Beef Quality in Texas

The news is out! Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is getting ready to launch a Beef Quality Assurance program designed for cow-calf and stocker operators, in cooperation with the Texas Beef Council and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and with input from the Texas Veterinary Medical Association.

Starting this month, we will dedicate this section of The Cattleman to Beef Quality Assurance news and information with personal insight from producers participating in TSCRA’s Texas Beef Quality Producer Program. We’ll also talk with industry leaders about their thoughts on beef quality and how the market is increasingly offering more opportunity/access to those producers who embrace BQA concepts and practices. We’ll also give you quick tips on managing your cattle for the highest quality of beef – the kind of beef you want your kids to eat.

Our main topic this month features the history of the Beef Quality Assurance program and why the industry saw a need for this type of quality control program.

The History of Beef Quality Assurance

The Beef Quality Assurance movement is not new; it was started in 1982 by beef producers to address the government’s concern for an organized approach to avoid violative residues in food. At its inception, beef had the lowest residue rate of all red meats – well below government targets for other foods. The low residue rate has gotten even lower… literally non-existent in fed beef today.

In 1982, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service began working with the beef industry to develop the Preharvest Beef Safety Production Program. Not wanting additional governmental regulatory programs, the beef industry adopted the term "Beef Quality Assurance," or "BQA" for short.

Between 1982 and 1985, three feedlots targeted evaluation of their production practices and with the help of the USDA-FSIS, assessed the residue risks. In 1985, after careful analysis and adjustment of some production practices, these three feedlots were certified by the USDA-FSIS as Verified Production Control feedlots. What was learned during those three years now serves as the backbone for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association BQA program.

While the BQA program was developing, Pillsbury was working on a quality control program that used many of the same principles. Their program, the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program (HACCP), gained USDA acceptance and is presently the dominant outline for quality assurance programs in processed foods. All packing plants have developed HACCP programs.

Because the majority of beef is raised by small, independent producers in a vast variety of environmental climates, the BQA program has been modified and adapted to meet the needs of a wide range of production and marketing circumstances. Presently, BQA educational programs are active in 47 states. Certification, including HACCP-based training, is active in several states.

The concepts of the HACCP program are the same as those of Beef Quality Assurance. We have all been taught the concepts of HACCP all our lives. It is a process of determining what could go wrong, planning to avoid it and documenting what you have done.

It is just part of good business. Even though BQA embraces the same concepts as HACCP, the term "hazard" has not been well accepted in our industry, as the concept has been associated with preharvest pathogen control, which is something that is not controllable at the farm or ranch level.

All meat industries face similar problems and concerns. If there were a time to get involved, it is now. The events in the near future could affect production on your operation for all generations to come. Less than 2 percent of the U.S. population still works in agriculture. The public no longer knows us like they once did. They must know that we wear the white hats.

Distance between injections

The appropriate distance between injection sites on a calf or yearling is 3 inches. With feeders and cows, there should be at least 4 inches between injection sites. Why? Because giving injections closer than that will result in migration and interaction of products and result in reduced efficacy of the product and increased tissue reaction.

Texas Beef Quality Producer News:

• TSCRA is in the final stages of confirming dates and locations for the first round of BQA training classes in 2001. Watch next month’s column for these announcements.

• An hour-plus "BQA Preview" show has been scheduled on Friday, October 13, during the TSCRA Fall Meeting in Lubbock.

• For more information on the TSCRA Beef Quality Producer Program, contact Sharla Ishmael, BQA coordinator, or Lionel Chambers, director, association services, at 800-242-7820.