By focusing on prevention, early detection and timely treatment decisions, U.S. dairy farmers promote animal well‑being while safeguarding the long‑term effectiveness of antibiotics.

If it feels like negative headlines targeting dairy and other animal-sourced foods are showing up more often, you’re unfortunately not wrong or imagining things. From lawsuits and undercover “rescues” to viral misinformation campaigns, animal activist activity is reaching new heights in 2025, backed by record-high funding.

Fitness for transport is a term for an animal’s ability to withstand transportation, including length of trip, weather conditions, stocking density and other factors, without compromising welfare. It is important to consider the entire trip a cow may take once it leaves the farm, not just its next stop.

The FARM Program equips farmers to make data-driven decisions through FARM Environmental Stewardship (ES) Version 3, using scenario-based analysis to provide farmers with insights on their operations.

Dairy continues to reduce animal drug residues found in milk and meat, supporting its greater mission countering antimicrobial resistance, as shown in the 2024 annual report from the National Milk Drug Residue Database (NMDRD) released in December.

Everywhere we look, there is some activity, product, project, etc., attached to the word "sustainability." While some would think it's the overuse of a catchy word, it really makes you wonder if it's a marketing tool or if we're really contributing to sustainable agriculture. A fair question, to be honest. But the most important question is: What does sustainability mean?