Beef Quality Assurance Certification Class

Some large packers and processors have announced that effective January 1, 2019, they will only purchase from farms that are BQA or FARM Certified. Most dairy farms are FARM certified through their milk processor. Ask your dairy plant representative for help to get a copy of your completed FARM evaluation, or a letter from them indicating your farm’s completion of FARM 3.0 or beyond.
The January 1, 2019 BQA Requirement impacts those selling finished beef breeds of cattle and is in effect for all markets and all private treaty transactions. .At this time, it is believed that beginning in January 2020, additional processors will begin to require BQA or FARM Certification from their suppliers.
Beef producers created the voluntary Beef Quality Assurance Program in 1987 to assist each other in raising, feeding and harvesting high quality beef. By participating in BQA and adopting BQA production practices, you are helping to answer the call from the packers’ consumers, for safe beef raised in a humane manner.
Obtain free, online BQA certification at http://www.bqa.org. Here you will create an account (based upon your email address) and select the course that best fits your particular operation. Each interactive course takes about two hours to complete, and requires an 80% score to pass the final test. You will receive your BQA certification via email, which you will provide at the point of sale.
Green County UW-Extension will offer an in-person training on Friday, March 22, 2019, from 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., at the Green County Justice Center, located at 2841 6th Street, Monroe, WI. This certification is provided in cooperation with Extension and the WI Beef Council, and costs $15.00 per farm. The fee will be collected at the door, please make checks payable to WI BQA Program. To allow planning for materials, please RSVP by March 15th, with the number attending from your farm. Call the Green County UW-Extension office at (608) 328-9440 to register. The WI BQA Program will verify your certification with BQA.org and return your certification number back to the farm by either email or regular mail.
For more information or questions, please contact Jackie McCarville, Green County UW-Extension Agricultural Educator, at Jaclyn.mccarville@ces.uwex.edu.