FARM Animal Care

Definition

FARM Animal Care is the animal-welfare program area of the National Dairy FARM Program. Its standards are set by NMPF in a versioned Animal Care Reference Manual and checked on the farm by a trained evaluator. Version 5 is the current version.

The standards fall into three groups:

Management and records: a valid, signed VCPR; written herd-health protocols; written protocols for euthanasia, non-ambulatory animals, fitness to transport, newborn and calf care (including colostrum), disbudding with pain relief and stockmanship; antibiotic stewardship and treatment records.
People: stockmanship and job training for everyone who works with animals, annual continuing education, and a signed cow-care (zero-tolerance abuse) agreement for each of them. See SOPs and training records.
Animals and facilities: the evaluator observes a sample of animals and scores animal-based measures (body condition, locomotion, hock and knee injuries, hygiene, broken tails), and checks housing, water, feed, ventilation and handling.

How results are graded

FARM Version 5 has three corrective-action tiers (as of November 2026, FARM Version 5 standards page):

Immediate Action Plan (IAP): the standard must be met immediately. Routine tail docking is in this tier. A farm that fails it goes on “conditional certification” for 48 hours or less, and to “conditional decertification” if it still isn’t met.
Mandatory Corrective Action Plan (MCAP): the standard must be met within 9 months or less, on a timeline the farm sets. Missing the deadline leads to conditional certification, then possibly decertification. MCAP items include a missing VCPR, missing written protocols, missing training or cow-care agreements, and (new in Version 5) pain relief and method for disbudding and the family-employee standard, both moved up from CIP.
Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP): the standard must be met within 3 years or less. The animal-based measures (locomotion, hock, knee, broken tails) are CIP items.

Requirements change; confirm the current version with the program or your milk buyer. This page is reference material, not legal advice.

Formula

Each animal-based measure is graded as the share of observed animals that meet (or fail) a score threshold:

Measure (%) = animals observed scoring past the threshold / animals observed × 100
Example: severe lameness (%) = cows scored severely lame / cows observed × 100

LaTeX:

P_{\text{measure}} = \frac{N_{\text{past threshold}}}{N_{\text{observed}}} \times 100

The evaluator scores a sample of lactating cows. The sample size depends on herd size, and the FARM evaluation app sets which pens are sampled.

How to pull it in DC305

Most FARM Animal Care evidence is not in DC305. It lives in signed protocols, the VCPR form, training logs and cow-care agreements (see SOPs and training records).

DC305 holds supporting records:

Treatment events, with drug, dose and withdrawal in the remark or in withhold-date items (see treatment records and withdrawal times).
DIED and SOLD events with cause remarks, including euthanasia (see euthanasia protocol).
Lameness and trimming events (see lameness).
Calf events: colostrum, serum total protein, disbudding.
Locomotion or BCS scores, if the herd records them as items or events.

EVENTS ID LACT DIM PEN FOR EDAY>-365          events in the last year, live animals
EVENTS\2SI ID LACT DIM PEN                    prompts for the date range and which events
EVENTS\D DIED ID LACT DIM PEN FOR EDAY>-365   deaths (dead animals need \D or \B)
COUNT FOR LACT>0                              adult cows on hand

Event names, remark codes and score items vary by herd. Check the herd’s private dc305-vocab mapping.

Select named events by putting the event name after EVENTS (e.g. EVENTS VACC ...), or use EVENTS\2SI, which prompts for the date range (\S) and which events (\I). EVENTS covers live animals only by default; \B adds animals that have been sold or died (see DC305 events).

Herd-recorded scores are useful for self-checks, but the FARM result is based on the evaluator’s own observations on the day.

Typical range

Herd context: US dairies; requirements as of FARM Animal Care Version 5 (as of November 2026, FARM Version 5 standards page and evaluation preparation guide). Scores are on the FARM scorecards; locomotion uses FARM’s 3-point scale (1 = sound, 3 = severely lame).

Measure	Version 5 benchmark (share of observed animals)
Body condition	≥ 99% of all age classes score 2 or more (FARM BCS scorecard)
Locomotion, moderate	≤ 15% of the lactating herd score 2 (new in Version 5, CIP)
Locomotion, severe	≤ 5% of the lactating herd score 3 (CIP)
Hocks	≥ 95% of lactating cows score 2 or less (CIP)
Knees	≥ 95% of lactating cows score 2 or less (CIP)
Hygiene	≥ 90% of observed animals score 2 or less
Broken tails	≥ 95% of lactating cows have no broken tail (CIP)

Other recurring Version 5 requirements:

A written herd health plan, with its protocols, reviewed annually by the veterinarian of record, and a VCPR signed and renewed annually.
Continuing animal care and handling education every year for everyone with animal care duties, plus job-specific training for those who care for pre-weaned calves or non-ambulatory animals or who perform euthanasia.
A cow-care agreement signed annually by every family and non-family employee aged 18 or older with animal care duties. Immediate family can be covered by one document signed by a family representative.
No routine tail docking (Immediate Action).
Pain relief for disbudding and dehorning (MCAP in Version 5).

Common mistakes

Generic protocols. Templates downloaded and signed without being adapted to the farm’s drugs, equipment and staff. The evaluator checks that what is written is what is done.
Training not documented. Training happened, but there is no sign-in sheet, date, trainer or topic. Undocumented training counts as missing.
Language gaps. Protocols and training in a language some caretakers can’t read. Keep versions in the languages the crew uses.
Missing cow-care agreements for relief milkers, hoof trimmers, calf feeders or contractors who handle animals.
Ignoring the animal-based measures until the evaluation. Lameness and hock injuries take months to improve. Score a sample of cows yourself between evaluations.
Delayed euthanasia. Compromised animals kept alive without a plan are a common welfare finding (see non-ambulatory cattle).
Unclosed MCAs. Corrective action plans written but not followed up before the deadline.