By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

SYCAMORE, Ill. — As a longtime dairy producer and farmer-leader for the Illinois Milk Producers Association and Midwest Dairymen’s Cooperative, Bill Deutsch has learned through experience the importance of satisfying shifting consumer demand for his farm’s dairy products. Now, perhaps more than ever, dairy producers like Deutsch understand the importance of transparency in the production of their dairy products for their end users and customers, including how cows are raised, fed, housed and treated.

For that reason, Deutsch is among the thousands of U.S. dairy producers to enroll in certification programs through the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) or other, independent agencies that recognize farmers who are going the extra mile to ensure humane and sustainable management practices are in place on their farms. 

“I think the dairy industry was kind of reluctant to go into that, but a lot of the processors and the consumers were all wanting something, so we introduced a program through National Milk. It continues to expand as things change in the industry, and they have issued a criteria for (producers) who want to ship milk to co-ops. It involves third-party verification, and is actually the only program that has been ISO-approved for international standards,” said Duetsch.

The NMPF’s National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program has recently added sustainability tenets to its certification requirements, and the Arlington, Virginia-based NMPF is now offering training for dairy workers, according to Deutsch.

“I (employ) a lot of high school kids, and when some of them come in they don’t have any experience. They have to do a training module that offers information about cattle the average person may not know, including how to work the cattle in a low-stress manner that can make it a whole lot easier to handle them, and ensure that you don’t have a loss of production due to too much stress on the animal,” he said.

Deutsch’s farm is subject to regular audits. One time, NMPF inspectors determined the producer did not have enough of their recommended standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place in order to pass the inspection. A notice was issued and Deutsch was given time to raise his standards. Once NMPF auditors returned, they found Deutsch Farms operators had enhanced their milking procedures and worker standards enough to earn recertification. 

A major tenet of certification is the producer’s signed pledge to report any and all animal abuse incidents as soon as they are brought to his-her’s attention.

 “The video of animal abuse at Fair Oaks Farm (in northwest Indiana) was very damaging; no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Deutsch said, adding that employees and farm ownership responded to the high-profile abuse of dairy cattle in the proper fashion. “It was other employees who turned in some of those animal abuse issues, and all but one of them had already been terminated back in November because the other employees turned him in. When the video came out, the fourth was terminated right away.”

Deutsch predicts that the Fair Oaks Farm scandal will result in bigger producers installing more on-farm security cameras and employing other technological means of showing transparency and responsibility for their operating procedures. “Down the road we are just going to have more trouble if we don’t start identifying and addressing some of these issues,” he said. “I think the best thing we can do as an industry is to try and be as good as we can.”

Requirements for NMPF certification include the eschewing of tail docking, which is regarded as unnecessary as an industry practice. Deutsch sees calf isolation — separating a calf from its mother at birth — as one of the biggest objections voiced by animal rights activists and certain sectors of consumers. Non-separation may soon be added to NMPF’s certification requirements, he predicts.

“On our farm we give the mother and calf a certain amount of time. But I would rather make sure that the calf gets all of its vaccines and has its colostrum tested so we are not passing anything from the mother to the calf. But we either have to be prepared to explain in detail to the public what we are doing and why we are doing it, or change,” Deutsch said. 

Independent certifying agencies serve producers worldwide

Independent certifying agencies that acknowledge dairy producers for humane best management practices (BMPs) include Middleburg, Virginia-based Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), A Greener World (AGW), of Terrebonne, Oregon and the American Humane Certified (AHC) program of Washington, D.C. A fourth independent group, Global Animal Partnership of Austin, Texas, refuses to certify dairy farms or processors.

Of those groups to certify dairy, AGW’s “Certified Animal Welfare Approved” designation is a voluntary third-party certification program for farms that wish to demonstrate their commitment to high-welfare management. AGW identifies, audits, certifies and promotes practical, sustainable farming systems by supporting farmers and ranchers and informing consumers.

“It’s a win-win solution to increase transparency and connect producers and eaters: farmers appreciate getting credit for their good work and consumers appreciate having reliable information about their food,” said AGW communications director Emily Moose.

AGW works with dairy farms across the U.S. and abroad, using a set of dairy standards that are available for perusal on their website, www.agreenerworld.org. “You’ll see general requirements for high-welfare, pasture-based management and traceability. The major distinction is that these practices are actually third-party audited every year, with the possibility of unannounced spot audits. We’re currently working with nearly 100 U.S. dairy farms, companies and brands, and over 3,000 globally,” said Moose.

The “pasture-raised” requirement common to many of these independent certification agencies inherently excludes many large U.S. dairy operations. Recently, however, free-range Hart Dairy of Augusta, Ga., became the first pasteurized U.S. dairy cow operation to earn the HFAC’s “Certified Humane” designation.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by HFAC and proud to have the Certified Humane label on our Hart Dairy milk bottles,” says Tim Connell, Hart Dairy chief executive officer. “Their seal of approval is a testament to our passion to ensure a healthy living environment for our cows.”

Launched in 2003, HFAC has enrolled more than 200 companies, representing 6,000 farms and an estimated one billion farm animals, in their Certified Humane program. Until Hart Dairy’s 2019 certification, HFAC had certified only non-pasteurized dairy operations in California, where interstate commerce of raw, unpasteurized milk is prohibited by law.

The reason there had been no previously certified U.S. dairy farms can be credited largely to the common use of “cages,” according to HFAC’s Laura Vermillion.

“(Dairy) cows spend their days in gestation crates and cages, hooked up to machines. This is why (dairy farms) do not join,” she said. “We hope to see dairy practices change, because (the problems) are all over. Fair Oaks got caught out on it, but I think there are many other farms with the same problems,” she said.

“We inspect our farms every year and any facilities under their program. We inspect for traceability; any time the product changes we inspect to make sure it is still a product that came from the farm we certified. If we ever have an anonymous tip, we would do a surprise inspection-- even though oftentimes these originate from disgruntled employees and we find no violations.”

In addition to dairy cattle, HFAC offers certification for beef cattle, bison, poultry, goat, sheep, swine and other operations. Over 70 humane societies and animal welfare organizations have endorsed the HFAC Certified Humane program.

Changes in place at processor level, as well

Milk processors and cooperatives such as Edwardsville, Ill.,-based Prairie Farms are making changes to ensure farmers in their program are adhering to the highest standards of animal care. The Prairie Farms Cow Care Program details guidelines producers must follow for every cow and calf on their farm. Guidelines are established for health, facilities and housing, nutrition, equipment and milking procedures.

Farms are evaluated at least once every three years and provided with feedback from veterinarians, extension educators and others. Third-party verification ensures the integrity of the Prairie Farms Cow Care Program. In addition, producers for the dairy co-op are informed and encouraged in embracing technology to help keep cows at a maximum level of comfort.

“Every farm is a little bit different,” according to Prairie Farms, “but we are all working to achieve the same goals: quality milk and happy cows.”

More and more dairy co-ops and processors like Prairie Farms and Land O’ Lakes are now affiliating themselves with the new NMPF certification standards, Deutsch pointed out. “Pretty much all the co-ops are realizing that rather than having a WalMart standard, a McDonalds standard and a HyVee standard, the common unifying standard of certification is through National Milk,” the Sycamore producer said, before adding:

“Personally, I am very happy to be able to talk to consumers about what happens on my farm. It is their fear of the unknown, I think, that leads them to jump to conclusions. I just think it is better to give them the facts and the information so that calmer heads can prevail.”