Winners of the 2026 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards were announced last week at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville. The BQA Awards annually recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers, marketers, and educators that best demonstrate animal care and handling principles as part of day-to-day activities.

And the winners are:
2026 BQA Cow-Calf Award – East Foundation Ranches, Hebbronville, TX
2026 BQA Dairy FARM Award – Singing Brook Farms, Imler, Pennsylvania
2026 BQA Feedyard Award – Ordway Cattle Feeders, Ordway, Colorado
2026 BQA Marketer Award – Sysco Corporation, Houston, Texas
2026 BQA Educator Award – Jerry Yates, West Virginia University, Wardensville, West Virginia

The national BQA Awards are sponsored by Cargill and Sam’s Club. Award winners are selected by a committee comprised of BQA certified representatives from universities, state beef councils, sponsors and affiliated groups, who assess nominations based on their demonstrated commitment to BQA practices, their service as leaders in the beef industry and their dedication to promoting the BQA message.

BQA may stand for Beef Quality Assurance, but it also works on the dairy farm. “BQA standards give us tools to ensure that we’re creating healthy animals that thrive, which then translates into profitability,” said Greta Halahan with Dairy FARM Award winner Singing Brook Farms. By adhering to these standards, the farm aims to achieve optimal animal welfare, higher productivity and financial sustainability. These standards emphasize continual employee training and meticulous record keeping, ensuring the well-being of the cattle and the overall success of the dairy operation.

Interview with Greta Halahan, BQA Award winner (8:58)

Luke Larson with award winner Ordway Cattle Feeders in Colorado says the BQA program helps remind them they are in the beef business, not the cattle business. “BQA is a program from birth to harvest. Our role is somewhere in between, the last phase of the live animal prior to harvest,” said Larson. “So things that we’re really paying attention to, cattle handling, well-being of the cattle being first and foremost, and then all the things we need to do to make sure our product is safe. We administer several different products to the animals to keep them healthy, and also to make our production more efficient. And so BQA gives us the tools and the roadmap to make sure we’re doing all those things the right way.”

Interview with Luke Larson (5:10)

Listen to interviews with other BQA award winners:
BQA Marketer of the Year, Joe Don Eilers, Sysco Corporation
Interview with Joe Don Eilers (6:00)

BQA Educator Award, Jerry Yates, West Virginia University
Interview with Jerry Yates (7:31)