GREEN BAY, Wis. — Why aren’t cows allowed to go outdoors? Why are calves raised without social interaction? These are just a couple of the questions that consumers have about how dairy animals are cared for. Animal welfare continues to be critical topic for dairy producers as consumers question where their food comes from, and activists pressure food companies to influence how animals are raised.
The PDPW Dairy Wellbeing Workshop, presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) will feature updates on latest developments in animal welfare debates and practices, as well as discussions with experts on how animal care impacts health and meat quality.
Limited to 50 attendees, dairy farmers, herd managers and industry professionals will be able to assess their own management practices firsthand as they experience the workshop tour and educational sessions. Two one-day sessions will be held on Wed., Feb 7, and Thurs., Feb. 8, both at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis., from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.
The workshop will feature a behind-the-scenes tour of American Foods Group meat processing plant, tracing backwards from the cooler to the harvest floor. Participants will hear from beef buyers, market experts and USDA meat inspectors about cull-cow quality and carcass conditions.
Following the tour, participants will return to the convention center for workshop presentations from two leading animal care experts: Dr. Nigel Cook, DVM, Chair of the Department of Medical Sciences and a Professor in Food Animal Production Medicine at UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Franklyn Garry, DVM, professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University.
Workshop sessions will focus on:
- Discussion of animal welfare challenges, including housing, calf-care, lameness and cull cow quality.
- Review of current animal welfare assessments and audits and what records may be required in the future.
- Discussion of humane euthanasia, including when it is appropriate and proper methods to perform it with the welfare of people and animals in mind.
The PDPW Dairy Wellbeing Workshop is an accredited training and offers up to 5.25 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education (CE) credits. To learn more or secure credits, visit www.DairyAdvance.org. Also, up to 6.4 CEUs are available to UW-School of Veterinary Medicine (UW-SVM), and up to 7.0 CEUs are available to the American Registry of Professional Scientists (ARPAS) members.
To learn more or to register for the PDPW Dairy Wellbeing Workshop, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDPW at 1-800-947-7379.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”
— PDPW
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