MBK Cattle
“These animals are really our pride and joy. We take care of them to help them be as healthy as they can be.” – Brandi Karisch
Beef Quality Assurance State co-Coordinator, Brandi Karisch, Practices What She Preaches
Brandi Karisch, PhD, lives in Starkville, Mississippi with her husband, Matt and two boys on their cattle ranch, MBK Cattle. Along with being an animal science professor, a cattle rancher and a mom, Brandi serves as a state co-coordinator for the Beef Quality Assurance program. In this role, she travels around the state helping to educate other beef farmers and ranchers on best practices for raising cattle to produce the safest and most wholesome beef possible.
“The animals come first. We take care of those animals similar to how we take care of our kids. They get vaccines to keep them healthy, same way as our kids do, and we take them to the doctor. If they get a runny nose or if they get sick, we talk to our veterinarian and we get them something to help them get better.”
“When I'm looking for something to put on the table for my kids, beef is the first thing that I turn to, because I know it's packed full of high-quality protein, great vitamins and minerals that are going to help my boys grow big and strong and continue running around playing in those fields with our puppy and with the cows.”
“I play a role in educating other cattlemen and women in terms of Beef Quality Assurance as a state Beef Quality Assurance Coordinator. I travel around the state and actually train other cattlemen and cattlewomen in practices that follow Beef Quality Assurance guidelines and give them some ideas and tips that they can take back to their farms.”
Meet Your Rancher:
What’s the number one thing you’d want people outside the industry to know about raising cattle?
“When someone tells me that beef comes from factories, I really want to share with them what we do on a daily basis. Watching the sun come up over a group of new baby calves, and walking through a field with my boys, and having them learn about where they're food comes from, is something that I think is really important.”
Why did you volunteer to participate in the Beef Quality Assurance program? What does it mean to you?
“I volunteered to participate in the Beef Quality Assurance program because it's the right thing to do. BQA is common sense animal husbandry practices that can teach farmers and ranchers not just how to take better care of their cattle and to do better on their farms, but also to produce a better-quality product.”
What programs are available to help ranchers educate themselves on animal care?
“The Beef Quality Assurance program is a really valuable program that's available to every rancher in the United States to help educate themselves on animal care and the best practices to keep cattle healthy and sustainable. I often tell producers that you can't manage and you can't improve on what you don't measure, and Beef Quality Assurance and beef quality audits have really helped us learn how we can improve, and that we have improved the amount of high quality beef that we're providing to today's consumers.”
How has BQA changed the way you operate your business?
“Beef Quality Assurance has really changed the way that we operate our business by really making us take a step back and consider how every practice that we do on our ranch, really affects the end product that we produce for consumers. That nutritious, wholesome steak that somebody gets to enjoy on their dinner table.”
MBK Cattle
starkville, mS
Cow/Calf Ranch
Cows are bred and calves are born and raised every year on cow-calf farms and ranches, spending time grazing on grass pastures within sight of their mothers.
beef quality assurance
The Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program trains farmers and ranchers on best practice cattle management techniques to ensure their animals and the environment are cared for.
rethink the ranch
Join us as we travel across the country talking to real, modern ranchers about how they care for the cattle, what inspires them and why they work so hard day after day.
beef production story
The journey of raising beef is a complex process. And through it, one thing remains constant – the beef community’s shared commitment to raising cattle in a safe, humane and environmentally sustainable way.
ensuring beef safety
Everyone plays an important role in beef safety. From the cattle ranches across the U.S., to the meat processing plants, to your kitchen table, safety is pinnacle role in beef production.