Beef Education Goes Chute-Side MICHELLE KUNJAPPU Lancaster Farming Staff MARIETTA (Lancaster Co.) Participants got firsthand ex perience with cattle at the chute side portion of Pennsylvania’s Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) All injections should be in front of the shoulder, in the area above the neck ver tebrae, but below the neck ligament, which forms the “injection triangle.” • High Tensile 4,000 Ft. m 200,000 PSI $5295 ,>» v * aHJHH^^JHHH^^^HnKajjjj^^^F A 150.... HTTRFR’S Mon. 7:30-6 “ B,X U AJA-/XX Phone Tues. & Wed. 7:30-5 ANIMAL HEALTH SUPPLIES 717-866-2246 Thurs. & Fri. 7:30-8 810 Tulpenhocken Rd., Myerstown, PA 17067 Sat. 7:30-Noon program recently, As the second facet of the Pennsylvania Beef Quality Assur ance (BQA) program, the three part presentation included chute side, hands-on experience, a re cord-keeping review, and necrop CCA TREATED FENCE POSTS Can Be Used For High Tensile Fence Board Pence or Conventional Pasture Pence Build Tour Own Fence FOR TIX: The evening program, con ducted at B&R Cattle Co., Marietta, fo cused on illus trating the ef fects of residues and carcass de fects caused by injection site blemishes. Ap proximately 50 producers and 20 4-H’ers par ticipated. A certified BQA producer must adminis ter all injec tions in the neck region of the animal, re- See Us For Your Spring Fence Supplies 14 Gauge 2 Insulators Cp The sfl^ e [ l yg S t ock • Limited 20 Year Warranty m° st . available , g asy t 0 | ns t a ||, J en Easier To Maintain Equine Feeds Presents: LLRIDE MANIA! URG FARM SHOW ARENA AY APRIL 20 7-JO PM AY APRIL 27 7:30 PM APRIL 28 2:00 PM (717) 334-7724 www.bullridemania.com gardless if the injection is subcu taneously (SQ) or intramuscular ly (IM) given. The neck region, said Tammy Weaver, Fort Dodge, is where the lower-cost cuts of beef are from. Injection sites generally cause tissue damage. The meat then be comes toughened by the scar tis sue caused by the lesions, even as far as several inches away from the injection site. “Twenty-five percent of the time our consumers are telling us that their beef-eating experience is not a good one. Most of the time it’s a tenderness issue,” said Weaver. Meat cuts from the neck area are usually ground into hamburg er, said veterinarian Gary Wurtz, Valley, Neb. “Even baby calves need to have that injection in the neck,” he said. Since muscle cells are not pro duced as a calf grows, but simply increase in size, “anything you inject in these calves’ muscles causes permanent scarring” that will increase in size, Wurtz noted. Different voltage Electric Fence Power Sources in Stock SAFE - FENCE Electric System 1 !4” wide Permanent Polytape • Highly Visible Special Guest: TEW Brad Paisley Exit 67 A off 1-81, 2300 Cameron St, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 20, 2002-A35 4-H’er Barbara Pfender, 13, Quarryville, had her first experience with administering a shot to a steer with the help of Paul Slayton, left, Pennsylvania Beef Council, and Ron Ranck, right, B&R Cattle Co. Producers are advised against using the more traditional injec tion site of the hindquarter, which has valuable meat cuts. Additionally, the loose skin be hind the animal’s elbow is not an ideal site. The area is too loose for efficient absorption of the product, said Wurtz. Properly handling vaccines is the first step to ensuring the ani mal receives full potential of the treatment. Weaver said that pro ducer should ask for ice packs to transport vaccines from the point of purchase, since vaccines should be transported and stored in a closed, refrigerated con tainer. “You want to make sure that the vaccine never reaches room temperature. If it does, it will be completely ineffective.” Weaver also advised producers to check if the vaccination has changed colors, since that may indicate an inactivation of the vaccine because of adverse envi ronmental (temperature, sun light) conditions. Cleaning needles with a chemi cal disinfectant may also inacti vate a vaccine. Sterile water or a small amount of product being used can rinse the needle. Chlori nation found in tap water can be detrimental to the vaccine. Besides vaccine care, Weaver addressed administration proce dures. “Needles are cheap buy the disposable kind,” she said. Additionally, if the needle begins to bend, “don’t bend it back into place, since it may break off in the animal,” she said. Later in the program, Wurtz told BQA par- ticipants to sac rifice the animal if a needle breaks off inside of the muscle, since it may lodge in a piece of meat that is marketed to a consumer. BQA consultant Bill McCoy led a session detailing record keeping. BQA-certified producers agree to keep records of feed medica tion and additives, and cattle health product records two years after the transfer of ownership. Information such as the date of the sale of medication, the sup plier, the product name, quantity, cost, lot number, serial number, expiration date, procedure on the animal, date given, withdrawal date, when booster will be needed, and the processor initials are examples of the information a producer should note. Wurtz emphasized the end product as key to the BQA pro gram. According to Wurtz the “B” in BQA, for instance, stands for not cows and calves or feedlot steers but on-the-plate beef, the “Q” stands for quality, not grades, but a wholesome product. “A” is the assurance, the guaran tee that “what you are producing is safe and unadulterated.” he said. “That’s where the written words, that contract that you signed, comes in.” On a calf that was given sever al varieties of injections in vari ous places 10 days ago, Wurtz performed a necropsy and dem onstrated to participants the tis sue damage caused by injection sites. (Turn to Page A 36)
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