new DAIRY CARE365 online training module from Merck Animal Health will help dairy owners and managers foster on-farm cultures that prioritize exceptional animal care, 365 days of the year.
The new module, entitled “Creating a Culture of Care,” is the first DAIRY CARE365 module specifically tailored to those in leadership roles on dairies. Nine other training modules focus on e-learning for dairy employees, covering such topics as dairy stockmanship, newborn calf care and non-ambulatory cow handling.
Five-lesson module
Creating a Culture of Care consists of five lessons, each six to eight minutes long. Each lesson includes an educational video, followed by interactive quiz questions to test how well the lesson meets specific learning objectives. The module includes standard operating procedures (SOP) for each lesson, as well as a certificate of completion to document training.
The five lessons in Creating a Culture of Care are:
• Leadership Pledge
• On-farm Commitment to Zero Tolerance for Animal Abuse
• Creating Protocols and SOPs
• Developing a Training Plan
• Monitoring and Measuring for Accountability
“The new module is designed to help dairy leaders formalize animal care practices and training procedures that are likely already in place,” said Stephanie Meyers, Merck Animal Health dairy marketing manager. “Creating a Culture of Care includes tools and resources to document and measure these practices, which are so important to meet consumer and societal expectations of our industry. Even more important – it’s the right thing to do for our animals and our people.”
Merck Animal Health developed the Creating a Culture of Care training module in cooperation with Brandon Treichler, D.V.M, an expert in animal welfare, milk quality, residue avoidance and human resource management. Dr. Treichler serves on National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) Animal Care Task Force and Workforce Development Task Force, providing guidance and input to the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program.
“As dairy producers, we appreciate the training resources that Merck Animal Health provides through DAIRY CARE365. This new module aligns perfectly with our goal to be an outstanding dairy producer through quality care of animals, sustainable practices, environmental accountability and constant attention to detail,” says John Vosters, vice president of livestock, Milk Source LLC, Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Milk Source and its staff collaborated with Merck Animal Health on the new module content.
Creating a Culture of Care is the tenth module in the DAIRY CARE365 training initiative, launched by Merck Animal Health in 2012. This industry-wide collaboration has reached thousands of employees on dairies located across the U.S. DAIRY CARE365 sparked similar programs for other species, including CATTLE CARE365 for the beef cattle industry and AQUA CARE365 for aquaculture.
“Merck Animal Health provides these online training modules as a value-add to our customers at no charge, to help protein producers provide the best in animal care and welfare,” adds Tom Schad, Merck Animal Health director of communications, North America. “It’s all part of our unconditional social commitment that demonstrates our customer focus and our purpose behind the transaction.”
Learn more about DAIRY CARE365 at DairyCare365.com.
