Tag: cow care

FARM Shares Animal Care Program Insights

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

FARM Animal Care, in partnership with ACER Consulting, released two reports in January related to program development and on-farm practices. The program continues to identify areas for advancing animal welfare centered on science and best practices.

The Animal Care Version 4.0 Data Highlights summarizes the characteristics of participating herds, presents performance measures on each Animal Care Program standard under Version 4.0, and highlights key strengths and areas for improvement.

Version 4.0 affirmed the program area’s commitment with clearer requirements, mandatory documentation, expanded animal-based measures and structured corrective action plans to improve consistency and accountability.

The Animal Care Program is now administering Version 5 standards and guidelines after FARM extended the Version 4 cycle due to COVID-19. Version 5 will be in effect through January 2028. FARM revises Animal Care standards every three years.

The Animal Care Stakeholder Survey was conducted to inform early discussions related to the development of Version 2028. The survey launched last July and was available for seven weeks, capturing 557 usable responses.

The NMPF Animal Health and Wellbeing Committee, the FARM Animal Care Task Force and Farmer Advisory Council reviewed initial survey results. The summary findings will be considered alongside committee review, scientific input, and additional engagement as the version cycle is developed. This survey supports informed discussion and decision-making and is not a standalone directive for program changes.

To stay up-to-date on Version 2028 development, visit the FARM website.

 

FARM Reviews Version Metrics, Going Through Each Standard

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

FARM’s Animal Care program area in September met with NMPF’s Animal Health & Well-being Committee to kick off the standards review as part of developing its latest version cycle, set to launch January 2028.

The committee reviewed program metrics in key corrective action areas, animal-based observations, and animal and facility management. This will set priorities for the committees to consider when reviewing standards eligible for revision.

The name itself, Version 2028, represents a shift toward identifying version cycles by launch year, replacing describing versions by successive numbers. FARM is making the change to help program participants easily identify the program’s most current version while communicating the three-year cycle process.

FARM Program cycles are revised every three years to ensure the standards’ integrity and effectiveness. The FARM Animal Care Task Force and NMPF Animal Health & Wellbeing Committee reviews and revises the standards, rationale and accountability measures with input from industry stakeholder groups including farmers, animal scientists and veterinarians.

NMPF’s Board of Directors approved a new layer to the process back in June, resulting in NMPF’s Animal Health & Wellbeing Committee now setting priorities for the FARM Animal Care Task Force and Farmer Advisory Council ahead of the initial standards review. The new process will provide a more collective representation of farmer input.

FARM began Version 2028 development in July with its Stakeholder Survey, which received more than 800 responses. The survey will help inform the decision-making process on potential standard revisions.

NMPF’s Animal Health & Wellbeing Committee, FARM’s Animal Care Task Force and Farmer Advisory Council will review survey results this fall; results will be summarized into a final report made available on the FARM website.

FARM Workforce Development and FARM Environmental Stewardship will continue to be on the same cycle as FARM Animal Care.

For more information on Version 2028 development, visit the FARM Program website.