The purpose is to conduct cattle assessments on Canadian dairy farms and benchmark herds over a two-year period (October 2016 through September 2018). Holstein Canada started this October in British Columbia and will work its way to the other provinces as the normal classification schedule unfolds. 

Cattle assessments are not to be confused with validations, which are conducted by validators, and currently done for food safety. Assessments by Holstein Canada will be needed in preparation for the validations, as the new animal care and traceability requirements will be added in September 2017.

This involves having a valid cattle assessment on file when the validation is done. In some provinces such as British Columbia and Manitoba, animal care requirements have already been incorporated into the current validation process.

More about the new animal care requirements

Similar to what they already do for food safety, farmers need to maintain standard operating procedures and records for animal care as well as implement various best management practices.

As mentioned above, a key requirement for animal care is that farmers must have an independent animal-based assessment conducted every two years.

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The cattle assessment will be done on a random sample of animals in the herd and includes evaluation of:

  • Body condition score
  • Injuries (hock, knee and neck)
  • Lameness scoring

For precise information on scoring, consult the Animal Care Workbook and Manual. A copy can be found online proAction on-farm excellence.

You should have received more detailed information from both your provincial dairy organization and Holstein Canada in September and October.  end mark

PHOTO: proAction - Farmer Manual July 2015 Courtesy photo.

Dairy Farmers of Canada
Founded in 1934, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is the national organization which defends the interests of Canadian dairy farmers and strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry.

Working in accordance with supply management principles, DFC promotes safe, high quality, sustainable and nutritious Canadian dairy products made from 100% Canadian milk through various marketing, nutrition, policy and lobbying initiatives.

Driven by a strong sense of community and pride, DFC and Canadian dairy farmers actively support a number of local and national activities. Visit dairyfarmers.ca for more information.