FARM Program releases ES Version 3 User Guide and Trainings
February 28, 2025
FARM released Feb. 14 its new Environmental Stewardship Version 3 User Guide, providing key information about the evaluation tool to its participants and aiding evaluators when completing Version 3 evaluations.
The guide details the data inputs of the new FARM ES evaluation to foster consistency and confidence in data collection. It also explains the output of the Version 3 assessment to support results interpretation.
FARM ES Version 3, launched last October, gives dairy farmers a scientifically robust tool with more advanced features to assess the impact of potential practice or technology changes. Version 3 incorporates the Ruminant Farm System (RuFaS) model, a whole-farm model simulating dairy farm production and environmental impact. FARM continues to create resources for on-farm best management practices, advancing its mission of continuous improvement within the dairy industry.
The FARM Program in tandem with the guide also launched a self-paced, online training course through the FARM Database. The training contains six modules that evaluators can choose to complete in one session or throughout multiple sessions. The course covers information about the program, how to consistently collect the data inputs, and how to interpret the results. Evaluators must complete the course to be certified to complete FARM ES Version 3 assessments.
To complement the self-paced, online training, FARM evaluators can enroll in advanced training sessions that take a deeper dive into several FARM ES topics. Each session is designed to address key areas of evaluations such as data inputs, interpreting results and available resources. Sessions also explore the new scenario analysis function of the Version 3 evaluation tool, so evaluators can better support farmers in using this new functionality to inform decision-making.
