Assessment of Feeding Management in the National Dairy FARM Program

A number of animal welfare assurance programs have been developed in recent years to encourage the adoption of welfare standards across food animal industries and to assure the public that these standards are being followed. In contrast to the European Union, the United States has relied less on legislative action and has instead focused on the creation of retailer- and industry-driven audits and assessment programs to meet public expectations about animal welfare. An animal welfare assessment program used in the dairy industry is The National Dairy FARM Animal Care Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management. The mission of this Program is to provide assurance to consumers and members of the public that the dairy industry is committed to the use of best management practices to promote the highest level of animal care (www.nationaldairyfarm). The FARM Program provides evidence-based standards for various aspects of animal care and highlights the importance of proper feeding management practices to promote continuous improvement of the welfare of dairy animals. Feeding management of all animal groups is assessed using both animal-based measures (e.g., measurements taken directly from the animal, such as body condition score) and resource-based measures (e.g., measurements taken from the environment or management of the animal, such as milk quantity for pre-weaned heifers, feed bunk space allowance for growing and adult animals, etc.). The purpose of this paper is to: 1) provide an overview of the FARM Program; 2) discuss the Program's evaluation of feeding management practices; and 3) review the supporting scientific literature.