CDQA 2003

California Dairy Quality Assurance Program - Michael Payne, UC Davis
CDQA Program Animal Welfare Module - Carolyn Stull, UC Davis

California Dairy Quality Assurance Program

Michael Payne, UC Davis

Executive summary

The California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) is a voluntary, producer-directed education and certification program. The CDQAP includes three modules: Environmental Stewardship, Food Safety, and Animal Health and Welfare. The following progress was made in
2003:

The CDQAP now has two functional modules: The Environmental Stewardship Module and the Johne’s Disease Module. Classes are being delivered in both of these modules to producers throughout the state. Third-party evaluations and certifications are being awarded in the Stewardship Module. Significant progress has been made in the development of a welfare
curriculum. A joint Food Safety/Emergency Preparedness has received considerable nonindustry funding and is expanding. Below are some of the most significant achievements and/or time expenditures.

- New federal (CAFO) regulations require each state to institute best management practices for land application of manure. In California those practices are being co-developed by NRCS and CDQAP, insuring an industry and university voice in these new standards.

- New federal (CAFO) regulations require each state to issue permits to dairies of a certain size. In Region 5 (where 1,700 of the state’s 2,300 dairies reside) the Regional Water Board is working to include the CDQAP as an acceptable method of documentation of compliance for the permit. Program representatives have spoken at every Regional Board meeting in which dairy issues have been raised. To encourage Region 5 to include CDQAP as a method of documentation compliance, program partners have initiated conversations with several environmental activist groups including the Sierra Club and Delta Keepers. The later has publicly supported CDQAP before board members.

- The state Legislature passed AB 10x authorizing the state Water Board to set annual fees for those it regulates. While the dairy industry opposed this legislation, the bill was amended to include language allowing dairies that have certified to receive a 50 percent reduction in fees. Certified dairy producers received fee reductions starting in 2004.

- In addition, we’ve had extraordinary success leveraging CDRF air research funding from other agencies. Thus far, while only $45,000 has been awarded to CDQAP by CDRF, other funding sources (government grants and private funding) total $700,000. The importance of accurate dairy air emission estimates cannot be overstated. Preliminary results suggest bovine air emission may be only a fraction of what regulatory agencies currently assume. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has awarded $50,000 to the CDQAP for development of a Dairy Air Stewardship short course.

- CDQAP members have worked closely with the Dairy CARES and the Dairy Issues Forum to develop media messages for a wide range of issues including bovine tuberculosis, animal welfare, perchlorate, downer cows and BSE. In addition, under CARES leadership, program partners are coordinating a statewide media blitz that will include press conferences on certified dairies, representatives from industry, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), US EPA and UC Davis, as well as coordinated print and broadcast releases. Design and production of CDQAP roadside signs and brochures have been completed.

- The Johne’s Disease Module has been completed and is being offered to producers. Work is proceeding that will allow producers to participate in the national voluntary Johne’s program through the California module.

- Extensive progress has been made in the Animal Welfare Module. Commercial dairies were surveyed for welfare practices, comparison of existing national animal welfare programs and creation of a producer-friendly, science-based checklist, and reference information has been completed.

- The CDQAP has represented the California Dairy Research Foundation and the California Milk  Advisory Board in ongoing statewide collaborative efforts in Homeland Security. This includes participation in CDFA’s bio security outreach efforts, the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security’s (WIFSS) collaborative Homeland Security grant procurement and federal/state crisis management "table-top" exercises.

 

CDQA Program Animal Welfare Module

Carolyn Stull, UC Davis

Executive Summary

The objective of this project is to incorporate science-based information in developing guidelines for animal welfare on California dairies.

The research team of Barbara Reed, Steven Berry and Carolyn Stull reviewed and developed a broad-based animal welfare module designed for California dairies with a assessment of the dairy facility in a checklist format, followed by an extensive educational technical guide providing science-based information on the best management practices. The appendix has
colored illustration materials on locomotion scoring, practical euthanasia, and hygiene scoring along with a body condition scoring chart.

This draft document was sent via e-mail to all California dairy farm advisors and other Cooperative Extension and University educators with dairy expertise for their personal critique. Revisions were then made to the original document. Since two other animal welfare programs are currently available nationwide for certifying dairies, a survey was compiled with all three
checklists for compliance. The 140-question survey was administered to 10 commercial California dairies with varying herd size, management styles, facilities and breed used. The surveys will be compiled and results compared for each of the programs. Generally, most dairies received compliance for nutritional programs and parlor hygiene, while deficiencies were highlighted in the area of employee formal training on animal welfare and written animal welfare procedures for each dairy.

Although the final standards for the CDQAP have not been set, the educational animal welfare module is near completion. Upon compilation of the data from the comparison of the three programs, the participating 10 dairies will provide a "window" to the industry of possible compliance with each module, and if necessary, prepare dairies for the possibility of a third-party audit for national retailers, as suggested by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) or the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR). In the near future, consumer confidence in retail products may be the driving force pushing third-party audits and certification programs.

The development of the module is 90 percent completed. A committee of industry representatives will meet to make suggestions and recommendations for any revisions to the module’s content. A pathway to the selection of specific standards may require the input of the industry, especially since this would provide some buy-in by the industry. The implementation of the module on the farm level will be the next challenge and cohesiveness of the cooperatives is essential.