From left are Ted Card, New York Beef Producers Association vice president; Lisa Kempisty, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County educator; and Shannon Carpenter, field veterinarian.

Each year the New York Beef Quality Assurance Advisory Committee selects one deserving supporter to receive the annual BQA Award presented at the New York Beef Producers’ Association Annual Meeting.

Lisa Kempisty, agriculture community educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County, was recognized with the 2020 award.

The Beef Quality Assurance program in New York state has grown into a educational opportunity for beef and dairy farmers throughout the state and works to improve the quality of beef produced by connecting producers with the newest research and animal care techniques. The program takes many hands to run and has continued to grow through support from sponsors, veterinary professionals and local extension staff, such as Kempisty.

Kempisty’s leadership has led to nearly 75 Beef Quality Assurance-certified producers in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties.

“It has been a great 20 years assisting Lisa in promoting BQA,” said Ted Card, Beef Producers’ Association vice president and a Jamestown beef farmer. “Lisa’s attention to details enables the participants to leave with more than just a BQA certificate. I am assured the producers Lisa has touched are practicing these principles in all their affairs.”

Kempisty has spent nearly 35 years working on a variety of beef educational programs hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension and the New York Beef Producers’ Association.