Dairy Farmers of Canada and Holstein Canada are pleased to announce the signing of a four-year agreement reaffirming Holstein Canada as the preferred supplier for proAction Animal Care cattle assessments across Canada. Both national organizations renewed their agreement in July, which takes effect starting this fall.
“This step of assessing animals is part of our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement,” said Pierre Lampron, president of Dairy Farmers of Canada. “In this day and age, it is essential to demonstrate our world-class standards in producing high quality milk and meat in a sustainable way, and to measure how we improve over time. This agreement ensures that our industry stays in line with Canadian values.”
In September 2017, Dairy Farmers of Canada and its members developed and added two new modules to the proAction validation process: Animal Care and Traceability. Holstein Canada has been a key partner in assisting farmers to prepare for both of these modules, including providing animal care assessments independently to all farms since October 2016. The assessment is based on the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle. This renewed agreement between the two national organizations solidifies Holstein Canada’s position as the preferred supplier of proAction assessments.
“Holstein Canada is very pleased to continue our well-established partnership with DFC to deliver a key service to farmers, which ultimately serves consumers,” said Holstein Canada President Harry Van der Linden. “Our Team members are highly trained in animal observation and it is great to have two national organizations work together to deliver a consistent program coast to coast.”
Holstein Canada evaluates a random sample of animals in the herd to verify indicators of animal comfort, such as body condition, locomotion or lameness, and the state of the hocks, knees and neck. Afterwards, when validators visit farms, farmers must show this completed independent assessment, Standard Operating Procedures, and records to meet the requirements of the proAction initiative. The initiative is how dairy farmers across the country demonstrate they implement good management practices that enhance animal well-being, care and comfort.
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is the national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canada’s farmers living on over 10,950 dairy farms. DFC strives to create stable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. It works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy farmers and promote dairy products and their health benefits.
