Situation

Undercover videos by animal rights activists are at an all-time high, with many targeting cattle operations. Naturally, dairy farmers are concerned about being publicly challenged about their animal care practices and are seeking resources to help document employee training and animal care.

Objective

Increase adoption of a structured framework that supports and enhances farmers’ efforts to provide quality animal care every day.

Approach

The Merck Animal Health Dairy C.A.R.E. Initiative premise is simple: Give farmers the management tools and resources they need to be successful – like multi-language animal handling policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs), employee training videos and crisis planning materials.

Then, put boots on the ground: Dairy farmers and veterinarians are invited to attend free Dairy C.A.R.E. workshops held throughout the U.S. to customize their own farm plans.

Results

Behavior changes because of the Dairy C.A.R.E. program, reaching ownership or veterinary caregivers representing a quarter of the nation’s lactating dairy cows. Post workshop, 65% of farmers commit to SOP documentation and more than half say they’ll implement a crisis preparedness plan.

750 trained within the first year - dairy farmers, herdspersons and veterinarians 50+ workshops held in 23 states Dairy Herd Management Innovation Award was given to Merck Animal Health for the Dairy C.A.R.E. program