Exploring the opportunity of a holistic on-farm quality assurance program for the beef industry.

My project has investigated some of the current beef industry quality assurance (QA) programs which provide evidence based marketing tools to the livestock industry. The case studies have allowed me to identify key aspects of these programs which would be useful to utilize when designing a holistic QA program for the beef industry. 

The key recommendations arising from the case studies include: 

1. The evaluate whether of how the industry could simplify the QA systems in the future using an online portal
2. Key aspects which should be added to the industries program
3. The benefits of having voluntary modules available to producers and processes that can be utilized as demand emerges
4. The need to producer input in the development of new modules to ensure they are relevant and region specific
5. The benefits of using a ‘goal setting’ component to QA systems
6. The ability for QA systems to provide a communication tool to encourage research adoption outcomes to the industry.

I have also explored areas that may need to be added to the current industry systems to take full advantage of the marketing and educational opportunities a holist QA system can provide.