BEST Bulletin

NEW THIS SEASON, BVD TESTING REQUIRED

For the 2022-2023 OCA BEST season, all cattle (BEST and nonBEST) (in-state and out-of-state) exhibited at an OCA BEST sanctioned show are required to be tested and negative for Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) persistent infection (PI) status. Acceptable tests include and are limited to: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) on skin, Antigen-capture ELISA (ACE) on serum (blood test) or skin, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on whole blood, serum or skin. Animals must be individually tested and individually identified. Pooled testing is acceptable only if documentation is provided that the animal was specifically included in the pool and that the pool contained no more than 7 animals. Like declaring a breed at the first sanctioned show, proof of a Negative BVD PI test MUST be provided at the next BEST sanctioned show immediately following the first BEST show the animal attended, whether or not you plan to exhibit cattle at the show. Failure to do so will result in the animal being dropped from the BEST point standings and the program. Additionally, any showmanship points garnered with the animal will be forfeited. A BVD PI test is a one-time test good for the life of the animal. Schedule the BVD PI test with enough lead time to receive the test results prior to a BEST show. A lead time of at least two weeks is recommended prior to the first show. If purchasing show animals, ask your seller if the animal has had a BVD PI test. For more information visit the BEST section of the OCA website at ohiocattle.org. The OCA BEST committee has partnered with the following shows and county associations to provide some pre-season testing options to reduce the fees associated with an on-farm BVD test and to expedite the check-in process at the first BEST show. Veterinarians will be performing the BVD PI tests and submitting them following each show to the laboratory at the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Test results will be returned to the veterinarian and OCA will assist in forwarding them to each individual exhibitor. There will be a $20 per head charge that will cover the BVD test, lab submission and 840 EID tag. All animals being tested, registered and crossbred, will receive an EID tag at testing, unless the animal already has a scannable EID tag. Along with BVD testing, exhibitors will be able to renew OCA memberships, pay BEST nomination fees, and update all user information in the BEST Software. All usernames and passwords will be the same as the 2021-2022 season and will be recoverable via forgot password and the email that is on file. (Please do not create another account. Call the OCA office at 614-873-6736 or email kblue@ ohiocattle.org if you are unable to recover the exhibitor information. Additionally, OCA staff and volunteers will be checking registration papers, verifying tattoos, scanning EID tags, and verifying memberships to expedite the check-in process at the first BEST show.

Southern Ohio Showdown Athens County Beef Show

o Athens County Fairgrounds o Saturday, October 15, 2022 o 8am-1pm

Cornhusker Classic

o Wyandot County Fairgrounds o Sunday, October 23, 2022 o 8am-1pm

Fayette County Cattle Feeders Association

o Fayette County Fairgrounds o Sunday, November 20, 2022 o 8am-1pm

IN-PERSON BQA CERTIFICATIONS

All BEST participants, including out-of-state BEST BBS participants, must have a current BQA certification when they sign-up for the program and/or complete a BQA certification to be in the BEST points standings following their first show, to be eligible to receive BEST awards and to be listed in the BEST final points. BQA certification is available through in-person trainings at BEST shows, bqa.org or yqca.org. BEST participants that attend an in-person BQA training are certified for three years from the date they attended training. AGR – Sun., Dec. 11, 2022 – 7:00 AM Scarlet and Gray – Fri., Jan. 6, 2023 – 6:00 PM DTS Cupid Classic – Sat., Jan. 28, 2023 – 7:00 AM Ohio Beef Expo – Fri., March 17, 2023 – TBA