Dairy Farming News & Events

Key Components to New Animal Well-Being Program Now Online

Dairy producers now have online access to key components of the new National DairyFARM ProgramSM: Farmers Assuring ResponsibleManagement. The National Dairy FARM Program Animal Care Manual details best management practices for a variety of issues including animal health, environment and facilities, 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. The companion Animal Care Quick Reference User Guide is a condensed version of the manual for on-farm use and implementation. Download your copy at www.nationaldairyfarm.com.

Created by National Milk Producers Federation, with support from Dairy Management Inc., the National Dairy FARM Program is a voluntary, nationwide program designed to bring consistency and uniformity to animal care through education, on-farm evaluations and objective third-party verification.

Workshops Can Help Dairy Farmers ‘Tell Your Story’

As a dairy farmer, you have a great story to tell. The public wants to hear how you care for your animals and natural resources, how you produce wholesome and healthy dairy products for them, and how your family business contributes to the community. One way to accomplish this is through the checkoff-funded “Telling Your Story” training program.

This program helps you build positive relationships with your neighbors, community, the media and consumers through three training modules: “Connect with Your Community” (community outreach training), “Capture the Crowd” (presentation training) and “Control the Questions” (media training). Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association is pleased to offer all three modules to you.

For more information, or to schedule a training workshop for a group of dairy enthusiasts in your area, please contact us.

Dairy Industry Distributes Animal Handling Guidelines

In an effort to reinforce the importance of caring for dairy cattle at all stages of their lives, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), along with Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI), and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), created a basic educational poster that will be distributed to dairy farmers across America. The barn-safe plastic poster will serve as common industry guidelines for dairy farmers to follow when they need to handle, transport or cull their dairy animals.

NMPF’s Animal Health and Welfare Committee created the poster, which is available in English and Spanish.  Dairy cooperatives will distribute the poster to their members. Producers who are not part of a cooperative can order a copy by calling (703) 224-1381 or sending an e-mail request to poster@nmpf.org. For more information, please visit the National Milk Producers Federation.

Sustainability: Securing the Future of the Dairy Industry

Sustainability. We’ve all heard the term, but what does it mean to the dairy industry and how is the dairy farmer-funded checkoff involved?

Consumer demand for environmentally friendly products is growing – not only in packaging, but in production as well. Meeting this demand now is a way to proactively shape our future, rather than having it shaped for us by legislative changes or public policy.

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy was created by your dairy checkoff and brings together leaders from across the dairy industry to work together to provide consumers with the products they want, when and where they want them. The slogan, “Healthy People, Healthy Products, Healthy Planet” depicts the outline of the U.S. dairy industry’s sustainability initiative that aims to ensure the health and well-being of our industry, consumers, communities and the planet.

In February 2009, the Innovation Center unveiled a program to help reduce on-farm expenses while meeting the demand for environmentally friendly products. The industry wide effort focuses on reducing milk’s carbon footprint, from farm to table.

This initiative includes a series of 12 projects that will reduce energy, increase efficiency, and help dairy producers tap into new sources of income. Some of the projects are short-term and leverage current practices. Others are long-term and require further research and development. Solutions include:

• Assess and reduce energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions
• Tackle barriers to methane digester adoption
• Improve production efficiencies
• Develop packaging innovations