SWINE PQA Plus CERTIFICATION

Wells County youth in the swine project are required to be Pork Quality Assurance Plus Certified. This was a new policy last year and continues as a rule this year. Most Indiana County 4-H Fairs now require PQA Plus Certification and the Indiana State Fair in now requiring all 4-H Swine Exhibitors to be PQA Plus Certified. 4-H members should plan to attend one of the workshops to be held June 14th, 1:30PM or 6:30PM and July 6th, 6:30PM, at the Community Center, 4-H Park, Bluffton.
The Certification Guidelines are as follows: 8-11 yr olds: Must certify annually by attending PQA Plus Workshop, 12-14 yr olds and 15-19 yr olds must certify annually by attending PQA Workshop OR certify by taking a test and getting a score of 70% or better. If 4-H member elects to take the exam and passes, they are then certified until they reach the next age bracket. If you elect to attend the workshop, you must recertify every year. 4-H’ers can attempt to pass the exam three times in one sitting.
Once the member has attended a workshop and/or passed a test, the information will be submitted to the National Pork Board. A few weeks later, the PQA Plus Certification Card will be mailed to the member. The Pork Quality Assurance program is administered by the National Pork Board and is a nation-wide effort to insure a safe and nutritious food supply.