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How management practices compare: Montana Beef Quality
Assurance-certified producers and non-certified producers,
Part 1
| "...the
following tables show where the respondants were
from within the state and the type of beef cattle
operations that were represented.." |
By L.M. Duffey, J.A. Paterson,
J.E. Peterson, M. King, W.T. Choat and K. Rolfe., Montana
State University, Bozeman
We conducted a survey in August 2003 to determine record
keeping, health management, marketing strategies, and
perceptions of the industry issues by Montana beef producers.
The 38-question survey was mailed to 1,000 beef producers:
500 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified producers
and 500 producers who were not BQA (non-BQA) certified.
The BQA certified producers were those who successfully
completed the Montana BQA certification program administered
by MSU Extension. The non BQA-certified producers were
selected from the Beef:Questions and Answers newsletter
mailing list. Each group was balanced for region of
the state using the six Montana tourism regions.
Response rate to the survey.
| Item |
BQA- certified
|
Non BQA- certified
|
| Number of surveys mailed |
500 |
500 |
| Number of surveys returned |
231 |
116 |
| % of surveys returned |
46 |
23 |
The rate of survey return was high, and the following
tables show where the respondants were from within the
state and the type of beef cattle operations that were
represented.
Indicate what area of the state your operation
is in.
| Region of the state surveyed Rate
of survey return |
BQA |
Non-BQA |
| Glacier Country (Glacier, Flathead, Lincoln, Sanders,
Mineral, Missoula, Lake, Ravalli) |
10% |
14% |
| Russell Country (Toole, Pondera, Teton, Cascade,
Liberty, Hill, Blaine, Chouteau, Fergus, Petroleum,
Meagher, Wheatland, Judith Basin) |
33% |
24% |
| Missouri River Country (Phillips, Valley, Daniels,
Sheridan, Richland, McCone, Garfield, Roosevelt)
|
13% |
10% |
| Gold West Country (Madison, Beaverhead, Deer Lodge,
Lewis and Clark, Silver Bow, Powell, Jefferson,
Broadwater, Granite) |
8% |
10% |
| Yellowstone Country (Stillwater, Carbon, Park,
Sweet Grass, Gallatin) |
17% |
9% |
| Custer Country (Dawson, Wibaux, Fallon, Carter,
Powder River, Custer, Prairie, Rosebud, Big Horn,
Treasure, Yellowstone, Golden Valley, Musselshell)
|
16% |
21% |
As expected, most of the respondents indicated that
their primary type of beef cattle operation was cow-calf
followed by cow-calf with backgrounding.
Indicate the nature of your operation (mark
all that apply)
| Type of operation |
BQA |
Non-BQA |
| Cow-calf only |
82% |
70% |
| Cow-calf Background |
20% |
22% |
| Cow-calf Background - Finish |
3% |
4% |
| Other: |
10% |
10% |
Other Responses: registered cattle, yearlings on grass,
seedstock, run steers from 6/1-10/1, commercial bred
females.
We asked several questions about recordkeeping.
How do you identify your animals? (mark all
that apply)
| Questions and Ranking |
BQA- certified
% |
Non-BQA -certified
% |
Significantly different?
(P<.05) |
| Plastic ear tag |
92 |
78 |
Yes |
| Hot iron brand |
80 |
65 |
No |
| Ear tattoo |
21 |
12 |
Yes |
| Ear notch |
13 |
16 |
No |
| Freeze brand |
10 |
9 |
No |
| Metal ear tag |
8 |
7 |
No |
| Electronic ear tag |
11 |
2 |
Yes |
| Animals are not identified by these
methods* |
12 |
29 |
No |
Other identification methods listed were: Brisket tags,
waddle on jaw, individual names for the cattle, physical
description of cows.
What types of records do you keep?
| Questions and Ranking |
BQA-certified
% |
Non-BQA -certified
% |
Significantly different?
(P<.05) |
| Animal number and description |
86 |
69 |
Yes |
| Vaccination records |
84 |
59 |
Yes |
| Calf birth records |
78 |
65 |
Yes |
| Animal purchases and sales |
77 |
66 |
Yes |
| Cowherd records |
74 |
49 |
Yes |
| Animal suppliers and buyers |
43 |
29 |
Yes |
| BQA program records |
45 |
4 |
Yes |
| Feed records |
39 |
25 |
Yes |
| I do not keep records |
3 |
8 |
No |
| Other methods* |
6 |
4 |
-- |
Among the "other" methods were: Water records,
Registration certificates, Information kept in my head,
AHIR records, Sires used, Illnesses and death loss.
In what format do you keep your records?
| Questions and Ranking |
BQA- certified, % |
Non-BQA -certified, % |
Significantly different?
(P<.05) |
| IRM Red Book 28 21 No |
28 |
21 |
No |
| Other "paper" format 65 59 No |
65 |
59 |
No |
| On farm electronic management system*
20 9 |
20 |
9 |
|
| Off farm electronic management system |
2 |
3 |
No |
*Examples of "On farm" management systems
listed included: Excel spread sheet, Cow Sense, Cattle
Pro, Cow Trax, AIMS, Access database, My own system
developed at the ranch, 123, Herd Track, Red Wing Cow/calf.
In general, results suggested that BQA-certified producers
kept more (P<0.05) records (cowherd inventory, description,
calf birth weights, vaccination, feed) than non-BQA
producers.
Results to the record-keeping question were somewhat
surprising. We expected that the main format for keeping
records would be the IRM Red Book. However, this method
ranked well behind paper record keeping methods (avg
25% IRM vs other "paper" format).
Montana ranchers indicated that they are keeping their
ranch records for more than two years. More BQA certified
ranches kept the records for this of time than did the
non BQA-certified ranches
How long do you keep your records?
| Questions and Ranking |
BQA- certified,
% |
Non-BQA -certified,
% |
Significantly
different? (P<.05) |
| More than two years after birth or sale |
84 |
70 |
Yes |
| Two years after birth or sale |
5 |
5 |
No |
| One year after birth or sale |
4 |
3 |
No |
| Until sale |
4 |
4 |
No |
| Do not save records |
0 |
2 |
No |
| No answer |
3 |
16 |
-- |
If you are interested in becoming BQA certified, please
Lisa Duffey, BQA Coordinator, Montana State University
at 994-5562.
Beef:
Questions & Answers is a joint project between
MSU Extension and the Montana Beef Council. This column
informs producers about current consumer education,
promotion and research projects funded through the
$1 per head checkoff. For more information, contact
the Montana Beef Council at (406) 442-5111 or at beefcncl@mt.net
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