Dairy Quality Assurance Attitudes
Donald J. Klingborg, Kelly Byam, Ben Norman, Steve Berry, Marit Arana, Carol Collar, Gerald Higgenbotham, Gary Markegard, Nyles Peterson, Barbara Reed, Tom Shultz, Abraham Wubishet
Views of California dairy leaders about the role of quality in securing future markets for milk and dairy beef were captured using a Problem Driven Solution process. A total of 457 responses to the question, "What kinds of quality assurance (QA) need to be done to protect California markets for milk and dairy beef?" were categorized and condensed into nine major themes:

Response	% Respondents	% Responses	No. of Responses
"Effective QA programs are essential to the future of the industry."	100	28	128
"Current confusion about regulations and testing deficiencies is a problem."	86	23	103
"Both incentives and disincentives are necessary for a successful QA program."	86	11	51
"The availability and usage of drugs in production need to be better controlled."	64	10	46
"Current quality regulations are adequate."	73	08	35
"QA programs must recognize economic limitations."	73	08	35
"Confusion exists about when a farm gate products become food."	45	04	17
"Food safety must be shared by everyone along the food system."	41	04	17
Miscellaneous non-categorized comments	36	04	17
Total		100	457

Impacts: Partially as a consequence of this report, the industry elected to formally develop a California-specific dairy Quality Assurance program.
Development of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program is proceeding through ongoing efforts led by Drs. Michael Payne and Joe O'Donnell, with the assistance of faculty from the School of Veterinary Me dicine and the College of Agricutlure and Environmental Sciences, county-based Farm Advisors and personnel from CDFA and USDA.