BEEF QUALITY ASSURANCE EDUCATION VIA SATELLITE VIDEOCONFERENCE

A 1.5-h satellite video program was developed for a statewide Beef Qua lity Assurance (BQA) producer education activity. Twenty-seven downlin k sites were identified across the state, and additional known downlin k sites included one each in Minnesota, Indiana, and Monterrey, Mexico . The videoconference was formally evaluated by viewers and resource p eople at each site. Program participants included representatives of t he Ohio and National Cattlemen's Associations and two producers curren tly implementing BQA programs. A toll-free telephone number was availa ble for viewers' questions during the last 15 min of air time and foll owing the video program. A demographic data form and pre- and postconf erence evaluations were completed by 368 participants. Twenty-seven pe rcent of the respondents were age 56 or older; 76% were age 36 or olde r. A one to five scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) was used for evaluation. Beef Quality Assurance was considered by viewers to be an important consideration for the future in pre- (mean = 4.5, SD = . 99) and post-evaluations (mean = 4.6, SD = .83). The mean response to the question regarding using more videoconferencing for agriculture pr ograming was 3.9 (SD = .91). Four percent of participants indicated le ss or no videoconferencing should be used, 24% were neutral, and 72% f elt more videoconferencing should be done. Comments were neutral with regard to the length of the conference (mean = 3.5, SD = .86) and the complexity of the subject matter (mean = 3.1, SD = .64). More than 88% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that they intended to e xamine their overall production strategies to see where they could imp rove the quality of beef they produce (mean = 4.3, SD = .85). After th e videoconference, 2.6% of respondents still strongly believed that BQ A was not an important consideration for the future of the beef indust ry. The cost of all activities associated with this satellite video pr ogram was $13,000.