News Update
September 10, 2010

K-State Connects Beef Producers with Online Training Resources

A series of online videos, hosted by Kansas State University (K-State), can help beef producers and processors keep pace with changes in most every step of the production cycle.

As part of its Beef Quality Assurance Program, K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute has expanded to an additional website, “Animal Care Training” (www.animalcaretraining.org). The Beef Quality Assurance program is a training system for beef producers, handlers, and processors.

Dan Thomson, an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences in K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the director of the Beef Cattle Institute at K-State, said the program’s ideological and financial roots are in K-State’s Targeted Excellence Program.

“Of all the things done at Kansas State University,” Thomson said, “What should the university really focus on? What should the university really achieve national, or even international leadership in?

“When it comes right down to it, if we aren’t doing a great job with the beef industry, or serving the beef industry, that’s probably something that would be considered ‘inadequate’ at Kansas State University.”

Thomson said the program educates workers in all sectors of the beef industry, from the newly hired to the seasoned veteran. The program has also filled in the gaps created by dwindling resources.

“We’re running low on people, time, and opportunities for face-to-face meetings to actually carry out some of this training. So, to augment or supplement some of this face-to-face training, or on-the-job training, we have produced a series of online training modules.”

The program is entirely self-paced — participants can log in and watch videos as many times as they like, 24 hours a day. The modules are available in both English and Spanish.

“As we see an increase in cultural diversity in the beef industry, we also made the modules available for people who use Spanish as their first language.”

Thomson said the topics covered in the training modules continue to evolve, as participants return to the site, seeking further training.

“We’ve seen an evolution in BQA from ‘How do we move our injection sites to the neck?’ to ‘How do we make sure that we use our animal microbials in a proper manner?’ “ Thomson said.

“It’s not only what the product is, and how wholesome the product is,” he continued, “but now we have to look at how we actually raise these animals, and that’s something that may be going on the label of our beef products, as well.”

There are about 150 training modules, ranging between five and ten minutes in length.

To access the training, a user would visit the Beef Cattle Institute website (http://beefcattleinstitute.org/) and select “Animal Care Training” in the lower right corner of the screen. Payment for the modules can be made with a credit card, or an invoice can be mailed to the subscriber.

Each module ends with a short quiz — at least 80% of the questions must be answered correctly for a passing grade. The subscriber will then be emailed a certificate with his or her name on it, to document completion of that module.

“Not only do we maintain that diploma for them, electronically,” said Thomson, “but we also develop a transcript for each employee or producer that wants to take part in this.”

He added that the online modules convey ideas and techniques that books and other printed materials can’t adequately demonstrate.

“I’m not a very good learner from just reading a book,” Thomson said. “Audio/visual, to me — if I can not only hear it, but see it — that is the most effective way to train. And with today’s media, it’s just a no-brainer.”

Thomson said that online delivery saves time and money for both the “teacher” and the “students.” Trainers don’t have to spend money on travel, or renting facilities and equipment at the training site; students don’t have to postpone important duties at the ranch or farm, or spend money on travel and lodging near the training site.

But perhaps the biggest reason for the online approach? Convenience.

“We’ve seen producers doing this during the noon hour, we’ve seen them doing this at midnight. We’ve seen them participating at all times during the day,” Thomson said.

He said he’s noticed feed yards setting up virtual training centers for their employees, complete with workstations and satellite, or high-speed Internet connections. This allows employees to schedule training sessions into their workdays.

The industry is taking notice of the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has designated BCI as their national center for online training.

While the focus of the BQA program is beef cattle, the site also includes training modules for dairy cattle, and equine care.

— Release by K-State Research and Extension.

AMIF Urges CDC to Update Foodborne Illness Statistics

The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) is strongly urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to revise decade-old foodborne illness statistics, which are widely referenced by public health officials, regulatory agencies and congressional staff when discussing foodborne illnesses.

“In order to improve food safety and further reduce the risk of foodborne illness, it is absolutely critical to have the most accurate estimation of foodborne disease as the cause of illness, hospitalizations and deaths,” said AMIF Director of Scientific Affairs Betsy Booren, in a letter to the CDC. Booren notes that the meat and poultry industry has been successful in making a tremendous reduction in the pathogen risk profile of their products and that updated foodborne illness estimates could show tangible results to these efforts.

Data from the Mead et al. “Food-Related Illness and Death in the Untied States” report, published in 1999, estimates 76 million cases of illness, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths per year are attributed to the consumption of food products. However, the recently released CDC analysis of reported illnesses in the U.S. for 2008 indicated approximately 100,000 illnesses for the same food-related notifiable diseases. These discrepancies may be caused by the fact that the 1999 estimates were derived using adjustments for underreporting of foodborne illnesses, which are likely no longer valid given the changes in public health reporting over the past two decades. These 11-year old estimates also virtually ignore the newer, more accurate and specific methods of detecting microorganisms and the vast progress made by the food industry in improving the safety of their products during the last decade.

AMI and the Foundation have been eagerly awaiting the update to the Mead et al. report, which has been in preparation since before 2007.

Booren also reinforced how accurate and timelier foodborne illness attribution data is critically needed to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply. “This objective data allows food safety stakeholders to allocate food safety resources and scientifically justify the decisions made in their food safety system,” Booren writes. “By having timely, credible food attribution data, the food industry can accurately identify and improve any food safety gaps that may exist. It also may help to identify emerging foodborne risks, especially when such risks have not been previously associated with specific foods. This rapid adjustment to improve food safety can only occur if accurate data is made available as soon as possible to all food safety stakeholders.”

“AMI Foundation recognizes the challenges of accurately estimating the burden of foodborne disease and accurately attributing these burdens to food types, but these metrics are essential. The last decade has shown the important role cooperation and communication between public health officials, regulators, the food industry and other allied stakeholders has had on improving food safety. This collaborative story of success could be affirmed through the update of the Mead et al. estimation of the burden of foodborne disease,” Booren concludes.

To view a copy of AMIF’s letter in its entirety, click here: www.meatami.com/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/62612.

— Release by AMI.

Agriland Allows The Public To Learn More About Farming, Ranching

The Kansas Beef Council (KBC) and other state commodity groups are working in the Agriland exhibit at the Kansas State Fair, which starts today (9/10) in Hutchinson. Located in the Pride of Kansas Building, Agriland is designed to teach young people and adults the importance of Kansas agriculture through a series of interactive displays.

One of the displays allows participants to sit in the saddle of a mock horse while watching footage of a cattle drive, shot from horseback, on a big screen television. It gives participants a feel for what it’s like to drive cattle. Other displays include a soil tunnel, a John Deere combine cab and a life-size dairy “cow” that teaches individuals the art of milking.

The 10-day run of the fair is expected to attract several hundred thousand people. Volunteers from cooperating commodity groups, like KBC, staff Agriland every day of the fair. The Kansas Department of Agriculture also is among cooperators working on the educational project. Kansas FFA chapters are involved as well.

For more information visit www.kla.org.

— Release by the KBC.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.