YQCA
Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) is a multi-specie, science-based education program, offering access to every youth exhibitor ages eight to 21, nationally. The YQCA program not only sets the standard for swine exhibitors, but for all livestock exhibitors. The education and certification program is for youth producers from ages eight to 21. National Pork Board supports the YQCA program and has made efforts to make this the youth certifications program of choice.
PQA Plus
Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus®) provides a framework for significant, relevant food safety standards and improved animal well-being. Pork producers pride themselves on the commitment to continuous improvement. PQA Plus is regularly revised to increase its effectiveness, incorporate new research information and ensure the program’s validity.
Maintaining its food safety tradition to ensure U.S. pork products continue to be recognized domestically and internationally as the highest quality and safest available, PQA Plus also provides information to ensure producers can measure, track and continuously improve animal well-being.
Transport Quality Assurance TQA®
Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) is a program that helps swine transporters, producers and handlers understand how to handle, move and transport pigs and the potential impacts of those actions on pig well-being and/or pork quality. Anyone who handles or transports pigs, or sets protocols for handling pigs, is a potential influencer of animal well-being and pork quality.