Quality Assurance Program

The 4-H Quality Assurance (QA) Program teaches youth about the quality of meat and food products that come from livestock.  Quality assurance for livestock producers means making a promise to the consumers, or the people who consume the meat, milk and dairy products, and eggs that come from livestock poultry. The promise made is that products from livestock will be the highest possible quality and producers will do everything possible to make these products safe to eat.

Livestock Quality Assurance Online Course

The Livestock Quality Assurance Online Course has been developed to assist Nebraska 4-H youth with learning about major areas of proper animal care, including:

• daily care and management
• prevention
• handling
• carcass quality
• medication

To enroll in the self-directed online course, Internet access and an email address (each 4-H youth will need their own unique email address to register) is required. 

Requirements for Nebraska 4-H Youth

All Nebraska 4-H youth ages 8-18, who are enrolled in a livestock project (beef, dairy cattle, dairy goat, meat goat, poultry, rabbit, sheep, and swine), will be required to complete three modules in the Livestock Quality Assurance Online Course by June 15 of the current year in order to complete that year’s QA requirements.  The online course has been divided into three age levels:

• Junior (4-H youth ages 8-10)
• Intermediate (4-H youth ages 11-14)*
• Senior (4-H youth ages 15-18)*

* Intermediate and Senior level youth are eligible to take a written test to fulfill age level requirements. Arrangements to complete the written test can be made through your local UNL Extension Office.

Upon completion of each module, you will be able to print a certificate of completion. You will need to deliver this certificate of completion to your local UNL Extension Office on or before June 15 of the current year to receive full credit for completion.

Quality Assurance Written and Practice Tests

Written Tests
Intermediate and Senior Level youth are eligible to take a written test to fulfill Quality Assurance age level requirements. Arrangements to complete the written test can be made through your local UNL Extension Office.  The written test must be taken at a UNL Extension Office. 

If you are taking a Senior Level Test, you may request the beef, swine or multi-species emphasis test. Passing is 70 percent. The Intermediate Level Test has 25 multiple choice questions, while the Senior Level test has 30 multiple choice questions. 

Practice Tests
Intermediate and Senior Level youth are encouraged to take the following Quality Assurance Practice Tests in preparation for taking the written test.  Within each level, there is a Beef Emphasis, Swine Emphasis, and a Multispecies Practice Test. Even though youth may intend to only take one of the tests at their local UNL Extension Office, it may be helpful to take more than one of the practice tests. For best preparation, it is suggested youth take a Multispecies Practice Test and one of the Species Emphasis tests.

The Practice Tests will provide you immediate feedback on whether an answer was correct, and if not, why it was not correct. Reading these responses will be helpful in preparing for the actual tests.

• Beef Emphasis Practice Tests -- Intermediate Level, Senior Level, Extra Questions
• Swine Emphasis Practice Tests -- Intermediate Level, Senior Level
• Multispecies Practice Tests -- Intermediate Level, Senior Level
• Show Guidelines, Rules and Ethics Self-Test

Study Materials
The study materials for the Intermediate Level Tests are the information available through the Livestock Quality Assurance Online Course.

The study materials for the Senior Level Tests are the Livestock Quality Assurance Online Course, the Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Manual, and the Youth Pork Quality Assurance Manual.
 

Online Course Information

• Livestock Quality Assurance Online Course
• Online Course Instruction Sheet with Questions/Answers

Manuals and Resources

• Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Manual, Nebraska Cattlemen
• Youth Pork Quality Assurance Manual, National Pork Board
• Animal Care Resources