ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Beef Quality Assurance Transportation is the latest certification needed for beef cattle haulers and producers who deliver cattle to major packing plants.
The BQA Transportation program has several objectives with the key components being to provide for transporter safety, to deliver cattle in a timely manner and to provide the most comfortable transportation for the animals.
“This new certification program will soon be a required part of business for any cattle haulers or producers who direct deliver cattle to a major packing plant,” said Beth Doran, beef specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
To help transporters become certified in BQA transportation, a multi-state workshop will be offered by Iowa State Extension and Outreach, South Dakota State University Extension and University of Minnesota Extension on Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock near Worthing, South Dakota. The workshop will include a classroom presentation and trailer walk-through discussion.
“Several major packers have announced that as of Jan. 1, 2020 they will not accept cattle from transporters who are not BQA Transportation certified,” Doran said. “Transporters include both farmer feeders and commercial truckers hauling directly to a packing plant.”
Those hauling cattle to a packing plant may either attend the workshop or go online at www.bqa.org to complete the BQA Transportation curriculum. The Dec. 10 training is the last in-person workshop offered in South Dakota and northwest Iowa for 2019. It is co-sponsored by the Iowa Beef Center, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, SDSU Extension, South Dakota Beef Industry Council and South Dakota Beef Quality Assurance. Special appreciation also goes to Sioux Falls Regional Livestock and M.H. EBY, Inc. for hosting the workshop and providing refreshments and trailers for the demonstration.
For more information, see the program flyer on the IBC website. Preregistration is $25 per person and can be done by contacting Doran at 712-737-4230 or doranb@iastate.edu or Heidi Carroll, South Dakota BQA Coordinator, at 605-688-6623 or Heidi.Carroll@sdstate.edu.
Photo: Close up of Hereford cow head by esmehelit/stock/adobe.com