The Iowa Beef Industry Council recognized six different individuals at their year end, Beef Quality Assurance Awards during the Iowa Cattle Convention. BQA Feedyard Award recipients, Justin and Amber Reiter of Bernard, own and operate R Land and Cattle LLC with an attention to detail that ensures the highest quality beef produced from healthy cattle. They have acclimated newly weaned calves to their feedyard with low-stress, effective stockmanship handling practices, implemented BQA standard operating procedures, worked closely with their local veterinarian and shared the information they have gleaned with surrounding beef producers. Scott and Ken Birker of Vinton have received the BQA Cow-Calf Award for the Birker Family Farms cow-calf herd, feedyard, dairy and custom chopping and silage business that features redesigned handling facilities with low-stress, effective stockmanship handling practices in mind. They have hosted two low-stress handling and BQA training sessions on their farms. The BQA Educator Awards were given to Dr. Jason Hall and Dr. Skylar Speer of Summit Veterinary Services in Winterset. These large-animal veterinarians have hosted BQA producer certification for county and surrounding area beef producers and share the message each day. They have also collaborated with industry expert, Dr. Tom Noffsinger, on their new cattle handling facility. The BQA program’s mission is to build beef demand by maximizing consumer confidence in beef while exceeding their eating expectations. For more information on the awards or the program, visit www.iabeef.org and click on the For Producers tab.
