Interactive Advanced Education Modules Provides Cattle Producers with Targeted Online Learning on Biosecurity
NCBA’s Beef Quality Assurance program releases a new Beef Checkoff-funded tool to help cattle producers ensure they are prepared with a custom biosecurity plan.
DENVER, February 26, 2020 – To further support cattle producers across the country the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program has released the first in a series of Advanced Education Modules. This initial module on biosecurity details the basics of disease transmission and prevention.
These resources were developed so that anyone who is involved in raising cattle – from the operation manager to personnel to family members – has the opportunity to understand how biosecurity principles are integrated into their farm or ranch and plan for continuous improvement in the future. Learners will walk through sections that build on each other, starting with basic principles of biosecurity and understanding its importance on the cattle operation. Interactive and real-world best practice examples are provided for a variety of topics such as new bull or replacement purchases and manure management to reduce feed contamination, among others.
As a part of the training, producers are able to fill out the Daily Biosecurity Plan for Disease prevention, another biosecurity tool recently released by BQA, and tailor the biosecurity information to their specific operation. Producers are then introduced to the USDA supported Secure Beef Supply to better understand the necessary biosecurity measures in the event of a foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak and to prepare an enhanced biosecurity plan in preparation for such an event. Learners can compare details between the daily biosecurity plan and the enhanced biosecurity plan to view the changes they would need to address in the occurrence of an FAD outbreak.
“Introducing these advanced education modules has been a major goal of the BQA team,” said Dr. Julia Herman, Beef Cattle Specialist Veterinarian at NCBA. “With this Beef Checkoff-funded tool, beef cattle producers can enhance their biosecurity education, help train their teams, and continue to keep their cattle safe and healthy.”
For more information about BQA, to access the Advanced Education Biosecurity modules, or download the BQA Daily Biosecurity Plan, visit BQA.org
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About the Beef Checkoff
The Beef Checkoff was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The Checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
About NCBA, a Contractor to the Beef Checkoff
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. The Beef Checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
