2013 BQA Award Winner - The Kempfer Family – Kempfer Cattle Company – Deer Park, Florida
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Kempfer Cattle Company is a commercial cow/calf and seed stock operation. The commercial operation consists of a 3 way cross of Brahman, Angus, and Shorthorn cattle with Charolais bulls used for a terminal cross. A minimum of ¼ Brahman blood is maintained in all cows to aid in maximizing production as they are less affected by flood, drought, heat and parasites. They are currently running 2,500 commercial cows with 280 replacement heifers. An additional 300 replacement are raised annually for sale. Their registered Brahman herd consists of 125 head.
The ranch has been in business since 1895 and the sixth generation is now growing up and beginning to help work the land. All family members have their own cattle; they have 29 different ear marks and brands on the ranch. All employees are family and have a deep love for the land and the animals.
Promoting BQA to other producers is important to the Kempfers. They do encourage other producers to have a BQA program. We all produce the same product and we don’t need poor management to turn people away from eating Beef. They are charter members of the Florida Heritage Beef, LLC group which is a coallition of progressive ranchers. Eight ranchers are represented. One of the benefits of the group is the collaboration of management practices and ideas for enhancing beef production. They raise the most wholesome, tasty supply of protein in the world, but we keep in mind there is always room for improvement.
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2013 Dairy BQA Award - Woody Larson - Family Tree Enterprises - Okeechobee, Florida
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The operation now consists of three dairy farms with 4,600 adult cows and 3,000 replacement females on 3,100 acres.
BQA has been important from the start. The veterinarian and Woody have been the main educators as they continually train their people at the various farms. In addition, they have outside trainers come onsite and they encourage their herdsmen to attend specialized workshops, such the Florida Beef Council-sponsored Dairy BQA trainings for Spanish-speaking employees.
Other innovations in their business include reworking there cattle handling facilities by installing some used rubber belting on the fences and chutes to help prevent bruising and injury. Their floors are grooved and gates positioned to avoid tight turns.
Woody has always been interested in animal behavior. He's been a Temple Grandin fan for years and has applied many of her concepts in the operation but training for proper cattle handling is never ending: train, train, train. He won’t tolerate rough treatment or injury.
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2013 BQA Marketer Award - Larry Schnell - Stockmen's Livestock Exchange - Dickinson, North Dakota
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Larry Schnell is owner and manager of Stockmen’s Livestock Exchange in Dickinson, North Dakota. Stockmen’s Livestock Exchange was founded 1937 as Schnell's Dickinson Livestock Sales Company, founded by Ray Schnell. Through the years, Schnell's Livestock built their reputation on selling quality livestock at top prices. In 1977, the name was changed to Stockmen's Livestock Exchange Inc.
When Larry Schnell saw the need for improved cattle handling and Beef Quality Assurance practices in the livestock marketing industries, he talked to North Dakota BQA coordinator Lisa Pederson about working on an educational program to meet that need. Focal Point-An Auction Market Quality Assurance Guide was submitted and accepted as a National Beef Quality Assurance Pilot Project. This program was developed to help educate auction market employees about Beef Quality Assurance Practices and cattle handling skills. Larry took an active role in the development of the program and in promotion of the program within the livestock marketing community. Without Larry’s “footwork” within the Livestock Marketing Association, it is doubtful the Focal Points DVD would have been as successful and accepted within the industry as it was. The project became a true partnership between the Livestock Marketing Association and the Beef Quality Assurance program. The DVD has been so widely accepted a copy is in every auction market in the United States and the DVD has been dubbed in Spanish.
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2013 BQA Educator of the Year Award - Dr. John Maas – UC Davis
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From the local level to the national level, John Maas, is an integral part of Beef Quality Assurance. While serving in multiple cattle health and quality assurance leadership capacities for the California Cattlemen’s Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Dr. Maas is known throughout the beef community for his passion in the BQA arena.
Dr. Maas has helped coordinate state, regional and national BQA curriculum for California dairy, feedyard and cow/calf BQA programs and has always been willing to travel extensively to ensure that producers and their employees have access to these educational programs. In addition to being on the front lines as a BQA advocate, trainer and program developer, Dr. Maas also works to educate people outside of BQA training programs. He is a long time member of NCBA’s Quality Assurance Advisory Board and is currently Chair of NCBA’s Producer Education which oversees BQA as well as other programs.
In addition to educating producers about BQA, Dr. Maas is a strong spokesperson for the beef industry. Dr. Maas has often represented CCA and NCBA in the media arena and has testified on behalf of cattlemen on legislative and regulatory issues. Beef Quality Assurance is something that Dr. Maas believes in and shares with cattle producers of all ages as well as with the public in general.
The beef industry would be hard-pressed to find a stronger advocate for BQA than John Maas. In regards to his efforts to reach out to the public, Dr. Maas is always willing to speak to the media about the positive aspects of the beef industry. In speaking with news media, Dr. Maas often shares the various things that producers do to ensure they provide only the best care for their stock – this always includes education and the BQA program.
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The National BQA award winners are selected annually by a committee of representatives from universities, state beef councils and cattle industry groups.