Why should this matter to you? Dairy cows represent a major source of beef. Cows marketed to slaughter can represent up to 15% of a dairy's income. In the Western states alone, over 800,000 head (worth about $500 million) are marketed to slaughter every year.
New demands on meat packers, resulting from implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans, have focused their attention on the quality of cattle coming into the packing plant.
The dairy beef program educates producers, farm advisors, and dairy veterinarians on issues in market cattle food safety and quality, and provides tools for assessing and certifying on-farm quality assurance programs.