Immediately upon learning about this allegation, we initiated a third-party audit to investigate the claim. No evidence of abuse or mistreatment was found in this audit. Unfortunately, the actions captured on video by a member of COK who was undercover on this dairy, were concerning. An employee was terminated by the farm owner, and we worked with authorities in filing charges against him.

This individual’s actions were not representative of the farm’s practices or practices on dairies in general. Despite that, today, long after the undercover activist left the farm and weeks after the initial allegation, COK began sharing a highly edited version of this video. In addition, Dairy Farmers of America executives received a letter from COK requesting an open dialogue.

As an organization and industry that has invested considerable resources in animal welfare, we welcome the opportunity for dialogue with any organization that has the best interests of our animals at heart.

Unfortunately, we question the agenda of organizations like Compassion Over Killing. Rather than work with us, they continue to use deceptive practices to go undercover recording footage over a period of months that is then used to create highly edited videos that distort what truly happens on America’s dairy farms.

Anyone who truly cares about animals would not go undercover and observe, incite or fail to immediately report incidents of abuse. We encourage anyone who suspects animal abuse on our dairies to report, not record that abuse.

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a national dairy marketing cooperative that serves and is owned by more than 13,000 members on nearly 8,000 farms in 48 states. DFA also is one of the country’s most diversified manufacturers of dairy products, food components and ingredients, and is a leader in formulating and packaging shelf-stable dairy products. For more information, call 1-888-DFA-MILK (332-6455) or visit www.dfamilk.com.