Beef Quality Assurance
Mississippi Beef Quality Assurance Program (MS-BQA)
Beef Quality Assurance is a national program that provides guidelines for beef cattle production. The program raises consumer confidence through offering proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry.
Producers have embraced BQA because it is the right thing to do; but they have also gained through increased profitability. As an educating program, BQA helps producers identify management processes that can be improved.
The Mississippi Beef Quality Assurance (MS-BQA) Program identifies areas in beef production where defects in quality occur. The MS-BQA Program is a cooperative effort between beef producers, veterinarians, nutritionists, and professionals from the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, MSU Extension Service, and MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, who believe that cattle managed under BQA guidelines will be less likely to contain a violative residue, injection-site tissue damage, or foreign metal such as a broken needle. The program asks everyone involved with beef production to follow the FDA/USDA/EPA guidelines for product use and to use common sense, reasonable management skills, and accepted scientific knowledge to avoid product defects at the consumer level. After all, consumers purchase what they trust, and their confidence is the basis of our industry’s and our children’s future.
For more information on the National BQA Program
Beef Quality Assurance Trainings Scheduled
Face to face BQA trainings are being schduled scheduled for this fall throughout the state.
A certification fee of $15 is required and includes manual, vaccine cooler, and bumper sticker.Certifications begin at 6:30 p.m.
To schedule your meeting contact Dr. Carla Huston or Dr. Brandi Karisch.
National Beef Quality Assurance Guide for Cattle Transporters
Online training video and a downloadable guide are available for the Master Cattle Transporter Program.
Master Cattle Transporter Training
Mississippi Livestock Quality Assurance Program for Youth Producers
The purpose of the Mississippi Livestock Quality Assurance Program for Youth Producers is to increase food safety awareness by educating youth producers of their role in this process and the importance of raising their livestock in an appropriate manner. By following a quality assurance program, youth can improve their animal care and management practices in order for their animal to achieve its highest level of performance while providing a safe, wholesome product for consumers.
Mississippi Livestock Quality Assurance Program for Youth Producers Publication
MS-BQA Coordinators
For more information about the MS-BQA program, contact:
Carla Huston, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Mailstop 9825
R1128B Wise Center
Mississippi State, MS 39762
662-325-1183 (office)
662-325-4548 (fax)
huston@cvm.msstate.edu
Brandi Karisch, Ph.D.
Box 9815, Room 4010 Wise Center
Mississippi State, MS 39762
662-325-7465 (office)
662-325-8873 (fax)
brandi.karisch@msstate.edu
Publications
News
Mississippi cattle operations must constantly improve efficiency to remain profitable, as rising production costs are decreasing the benefit of high market prices. Brandi Karisch, beef specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said beef production is a significant component of the state’s agricultural economy, with a total estimated value of $318 million in 2022.
The E.G. (Gene) Morrison Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station in Hinds County, which has sat largely vacant for two years, now has a new purpose, updated facilities and a new life after reopening this spring. The research station, part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at Mississippi State University, is a 1,700-acre facility dedicated to cattle, forage and agronomic crop research. It is part of the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond.
VERONA, Miss. -- Producers come across issues each season that need to be addressed, whether they require new research on a problem or a commodity specialist who can help identify timely solutions.
For those people, February is the month to speak up. Specialists and scientists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are available specifically for them at three different MSU Research and Extension Center locations throughout the state during annual Producer Advisory Council meetings.
NEWTON, Miss. -- Livestock industry professionals looking to learn more about grazing and forage management practices are invited to a beef cattle field day hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.
Beef cattle producers and hay growers will be two target audiences for the field day, which will be at the Coastal Plains Branch Experiment Station March 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Attendees will be provided a tour of the 1,172-acre facility. The station is located at 51 Coastal Plains Road in Newton.
Brandi Karisch, Mississippi State University Extension Service beef specialist, has been named to a national board for the American Simmental Association, or ASA. Karisch was elected to this organization’s board of trustees to represent the eastern region.
Success Stories
Gaddis & McLaurin might sound more like the name of a law firm than a general store, but the name is synonymous with all manner of dry goods in the Hinds County community of Bolton and has been since the 1870s.
Opening the right lines of communication is usually a prerequisite for anyone planning to start their own business.
Extension continues assisting one of Mississippi’s most successful beef producers
Beef cattle producer Jacob “Jake” Megehee identifies cattle producers’ needs and publicizes them at the highest levels. Elected officials and fellow cattlemen all over the country respect his personal success raising and selling beef cattle through Megehee Cattle Company.
Brahman cattle at South Farm, formally known as H.H. Leveck Animal Research Center at Mississippi State University, enjoyed a snowy morning when most of Mississippi saw snowflakes on January 11, 2021.
Vardaman producer named Farmer of the Year
When Joe Edmondson surveys his farming operation at Topashaw Farms, he thinks about his more than 40 full-time employees and the hundreds of seasonal workers who work the acres.