Quality Assurance (AQCA)

Assuring Quality Care of Animals- AQCA

****IMPORTANT CHANGES!!****

Any youth exhibiting AND housing an animal at the Lorain County Jr. fair is REQUIRED to attend an Assuring Quality Care of Animals (AQCA) program by June 1, 2025.

The Assuring Quality Care of Animals (AQCA) program teaches youth the ten Good Production Practices (GPP’S).

Continued improvement, food safety, ethics, and welfare are taught every year. The remaining GPP’s are on a three-year rotation. A youth member will have completed all ten GPP’s if they attend three years of programming consecutively. While the GPP’s are directly targeting market and lactating animals, most of the information taught is directly related to care for all animals.

All Lorain County Jr. Fair animals housed on the fairgrounds fair week are required to complete and turn in a Drug Use Notification Form (DUNF) at check-in.

Consistent record-keeping for the fair vet to ID potential barn outbreaks (NEW DUNFs are required to be turned in when any medication is administered and filed with the Extension QA team)

All DUNF forms will be completed electronically. Electronic completion is a new requirement of the Ohio Department of Agriculture and will replace the paper copies used in the past.
Youth must attend an approved Ohio Youth QA session or be certified through YQCA within the QA calendar year. (October 1st-September 31st)
The BQA/PQA online course does not meet the Ohio Youth Food Animal QA certification requirement.

There are four options to complete your Quality Assurance requirements.

Attend and complete an in-person program. (Lorain or Medina Counties)
Register for and complete the YQCA online training. (livestock, rabbit, and fowl)
Test Out.
Attend an approved state program.

Test-out
Complete an AQCA state test and pass with a 70% or higher. Youth may only take the test once per year. If they do not pass with a 70% or higher they will be required to participate in an in-person program to meet the annual requirement.

When:

Monday, December 30, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The Ag Center (42110 Russia Rd. Elyria) by appointment only. Appointments may be made on the half-hour.
Wednesday, January 9, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The Ag Center (42110 Russia Rd. Elyria) by appointment only. Appointments may be made on the half-hour.

Tests are published by OSU AQCA Specialist and proctored by OSU Extension staff. Study materials are available at htps://ohio4h.org/sites/ohio4h/files/imce/Quality%20Assurance%20Test%20Study%20Guide.pdf
This option is available to youth ages 15 and older that have completed at least three years in an animal project.

Registration: Interested individuals must e-mail Julie Mackey at mackey.181@osu.edu to schedule. Be sure to indicate what time you would like to arrive.

Fee: None

Simulation Event
Attend and complete an in-person simulation. Youth will select an animal situation card to determine what animal(s) they will be caring for as they progress through the simulation activity stations.

Online programs

It is recommended that youth with fewer than three years completed in an animal project attend the in-person training.

Registration- visit htps://yqcaprogram.org and click on the register/sign in buton.

Fee- Cost is $12 per person paid online. All funds remain with YQCA national program.

Participation- Youth must complete all training modules for their age group. There is a quiz to be completed once you have gone through all of the required modules. This quiz must be passed in order to receive your completion certificate.

Completion- Upon completion of the online program, log back in to print your completion certificate. This completion certificate MUST be e-mailed to Julie Mackey, Area 4 AQCA coordinator at mackey.181@osu.edu

It is recommended that youth with fewer than three years completed in an animal project attend the in-person training.

Ractopamine Fact Sheet

Assuring Quality Care of Animals- AQCA

Lorain County Office

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