Animal Care and Well-Being Has Been Gaining More and More Attention from Consumers And

February 5, 2010

Dear Member,

Animal care and well-being has been gaining more and more attention from consumers and the media throughout the last few years. Hidden camera footage has surfaced on Web sites and in mainstream media, and multiple states have passed statutes that address animal welfare. Most recently, ABC’s Nightline had a segment that depicted animal care in the dairy industry in a negative light.

While we know that animal well-being is of utmost importance on all dairies, we are increasing our efforts to assess animal care standards in order to maintain consumer trust and confidence in our products. To that end, we are planning a second round of the Gold Standard Dairy Program.

In 2007, DFA was a leader in introducing the Gold Standard Dairy Program. At that time, the self assessments were a first step in raising awareness of best practices in animal care. Since that time, we have been working with other industry organizations to develop a program that outlines animal well-being guidelines for the U.S. dairy industry. That effort has resulted in the development of the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program, under the leadership of National Milk Producers Federation.

Later this year, DFA fieldstaff will start visiting member farms to go through a second round of the Gold Standard Dairy Program. A primary focus of this round will be animal care, and we will be using the FARM program as the animal care component of the Gold Standard Dairy Program.

The FARM program was developed by a wide-ranging team of dairy farmers, veterinarians,cooperative staff and animal care experts. In addition, an advisory board with representatives from processors and retailers was incorporated to ensure complete support for the effort. Attached you will find a reference guide that provides an overview of the standards that are part of the FARM program. We believe that you will find the standards reasonable and attainable when farm assessments take place.

Animal care standardsarean essential component for a healthy dairy industry and continued consumer trust in our products. This is an area where we believe we can effectively communicate the positive steps you take each day to maintain a healthy dairy herd. As we progress through the year, we will be sharing additional information about the next round of our Gold Standard Dairy Program. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

David Darr
Vice President, Sustainability and Public Affairs
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.