National Dairy Animal Care Findings Show Widespread Adherence

By CnAgri2012-10-26 19:26:06 Print

A report issued Thursday about the National Dairy FARM Animal Care Program found that overall, its subscribers are doing a thorough job of adhering to its multi-faceted approach to comprehensive dairy animal well-being.

Voluntary, and open to all producers in the United States, Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) is a national set of guidelines designed to demonstrate dairy farmers' commitment to outstanding animal care and a quality milk supply. Cooperatives, proprietary milk processors, and individual dairy producers are using the program to assure consumers that the food they purchase is produced with integrity.

Since enrollment began in September 2010, the FARM Animal Care Program has been implemented on dairy farms accounting for 41 percent of the nation's milk supply. With continued expansion of enrollment, participation in the FARM program is anticipated to exceed 70 percent of the nation's milk supply in 2013, the National Milk Producers Federation said.

Participating producers are provided comprehensive training materials and undergo an on-farm evaluation conducted by a trained veterinarian, extension educator, co-op field staff member, or other FARM-trained professional. Evaluators then provide a status report and, if necessary, recommendations for on-farm improvement.

In June 2012, data collected from the more than 5,000 second-party evaluations made of the dairy operations enrolled in FARM program was reviewed and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of on-farm implementation. A summary of those results was made available today.

To protect the integrity and credibility of the program, the FARM program utilizes an independent third-party process to ensure that its practices are being appropriately adopted and the educational materials and methodologies used in training both farm operators and evaluators is sound and effective. Each year, a nationwide sample of dairy farms in the program is randomly selected for visits from third-party verifiers to assure that the observations recorded during the second-party evaluations are valid.