FARM Program Hosts Successful Session at AABP Conference
October 6, 2016
The FARM Program hosted a full-day session last month as part of the annual meeting of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP). FARM engaged in this high-profile conference to deepen ties with the veterinary community, especially given that veterinarians remain highly-trusted sources for information on animal care with consumers.
The AABP session began with a dairy CEO panel that included NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern, DMI and Innovation Center President Barb O’Brien, and Fairlife founder and President of Select Milk Producers and Mike McCloskey (right, L-R) with morderator Jamie Jonker. Each CEO stressed the importance of a robust relationship between the FARM Program and veterinarians and the critical role veterinarians play in driving continuous improvement in animal care on farms.
Additionally, dairy processor executives Mike Reidy from Leprino Foods and Mike Brown from Kroger provided a customer perspective on animal care, while Dr. Nigel Cook and Dr. Nina VonKeyserlingk spoke about how the dairy community needs to be proactive in communicating about modern livestock practices.
FARM Program Coordinator Beverly Hampton conducted a social media training for bovine veterinarians, providing a comprehensive“dos and don’ts” of social media, while encouraging veterinarians to join in online conversations to share dairy’s story. This event was only the first in a robust outreach campaign to better connect the FARM Program to dairy veterinarians and industry leaders.