same computer/mobile device, and all viewers will receive credit for certification. At the time of entering the Zoom webinar you will be instructed to enter the registration code of all participants viewing the webinar from your computer/ mobile device, and only those individuals who “check in” at the time of the webinar will receive credit for completing the online certification.
Online BQA training at www. bqa.org is available to anyone, at any time.
To keep up to date on both online and in-person BQA trainings that will be offered throughout Minnesota in 2023, you can go to the UMN Extension BQA Events site: https://extension. umn.edu/courses-and-events/ beef-quality-assurance. As more trainings are scheduled, they will be added to this page so that you can see a complete list of options, both online and in-person. When registering, pay close attention to whether the training is offered as an online webinar versus in-person at a physical location.
If you have any questions about accessing the in-person or online BQA trainings or have questions regarding your BQA status expiration, contact the Extension Office.
Source: Melissa Runck, Extension Educator-Ag Production Systems, University of Minnesota Extension - Murray and Pipestone Counties, (507) 836-1143, mkrunck@umn.edu.
