Articles
Preparing for FARM Animal Care Evaluations
Written collaboratively by Kimberly Clark, Nebraska Extension and Heidi Carroll, SDSU Extension The FARM Animal Care Version 4.0 rolled out January 2020. This article is a condensed tool to aid you in preparing for your next evaluation. A detailed preparation guide that includes a checklist is located at the National Dairy FARM webpage.We encourage you to reach out to your co-op or processor with questions or concerns as you prepare for your next evaluation. It is the responsibility of the FARM Evaluator to clearly communicate program expectations to the producer and schedule future evaluations. The “Documentation” section of this article provides a list of the records and protocols needed for the evaluation with a brief description of each. The “Observation” section outlines observations the evaluator will make while conducting the evaluation including which class of animals are observed for each criteria.
Preparing Your Farm for Winter
The cold weather and recent snowfall may have us scrambling to finish field work and prepare for the weather winter brings. If you haven’t started preparing for winter now is the time. Below are some reminders as you prepare your animals and farm for the upcoming winter months.
Changes in the Dairy Industry
It has been said that, “… there is nothing permanent except change.” As any producer knows, this is certainly the case with the dairy industry.