Transporting dairy animals requires a careful and considerate approach to guarantee their welfare while adhering to industry standards. Here are some factors to consider before shipping a cull cow.

One of our areas of focus is to help producers reduce dairy cow stress. In a recent anecdotal survey, we asked them: Which dairy cow stressor do you think has the biggest impact on you, your cows and your bottom line?

Dairy farming can be unpredictable, and even with the best management, accidents can happen. For example, a cow may slip exiting the parlor and go down. This could happen even on the best employee’s watch and while following all correct protocols.

When an operation has a culture of care, everyone from CEO to calf raiser understands how and why to provide exceptional animal care, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

Our industry responsibility is to ensure the welfare and safety of our animals at all life stages. Evaluating fitness to transport – the animal’s ability to withstand transportation without compromising its welfare – is an important piece of that.