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The FARM Program’s goal is to assist U.S. dairy farmers, participating cooperatives and processors in providing assurance to dairy buyers that U.S. dairy farmers care for their animals, workforce and land in a humane and ethical manner. Over 17,000 second-party evaluations and 480 third-party verifications have been conducted on U.S. dairy farms under Version 4 of the animal care program. Though the majority of farms meet FARM standards, lack of a VCPR and herd health plan signed by the veterinarian in the past 12 months, missing/incomplete continuing education records for employees, not meeting the benchmark for broken tails, lack of pain control for disbudding, and incomplete drug treatment records are the most common corrective actions. Overall, a high percentage of herds have met animal observation benchmarks (99% knee lesions, 98% body condition, 97% locomotion, 95% hock lesions, 91% hygiene, and 85% broken tails). Veterinarians are positioned as a critical resource in this program; they are not only needed to comply with program standards and when out of compliance, have a specific opportunity to consult, advise, guide and support clients regarding the health and welfare of their herd.
S.M. Roche (Fri,) studied this question.