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Beef Quality Assurance program reassures consumers

The Beef Quality Assurance program is helping educate producers and reassure consumers.

Illinois Beef Association Executive Vice President Jill Johnson tells Brownfield after explaining the BQA continuing education program to consumers, they conducted a survey that showed eye-opening results.

“We saw 70% of consumers feel more confident about food safety and they were also 67% more likely to buy beef.”

Illinois BQA trainer Travis Mateer says they are continuously updating content about animal health and animal handling to keep producers up-to-date.

“From a consumer standpoint there is a lot of urge and thirst to know how their food was raised and what kind of production environment it comes from. I think BQA helps tell that story about what a great job cattle producers do in making sure that they’re providing a safe and wholesome beef supply.”

Mateer says more than 1800 Illinois cattle producers completed BQA training in 2019 and must renew their certification every three years.

Brownfield interviewed Mateer at a BQA training in Salem, Illinois and interviewed Johnson at the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual meeting, both held earlier this month.