Over 120 4-H and FFA youth in Custer County participated in Animal Quality Assurance Youth Training on Wednesday, May 29 in Broken Bow. The event was put on by Adams Land and Cattle and the Nebraska Extension in Custer County. Additional event sponsors were Merck Animal Health and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Employees from Adams and the Extension taught the participants about correct production practices including animal well-being, food safety, ensuring water quality, following appropriate health procedures, importance of recordkeeping, and becoming an advocate for best practices within the livestock industry.

Guest speaker, Brandi Buzzard Frobose, blogger and advocate spoke to the attendees about the importance of being a positive advocate for agriculture.  “Young ag leaders are the future of our industry and it’s imperative that they know their value and importance. Furthermore, it’s up to the younger generations in agriculture to stand up for their livelihood and pave the way for agriculture to continue to grow for the next several decades,” said Buzzard Frobose.

Troy Walz, Extension Educator for the Nebraska Extension in Custer County said the goal of Youth Quality Assurance is to teach youth about the quality of meat and food products that come from livestock.  “Quality assurance for youth livestock producers means making a promise to the consumers, or the people who consume products from livestock, that these products will be the highest possible quality and that the young producers will do everything possible to make these products safe to eat,” said Walz.

“These young livestock producers need animal quality assurance training certification to show animals at fair.  Along with the requirement for fair, we hope that the interactive stations and discussions held at the training provide them with knowledge that they can use as they continue to become the future of the industry,” said Amy Staples, Director of Regulatory and Compliance & Research and Development for Adams.