What is Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)?
The Missouri Beef Quality Assurance Program (MO-BQA)  is designed to meet the quality improvement and preconditioning needs of producers, feeders and consumers.  The Program is designed to assist producers to set production standards, establish a system for data retention and record keeping and be educated on industry issues and practices. 

How Does the Program Work?
Veterinarians and producers learn how they can influence carcass quality and consumer confidence by monitoring where and when injections are administered.

Why Should I Participate in the Program?
The Missouri Beef Quality Assurance Program allows producers to maintain a fair value and a continued share of the market for their calves.  The program provides producers a standardized tool to build the reputation of, and increase the demand for, Missouri feeder cattle. In addition, the program increases the producers’ accountability for the product.

Participating producers can be more pro-active when dealing with cattle buyers, feeders, packers and ultimately, consumers.

What are the Issues?
The beef industry must improve the quality and consistency of its product and become more competitive with alternative protein sources.

Industry leaders believe this can become reality if the various sectors of the industry use the results of the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA).

What is the difference between Missouri Stocker/Feeder Quality Assurance Program and MO-BQA?

BQA (or MO-BQA in Missouri) is the national beef industry program designed to build consumer confidence through education and promotion of beef quality assurance practices to beef producers. A written test qualifies a producer to be BQA certified by the Missouri BQA Committee. BQA certified does not mean MSFQAP certified.

The Missouri Stocker/Feeder Quality Assurance Program (MSFQAP) builds upon the principles of the BQA guidelines by assuring buyers that cattle at market with MSFQAP ear tags have undergone the vaccination and management requirements of the MSFQAP standardized health program. Producers are certified in the MSFQAP by their certified veterinarian after the veterinarian has trained the producer to meet the program’s requirements. Producers certified in the MSFQAP or the MFA Healthtrack program are accepted as BQA qualified and are exempted from taking the BQA test. These programs will communicate the BQA certification numbers to their producers.

Those who are not part of the Missouri Stocker Feeder Quality Assurance Program or the MFA Healthtrack program can take the written BQA test on this website or complete and mail the written test in the manual titled: “Keys to Successful Cattle Production.” But the BQA written test does not certify the producer in MSFQAP. To be certified in MSFQAP, contact your local veterinarian.

Missouri Stocker - Feeder Quality Assurance Program Manual:
(does not certify for MSFQAP click here for more info)

Keys to Successful Cattle Production Missouri Beef Quality Assurance Manual

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