2022 Beef Quality Assurance Award Recipients

One important pillar program under the Beef Checkoff umbrella is Beef Quality Assurance (BQA). It serves as a vehicle for encouraging industry advancement, where scientific standards are used to set the bar and drive change. As technology evolves, so do we as beef producers. In more recent years we have started communicating the merits of this program to our consumer customers. Research shows consumers respond positively to beef and how it’s raised once they understand that producers subscribe to continuing education via the BQA program. Each year the Iowa Beef Industry Council (IBIC) acknowledges outstanding people in the industry who have helped facilitate that process. These awards were presented at the Iowa Cattle Industry Leadership Summit on December 15th at Prairie Meadows Conference Center.

2022 Iowa BQA Cow-Calf Award

This year’s cow-calf BQA recipient is a familiar face for many. Dr. John Greving, of AMVC Veterinary Services in Manning, Iowa, has been an advocate for the beef industry and promoter of the BQA program. He has worked closely with ISU Beef Extension Specialist Erika Lundy to integrate yearly BQA sessions into annual customer meetings and helps producers obtain their BQA certification. 

“Veterinarians play an integral role in providing animal health expertise to support on-farm efforts to produce nutritious and delicious beef,” shared Casey Anderson, Director of Industry Relations with IBIC. “He regularly practices the important tenets of the BQA program but the separation is in Dr. Greving’s soft skills.”

One of Greving’s clients, Shayne Wiese, had this to share,“Dr. Greving is a standout when it comes to exercising patience and respect for the animal and farmer. It doesn’t matter if it’s 3 p.m. or 2 a.m. he always takes the time to do the job right. His bedside manner is what makes Dr. Greving excellent at what he does.” Additionally, “he’s extremely thorough in his work and isn’t afraid to deliver hard news in the name of being practical while keeping the farmer’s best interest in mind.”

Originally from Willey, Iowa, Dr. Greving has accrued a vast resume of experiences to which has been attributed to his diverse skill set today. As a 2013 graduate of Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, his veterinary passion lies in production medicine with an emphasis in cow/calf, feedlot, and reproductive services. He served four years of service with the Marine Corps and a three year stint with Pfizer Animal Health in the swine sector before spending three years at the DeWitt Vet Clinic in Eastern Iowa.

He is a member of the American Association of Bovine Veterinarians and American Association of Swine Veterinarians. He’s been an active voice within the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and continues to provide leadership over the ICA Bull Test animals across the state. Dr. Greving currently serves a six-county radius in western Iowa while tending to his own cow-calf operation in his spare time. 

2022 Iowa BQA Marketer Award

As we all know, payday at the auction market can be an emotional event where we experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Iowa’s auction market owners continue to support Iowa beef producers through the ebb and flow of beef production. Today we are recognizing an auction market that starts with the customer first and has been integral in raising awareness of the BQA program. They have been a great ally in helping area ISU Beef Extension Specialist Denise Schwab host, organize and promote annual BQA certification events at their fall customer appreciation sale. Auction market owners play an integral role in the countryside, often having heavy influence on the opinions of local producers. So a convincing word to encourage producers to seek BQA certification is a great value to the industry. Furthermore, this market represents a wealth of industry knowledge with their own personal involvement in the industry spanning from cow-calf production, backgrounding cattle, a hand in the feedlot business and marketing added value genetics through seedstock sales. The Iowa Beef Industry Council congratulates Joe Nelson and Jesse Massman from Decorah Sales Commission on being selected to win the 2022 IA BQA Marketer Award.

2022 Iowa BQA Feedyard Award

Each year the Iowa BQA Feedyard Award has ample nominations that could receive recognition. This year’s winner is a family affair that stems from six generations of cattle feeders. Their end goal starts with the customer in mind where they’re poised on a positive customer experience and take a professional approach to cattle feeding. The yard was constructed in 1980 by their father who is still actively involved today whereas this brother sister duo actively works together to manage day to day operations where they balance duties as needed. When cattle are received they receive a tailored health protocol based on low, medium and high risk assessments. Integrating technology chute side, in the feed truck and across other areas of operation has helped professionalize operations and ensure customers receive as much detailed information as possible. Low-stress cattle handling is paramount and they work with employees to instill measures to avoid high-stress situations.    

 Industry veterinarian and Iowa State University faculty member Dr. Dan Thomson had this to say about the Lauritsen family, “Laurtisen Cattle Company has led our Iowa beef industry and championed Beef Quality Assurance in their feedlot. They hosted our Iowa Carcass Challenge cattle for two years providing excellent exposure to cattlemen on cattle care and Beef Quality Assurance in practice. The Laurtisen family continues to be a flagship example of humanely raising cattle to produce safe, wholesome, nutritious beef.” Congratulations to Ty, Claira and the entire team at  Lauritsen Cattle Company of Exira, IA on winning the 2022 Iowa BQA Feedyard award.

For additional information on the awards or the Iowa BQA program, please visit www.iabeef.org.

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About the Iowa Beef Industry Council: The Iowa Beef Industry Council is funded by the $1.50-per-head beef checkoff.  Checkoff dollars are invested in beef promotion, consumer information, research, industry information and foreign market development, all with the purpose of strengthening beef demand.  For more information, visit www.iabeef.org.