Time for beef and dairy producers to become Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)-certified free online through Nov. 13 thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). Anyone who becomes certified during this period is eligible to win a prize package, courtesy of BIVI and the BQA program, funded in part by the beef checkoff.

The BQA program is important to the cattle industry because it is a producer’s consumer-friendly story to tell, helping them talk about using BQA Protocols for producing a safe and high quality beef product. The BQA training modules are customized to fit the specific needs of each segment of the cattle industry – cow-calf, stocker, feedyard and dairy operations. The program covers production practices such as proper handling and administration of animal health products, reducing injection site blemishes, and low stress cattle-handling principles.

For dairy producers, the DACQA online modules satisfies the employee stockmanship training requirement included in the new FARM 3.0 program, which will be active in 2017.

More than 2,000 producers across the country became BQA-certified during the last campaign thanks to the program support by BIVI. Of those who signed up during the free certification window, 65% completed their certification, the highest percentage in the program’s six-year history. Through its sponsorship of the BQA certification program, BIVI provides financial support for the Beef Cattle Institute, which developed the training modules.