Welfare Standards

Assurance Watch: Resources for responsible antibiotic use

jjonker@nmpf.org — Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Alliance Watch: Animal activism by the numbers – a 2025 recap for dairy producers

gplatte@animalagalliance.org — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

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.

Ensuring success after the farm: Tips for transporting cattle

bhamptonphifer@nmpf.org — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0500

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.

Assurance Watch: FARM ES informs on-farm decisions

ssaffran@nmpf.org — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Fit to go? Considerations for dairy cattle fitness to transport

hzundel@pabeef.org — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Transporting dairy animals requires a careful and considerate approach to guarantee their welfare while adhering to industry standards. Here are some factors to consider before shipping a cull cow.

Alliance Watch: Fresh ideas and perspectives were served at the alliance’s Stakeholders Summit

info@animalagalliance.org — Sat, 31 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

At the Animal Agriculture Alliance, we are committed to fostering a sense of unity and collaboration among all food chain partners. Our recent annual Stakeholders Summit in Arlington, Virginia, was a testament to this, as we brought together supply chain stakeholders to discuss sustainability and other critical topics.

Practical strategies to enhance animal welfare on your farm

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

The topic of animal welfare is broad, complex and multifaceted, encompassing scientific, ethical, economic, cultural, social, religious and political dimensions. Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo, Ph.D., with Elanco Animal Health, addressed this ever-evolving topic at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference held in February in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

Alliance Watch: Connecting restaurant and retail leaders with farmers

gplatte@animalagalliance.org — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

In an era where consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, it is more important than ever for the agriculture community to maintain strong connections across the supply chain. The Animal Agriculture Alliance continues to lead the charge in fostering these relationships by hosting virtual events such as webinars. Due to popular demand, the Alliance also hosted a restaurant and retail farm tour last fall for the first time in several years.

Dairy reduces residue violations with responsible antibiotic use

jjonker@nmpf.org — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 23:00:00 -0400

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.

The importance of my work in the sustainability of the dairy industry

semejiaturcios@alltech.com — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

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?

FARM Animal Care Program releases Version 5 standards

bhamptonphifer@nmpf.org — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 08:12:18 -0400

The FARM Program’s latest Animal Care standards released July 1 reflects current science-based industry standards for cow and calf care and provides best management practices for participants.

Assurance Watch: Follow the latest euthanasia guidelines to ensure proper animal care

david.sjeklocha@merck.com — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Euthanasia of cattle is never a pleasant task. Literally translated, “euthanasia” means “good death.” Please keep in mind that, if we have an animal that has given their life for food production and that animal is suffering, the least we can do is give them a good death.

The cost of discarded milk and how to lower it

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

With 10% to 35% of cows experiencing mastitis each lactation, grappling with its cost is a reality of milking cows. A Canadian study showed mastitis costs dairy farmers roughly $660 per cow per year, making it the costliest disease of dairy cattle.

el Lechero: Adopting a healthy work environment for healthier animals

axb779@psu.edu — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:22:55 -0400

When it comes to optimizing animal health in food-producing operations, there are many factors to consider. I have covered several of them in previous articles, such as providing a comfortable and clean environment, excellent nutrition and adequate disease monitoring protocols.

Farm of the future

jrb7@cornell.edu — Sat, 25 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Real-time data-driven research, extension, and education come together to envision the Farm of the Future in a project funded by a $4.3 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant headed by Cornell researchers in collaboration with the Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture (CIDA).

[Podcast] Updates to DCHA Gold Standards with Jason Anderson and Pam Selz-Pralle

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Jenn Coyne visits with Jason Anderson and Pam Selz-Pralle regarding the recently updated Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) Gold Standards.

Cow comfort and sustainability: Striving for harmony in dairy farming

dveeneman@inbarn.com — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Cow comfort and sustainability are probably two of the biggest buzz words right now in the dairy industry.

Assurance Watch: Antibiotic residues trending down, but we shouldn’t stop here

jjonker@nmpf.org — Tue, 09 May 2023 08:16:51 -0400

Dairy farmers realize the importance of reducing the risk of creating drug residues in milk and dairy beef and take that responsibility of prudent antibiotic use seriously, taking precautions every day to ensure that milk or meat from antibiotic-treated animals does not enter the food supply. T

How to load cows on a trailer safely

cheryl@peoplemanagementgroup.com — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0500

There is often a lot of conversation regarding loading cattle from the cattle perspective, and this is certainly important information to consider, but it is also important to keep the safety of the animal handlers top of mind as well.

Meeting dairy welfare standards: Good for your animals and good for the dairy aisle

djr6158@psu.edu — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:51:53 -0500

Dairy farming can be unpredictable, and even with the best management, accidents can happen. For example, a cow may slip exiting the parlor and go down. This could happen even on the best employee’s watch and while following all correct protocols.

Does your dairy have a culture of care?

jonathan.townsend@merck.com — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 17:28:50 -0500

When an operation has a culture of care, everyone from CEO to calf raiser understands how and why to provide exceptional animal care, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

Assurance Watch: Ensure animal safety and wellness through fitness to transport

bhamptonphifer@nmpf.org — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 13:59:30 -0500

Our industry responsibility is to ensure the welfare and safety of our animals at all life stages. Evaluating fitness to transport – the animal’s ability to withstand transportation without compromising its welfare – is an important piece of that.

Protecting yourself from animal rights activism starts on the farm

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:04:00 -0500

Olympic runner and dairy farmer Elle Purrier St. Pierre kicked off the 2022 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, drawing parallels between training to become an Olympic athlete and dairy farming.

Keep your farm safe from virtual activist attacks

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 20:03:02 -0400

The novel coronavirus has impacted daily tasks and routines for everyone. Stay-at-home orders and social-distancing guidelines have many isolating at home, and large gatherings are being replaced with Zoom meetings and FaceTime calls.

What happened? What’s next? - FARM Animal Care Program 4.0 in effect in January

dave@agproud.com — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:40:37 -0400

You’re busy milking cows, topping off forage inventories and making sure your employees aren’t spending too much time managing their fantasy football teams. With that in mind, Progressive Dairy looks at issues in the news impacting you and your dairy business.

Dairy welfare audits: Maximizing benefit for your farm

cbtucker@ucdavis.edu — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 13:00:01 -0400

Successful dairies have healthy cattle and consistent animal care. Dairy welfare audits aim to evaluate both and provide a structure for measuring performance of animal health and cattle care.

The nuts and bolts of dairy welfare programs

cbtucker@ucdavis.edu — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 14:00:01 -0500

Programs to address dairy cattle welfare come in different shapes and sizes. They range from those that serve niche markets are relatively small and aim to differentiate their product with an animal welfare label, to others like FARM, which represents over 95 percent of U.S. dairy farms.

Bruised beef: Causes and prevention strategies

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 14:00:01 -0400

Beef and dairy cattle have steadily grown larger for the last 30 years, thanks to improved genetics and nutrition. This sounds like great progress, but bruising in finished cattle causes a substantial $35 million loss to the beef industry annually.