FARM program could help assure consumers of animal welfare
By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 03/01/2010 2:12 PM
E-mail article | Print version
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Livestock producers should focus on reassuring the general public about their animal care, says Marcia Endres.
Endres, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota's Department of Animal Science, said extreme activists who think producers are enslaving their animals only make up only a small percent of the population.
"We'll never convince them," she said. "...I think our focus should be more on the general public, the consumer."
Endres is one of three people serving on a national review panel to evaluate dairy welfare programs. The panel's job is to see how well these programs align with the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative, which is meant to protect consumer trust and confidence of the dairy industry. The dairy coalition that started the initiative encourages producers to participate in animal welfare programs if they meet the principles and guidelines of the initiative.
One new program under review comes from National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Management, Inc: the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management.
"I think it's a good initiative," Endres said Feb. 4 during a Dairy Management Workshop in Rochester, organized by Minnesota Milk Producers Association and University of Minnesota Extension.
Endres sees the FARM program as a proactive approach to handling animal welfare concerns. It could help retailers assure customers that dairy products sold in their stores came from farms that meet national care standards.
The program will be voluntary and open to all U.S. dairy producers. It will include animal care manuals, producer education, producer training, on-farm evaluation and third-party verification. Endres is interested to see if large co-ops will require members to join.
She noted some of FARM's standards may currently be too restrictive. It requires only 10 percent of a herd be mildly lame, but Endres thinks most Minnesota dairies wouldn't meet this requirement. She also thinks consumers would be more concerned with severe lameness.
NMPF doesn't know how many farms would pass the standards if evaluated today, she said. The program is still a work in progress and all areas need to be evaluated.
"A national program makes sense," she said. "Stay tuned."
These types of programs are gaining momentum because animal welfare has been making headlines. An ABC News segment on "Nightline" in January, "Got Milk? Got Ethics? Animal Rights v. U.S. Dairy Industry," showed undercover videos with a farm employee hitting a cow on the head with a wrench and tail-docking without pain killers.
"It's on the web and people are watching it," said Endres.
Tail docking is becoming a hot topic. Endres said one reason why is a Pew Commission report, "Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America." It recommended tail docking as part of a "phase out, within 10 years, of all intensive confinement systems that restrict natural movement and normal behaviors." Animal welfare groups, such as the Humane Society of the United States, are using this document to justify their actions, Endres said.
Tail docking of dairy cattle has been banned in California, and a ban in New York has been proposed. Endres doesn't think the Minnesota Legislature will take up the issue this session, but a proposal for a similar ban could come here in the future. There is no scientific evidence supporting tail docking, she said, while the American Veterinary Medical Association has stated it can cause minimal adverse physiological effects to chronic pain.
It's good that more producers are joining programs of public outreach to tell their story, she said.
"We treat our animals with care, we do, and we need to tell people that we do," she said.
She recommended every farm have a document on animal care. Producers should thoroughly screen job applicants and train employees on policies and proper animal care procedures. Implement security programs so its known who is on the farm and have a media-trained spokesperson.