| Abstrakt: |
In order to ascertain the existing level of adherence to beef quality assurance (BQA) recommendations by Idaho dairies, and to determine the needs for BQA education, a survey of dairy farmers in Idaho was conducted. The survey was prepared and sent out to all 736 known dairies operating in the State of Idaho. A total of 273 dairies responded, resulting in an overall response rate of 37%. Recognizing that accurate record keeping is one of the requirements of BQA, the survey included a series of questions asking which animal health and production records were kept by each dairy, as well as the record format and the length of time records were maintained. Record keeping was similar between Idaho geographical areas. In northern Idaho, 100% of the respondents practiced some form of record keeping. In southwest Idaho, the percentage of responding dairies that maintained records was 96.4%, compared to south central Idaho and eastern Idaho where the percentage of dairies maintaining records was 97.3% and 93.7%, respectively. When the data were analyzed by dairy size, 93% of small dairies (less than 200 cows), 99% of medium-sized dairies (200-1000 cows), and 100% of large dairies (more than 1000 cows) indicated they maintained records. Results showed that large dairies were more likely to maintain a wider variety of records. Animal identification (number and description), calf birth records, and cow records (health, reproduction, and lactation) were the types of records most commonly maintained by the dairies. Dairies indicated they were less likely to maintain feed records, product supplier names, or BQA program records. The majority (58%) of respondents from dairies with less than 200 cows used some paper format to keep records, compared to respondents at medium- and large-sized dairies that used some type of computer based record system (85 and 100 %, respectively). In all geographical areas and size classes, 50-60% of respondents indicated they maintained records for at least two years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
