National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative Releases Final Principles and Guidelines

By Karen Lee Managing Editor
Thursday, October 9, 2008 7:58 AM CDT

One year after the initial release at World Dairy Expo, the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative (NDAWI) announced its final set of principles and guidelines last Thursday.

“Our goal is to have a uniform, nationwide umbrella of principles and guidelines that ensures program consistency across the country,” said Charlie Arnot, moderator of the NDAWI press conference.

Producers and interested parties had the ability to comment on the draft principles and guidelines from the launch on Oct. 4, 2007, through July 1. Members of the NDAWI Coalition then reviewed all comments and assembled the final set of principles and guidelines, which was revealed on Oct. 2 at a press conference at World Dairy Expo in Madison.

Jamie Jonker, director of regulatory affairs for the National Milk Producers Federation, commented that the changes to the draft principles and guidelines related to wording, substance, general philosophy and fan mail.

These final principles and guidelines, which can be viewed at www.dairywellbeing.org, will be applied to current on-farm programs and used to create new programs.

“It will take a period of time,” Arnot said. “This is a process, not an event. Adoption of the principles and guidelines is the start, not the finish.”

“We need the entire dairy chain to be involved in that process,” he said.

Many stakeholders from across the nation have already been a part of this Initiative. The NDAWI Coalition does not have a formal organizational structure, but is comprised of volunteers that represent producers, processors, cooperatives, allied industry, academia, associations and food companies.

“They are committed to doing what’s right and to have a process in place to make that happen,” Arnot said.

In addition, the work of NDAWI has already been endorsed by co-ops representing more than 25,643 farms and 106.5 billion pounds of milk annually. This represents approximately 59 percent of the milk marketed in the United States annually. (For a listing of NDAWI endorsers, visit www.dairywellbeing.org.)

“This will be driven by the marketplace. The cost will be born primarily by the marketer,” said Joan Behr, corporate communications specialist for Foremost Farms USA.

Behr, co-chair of the NDAWI producer outreach committee stated, “Consumers are starting to ask about animal well-being.”

Following the release of the final principles and guidelines, she said Foremost Farms USA will now work to develop its own well-being program or utilize one that already exists. Either system will fall under the national umbrella and adhere to the NDAWI principles and guidelines.

“In order to provide market access in the future, farmers will need to validate that their animals are being well taken care of,” Behr said. “(This program) will help bridge the gap from what we’re doing on farms with what consumers may or may not know.”

As mentioned, this release is just the start of the process. From here, the principles and guidelines will be applied to on-farm animal well-being programs. The NDAWI will then facilitate producer awareness and implement education programs. After the on-farm programs have been implemented, an internal assessment will be conducted to measure the program’s effectiveness. A third-party verification program will be put in place and if needed changes to the principles and guidelines will be made.

According to Arnot, the NDAWI will “continue to build and maintain our level of consumer trust and speak with one unified voice.”

This producer-led Initiative is meant to recognize the high quality job producers have implemented in caring for their animals.

Logan Bower, a dairy producer from Pennsylvania and NDAWI coalition member, said that every day he is trying to find a better way to care for his animals.

“As producers, we want to control our own destiny,” Bower said. “This initiative started so we as producers can say we are concerned about the safety of the food supply and that we care for the wellbeing of our animals.”

The NDAWI Coalition also announced it has reached an agreement with PAACO, Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization, Inc., which will review animal welfare programs to see that they are consistent with the NDAWI principles and guidelines.

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