Your job and your future are tied to the state of the beef industry. The best job insurance is to handle and treat cattle with responsibility and respect. If you wouldn’t want a TV camera recording what you are doing, DON’T DO IT! You are important to every cow, calf, heifer, steer and bull that you work, and each animal is important to the future of the beef industry.
Quality Assurance includes attention to Handling, Administration, Sanitation and Record Keeping.
Handling:
- You do not want to bruise the animal because it can create waste in the carcass and inhibit drug absorption in the area, which can lead to residues.
- Slow down and take time to do the right thing.
- Use common sense and use the hot shot as little as possible.
Administration:
- READ THE LABEL! And follow the directions.
- Use the correct needle for the job.
- Change needles often; don’t use bent or barbed needles.
- Only 10cc per injection site with 4 inches between sites.
- Do NOT mix products.
- Use the “tenting technique” for SQ injections.
- Keep yourself safe.
Sanitation:
- Use clean water for modified live products; NO disinfectant, as it may kill the organisms that you want to go into the animal and the vaccine won’t work.
- Hose out the work area.
- Clean your injection target area.
- Clean bottle tops before inserting a needle into the bottle.
- Dispose of needles and syringes properly – check local laws for disposal regulations.
Record Keeping:
- Keep accurate records on individual animals that receive antibiotics so you know when it is safe to send animals to slaughter without residue problems.
- You must keep records on any animal that had an extra-label drug.
- Document your herd health program, including date, site, type and amount of vaccines (and the identification number from the vaccine box) or general treatments.
- Individual cow record keeping computer software makes recording and receiving information easy.
To learn more about the BQA Management Guidelines click on one of the icons below to view a PowerPoint Presenation with audio providing further explanation about the agreement. Make sure your computer speakers are turned on and choose the language you prefer.