A new meat quality assurance program for youth, piloted last spring, is taking off this fall. Offered by 4-H Youth Livestock Development, the curriculum consists of at least two classroom educational sessions and includes slide presentations, worksheets and optional extra activities to aid trainers in teaching the importance of meat quality assurance, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and good production practices.

While modeled on a pork quality assurance general curriculum manual for youth used by Texas A&M University and created by the National Pork Producers Association and Iowa State University, the N.C. State version has been modified to apply to more than just pigs.

“We have tried to take the specific programs, such as the Pork Council’s and Cattlemen’s Beef Quality, and make a generic program that addresses all species,” explains Mike Yoder, director of the College’s 4-H Youth Livestock Development Program. “This is designed for all those 4-H youth, ages 9 to 19, involved in livestock projects. We have youth who raise beef cattle, swine, sheep and meat goats in this state.”

Yoder says the program was initiated in North Carolina for two reasons: “It emphasizes food safety issues for youth, teaching young people they do play a role in the food chain and that they must introduce a quality product. Second, we want to teach the ethics of livestock production.”

The ultimate goal of the program, he says, “is that we teach youth responsibility for the product, proper herd health management practices, record keeping — and that they are part of a bigger picture.

“It is a program to teach the importance of good management practices, to make sure the product that they produce is acceptable and safe for the customer.”

It’s quite a detailed curriculum. Students learn about the federal Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food Safety and Inspection Service — and those regulatory groups’ expectations regarding producers’ responsibilities. They learn that there are three types of potential HACCP food safety hazards in meat products — chemical, microbial and physical. They learn the Ten Good Production Practices, including No. 1, “Identify and track all animals to which drugs were administered,” a lesson that offers instruction in the finer points of animal identification, such as ear-notching and tags.

They learn proper administration of medications and the importance of careful reading of drug labels, proper drug storage, monitoring of residue activity and withdrawal times, and keeping accurate medical label/treatment records. And they are reminded to complete an extensive quality assurance checklist annually. Tests, exercises and worksheets are provided to keep skills sharp and knowledge fresh.

More and more 4-H programs are becoming this intensive, Yoder says. “We have a lot of agents in this state who have developed highly educational programs complemented by show ring activities.”

As this program gets under way, says Yoder, “We’ll take it out and make it a ‘train the trainer’ program: We’ll train the senior 4-H’ers to teach the junior 4-H’ers.” Doing that initial training will be Yoder and Ron Hughes, Johnston County livestock agent, along with some senior 4-H’ers trained in the spring pilot classes. “It will be a state and county cooperative effort,” Yoder says. “We at N.C. State will make the curriculum available for agents to present in their own counties.”

Yoder estimates about four hours worth of training time for youth, divided into at least two sessions. “We’re presenting it at least once in each of the seven districts, then the seniors will take it to county groups and clubs with us (the 4-H Livestock Program) providing materials.”

The curriculum, he says, is geared to young people who keep animals now or who need to be educated to be future spokespersons for agriculture. And it fits quite nicely with the overall livestock program. “This touches on almost all of the major objectives we have in livestock 4-H: responsible livestock production, livestock ethics in production and the show ring, and food safety,” says Yoder.

Likewise, the material will continue to be integrated into some of the 4-H livestock camps next spring and also into agent and volunteer training.

—Terri Leith