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Youth Producer Health Record Instructions
By Sarah M. Smith, Jean Smith, and Jan R. Busboom
Why: As a youth producer, your actions in producing a food animal as a fair project significantly affect a packing plant’s ability to ensure food safety, and impact consumer confidence in food safety and quality. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to supply animals to the fair that are free from drug and chemical residues and physical hazards, such as broken needles.
Due to past experiences, packing plants are unsure of the quality and safety of meat and milk products from fair animals. These concerns and current government regulations have caused packing plants to increase inspection of fair animals during harvest, costing packers time and money. These Market Animal Health Records are designed to help youth producers assure packers and consumers that they are producing animals that are wholesome, high quality, and safe for human consumption. The misuse of drugs, vaccines, pesticides, and various other medications in meat animal production can have serious legal consequences, including civil and/or criminal prosecution.
Goal: These records should reflect all treatment and care given while the animal is under your management, including all animal health products and medicated feeds used.
***Do not include health products administered by the breeder or seller of the animal; this information should be kept separate in your records. As a youth producer, the youth raising, showing, and marketing the animal, you will sign this form to verify the health products administered to the animal while in YOUR care.***
How to Properly Use Health Records:
Step 1: Obtain an Animal Health Record for your project animal prior to purchase and complete the "Youth Producer Information" box.
Step 2: Obtain breeder information (name, address, and phone number). Be sure to include the date you purchased your project animal. Some breeders are involved in quality assurance programs. If so, include relevant information.
Step 3: Obtain animal information from the breeder, such as identification number, breed, date of birth, etc.
Step 4: This step is to be kept up-to-date throughout the care and ownership of your animal. When using ANY animal health-care products include date of use, condition being treated, estimated weight of animal, treatment administered, drug lot number (located on health product packaging), name of person administering treatment, and withdrawal time. (Withdrawal time is amount of time from the last treatment until the animal can be marketed. It is found under the warning section of the label). Calculate the time that withdrawal will be complete, by adding withdrawal time to date of treatment. For prescription or extra label drug use, list the consulting veterinarian’s name, address and phone number. For beef projects, identify and record any implants or growth promotants used.
Step 5: Some feeds contain medications that require observing withdrawal times. Read all feed labels to identify withdrawal times and special feeding instructions. Identify beginning and ending dates for specific medicated diets (i.e., starter, grower, finisher etc.). Record feed name, medication name, withdrawal time, and calculate when withdrawal will be complete (add withdrawal time to the last feeding date).
Step 6: You and your parent or guardian will complete the certification box when you transfer ownership of your animal to the fair or show. You are certifying that you produced this animal and have listed ALL products and treatments administered to this animal while under your care. For ruminant animals (beef or dairy cattle, sheep or goats), the Food and Drug Administration regulation, Title 21 Part 589.2000 of the Code of Federal Regulations (effective August 4, 1997), prohibits the feeding of ruminant meat and bone meal to ruminant animals at any time. Do not use any feed that is not specifically formulated for the specific species you are feeding. Feeds formulated for another species can contain ingredients that will make your animal sick or are illegal.
Distribution of Forms: These forms are published in triplicate and distributed by WSU Cooperative Extension (might want to identify where they can get more copies). It is recommended that a person or a group of persons at the show or fair be in charge of collecting these forms to ensure accuracy and completion. The top copy (white) is the "Youth Producer’s Copy", it is recommended that you keep this copy with your record book in the event that you need to refer to it in the future. The second copy (pink or yellow) is the "Fair or Show Copy". Show personnel will keep this record on file in the event they need to refer to it regarding questions concerning your animal. The last page (pink or yellow) is the "Packer’s Copy" or "New Owner’s Copy", in the event the animal is not harvested. This page is to accompany the animal to its new destination, be it a meat packing plant or a farm.
Note: You may not be able to sell project animals at the fair or livestock show if you do not accurately complete the project animal health record. Animals are randomly tested for potential violations that may result in a monetary fine and/or criminal prosecution.
Cooperating agencies: Washington State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Benton County and Grant/Adams Area. Cooperative Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Cooperative Extension office.