National Dairy FARM Program Launches at 2009 World Dairy Expo
October 5, 2009
National Dairy FARM Program Launches at 2009 World Dairy Expo
NMPF, with support from Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI), formally launched the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management at a news conference last week during the 2009 World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., unveiling key components of the voluntary, nationwide program designed to bring consistency and uniformity to animal care through education, on-farm evaluations and objective third-party verification.
“Dairy farmers are passionate about the care they provide to their animals. The National Dairy FARM Program takes that producer passion and quantifies it to tell the story of dairy animal care to our customers and consumers,” said Jamie Jonker, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at NMPF. “This is a very thorough program that was created with input from all sectors of the dairy industry, including producers, veterinarians and other animal care experts. It includes current best practices, innovations, and advances in technology.”
The dairy industry has an excellent track record of responsible management practices, said Jonker. “This program simply offers producers an avenue to demonstrate and validate their commitment to doing what’s right,” he said.
At the news conference, Jonker provided an overview of the program and the National Dairy FARM Program Animal Care Manual, which details best management practices for a variety of issues, including animal health, facilities and housing, animal nutrition, and transportation and handling. The content of the manual is consistent with the principles and guidelines of the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative, which was introduced in 2008.
Participating producers will be provided with training materials that include a comprehensive animal care resource manual, a quick-reference user guide, an animal care instructional video, and other educational materials. An on-farm instructor may be available from a producer’s cooperative or other source, said Jonker.
Through a statistical sampling, a certain number of participating dairy farms will be randomly selected for third-party verification.
On-farm evaluations will begin in 2010; third-party verification will follow in 2011, said Jonker.
To participate, producers, co-ops, processors, and state and regional dairy producer organizations can contact NMPF. Costs of the program are still being determined. Implementation of the program, including cost, will depend on whether participants join the program through a co-op or proprietary processor, or as an individual producer.
