Good
production practices are essential in any Agricultural endeavor. Farmers across the nation depend on producing
quality animals and crops in order to have a successful farm and business. This is also the philosophy Penn State
Cooperative Extension instills in Pennsylvania 4-H members with Animal Science
projects.
All 4-H members with any type of
Animal Science project are required to take a Quality Animal Management class. The class focuses
on a set of Good Production Practices that has been selected by Penn State Extension
Staff. Each year, the program will focus
on three of these Good Production
Practices so that nine practices will be addressed by the end of a three year
period. As a result, 4-H members gain
life skills that will enable them to produce quality food and companions for
consumers.
This year, members are learning very
important skills for ensuring safe quality products. They are learning the importance of animal
identification, tracking, record keeping, and how to properly label and store
animal health products and medicated feed.
Above all, members are learning that the welfare of their animals and
their consumers should always take first priority.
This spring, trained 4-H volunteers
have been teaching 4-H members about quality animal management. By the end of
June, all 4-H members exhibiting animals at the 4-H Round Up at the Clinton
County Fair will be trained in this area.
When you see all the 4-H livestock and horse projects at the Clinton
County Fair, you can rest assured that they have been raised using good
production practices. You can also feel
confident that these animals should yield the best products a consumer could
ask for!
