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Most family farms don't sell their own milk, they pool it and find buyers, and then arrange the sales. 

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Most family farms don't sell their own milk, they pool it and find buyers, and then arrange the sales. 

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I found this important to include because it explained the hardships of the dairy farming industry. These farmers who may have once been able to sell milk on their own, have found that it is no longer profitable to do so. They realized if tehy could sell more milk to one buyer by pooling with other dairy farmers, the return on the investment would be bigger for all involved. This solution to the problem works for some but not for all of the people in the dairy farming industry.

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The great age of the family dairy farm is over. What was once an iconic way of life, is now more like a money losing hobby. 

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The great age of the family dairy farm is over. What was once an iconic way of life, is now more like a money losing hobby. 

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I found this to be an important quote to include because it shows the struggle that dairy farmers go through. As it was told in the episode, dairy farming used to be the most economically reliable branch of farming because it was one that had low cost and high returns, and while you may never have become rich from it , you knew your family would be fine. However, since the consumption of milk in America has gone down so have the returns that would have come with the success of the field.

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"Milk producers need to engage with the public and address the animal welfare concerns that arise. We need to make sure that our on-farm practices haven't fallen out of step with the main stream values in our society." At the IDF World Dairy Summit in Parma, Dan Weary from the Animal welfare program at the University of British Columbia gave his presentation Identifying and addressing animal welfare issues that undermine the societal sustainability of dairy farming.

Strong base of research to deal with production diseases

Dan Weary started by highligthing the most common animal welfare concerns that almost all producers and the industry recognizes: production and health issues like mastitis and lameness.

"These are issues that the dairy industry has been struggling with for years. Some of them are getting better, and some of them are getting worse, probably since we see more free stalls" he says.

Lameness is a big problem for the dairy industry, with a prevalence of over 30%. There are regional differences, and also a wide variation between farms. This means that some are very successful in controlling lameness on their farm. Weary showed an example where producers could benchmark with each other, and with their own results as evidence were motivated to change their practices.

Lameness is a good example of a welfare issue where there is a strong base of research to help addressing the problem, e.g the studies that have been done on the effects of housing on lameness. One study shows that with simple modifications like moving the neck rail from 130 cm to 190 cm one risk factor can be taken away - standing in slurry on concrete. So there is an existing infrastructure and plenty of research from the dairy sciences to move forward with these issues.

"We still have problems, we continue to struggle with lameness and mastitis, but we have the means to continue to make progress in those areas," says Dan Weary.

According to Dan the links between scientists, extension and producers are good, but could be even better, and using benchmarking studies is a very useful method to change practices as nobody really wants to be at the bottom of the list.

Less discussed animal welfare concerns are also important

Dan Weary continued by highligthing the issues that the dairy industry hasn't yet recognized as important welfare concerns. Pain and stress for the animals and discussions about a more natural environment for the cows are not issues that are commonly discussed in the industry.

He took dehorning of calves as an example of a practice that can easily get the public's negative attention if not done correctly. There are simple instructions on how to dehorn calves while at the same time minimizing pain and stress. These guidelines and others need to be followed. One example is the Code of Practice for the care and handling of Dairy Cattle

According to Dan Weary we need to start by doing the right thing, and then show that we are doing it right. We need to open the doors of our dairy farms and open the lines of communication between the dairy industry and the rest of the society. This will give producers an opportunity to get a better sense of where their on-farm practices might have fallen out of step with main stream public values.

One way of bringing consumers and producers together is to have real or virtual town hall meetings. The Animal welfare program created an online meeting place where hot topics related to dairy farming could be discussed. People could state their views, vote on the views of others, and "let the best arguments float to the top". One of the issues being discussed was tail docking. Read more about the results of this project here.

By bringing people together in the same room to discuss these 'nasty' issues, you start understanding the reasons behind their practices. Some of these reasons fit well with scientific research, while others may be wrong. This understanding of their reasoning is important in order to learn how to change the practices. It provides the industry with useful social science data.

What do we do next?

Short term, the proven welfare solutions that we have, pain control and lameness prevention, need to be implemented and tail docking needs to be stopped.

Medium term, the implementation needs to be proven, e.g with third party audits. There is also a need to invest in research on practical solutions to other welfare issues, such as transition cow diseases and the embarrassingly high level of calf morbidity and mortality.

"We focus so much on the parlor that it's hard to get attention in the calf barn. But this is a big concern for the public," says Dan Weary.

Long term, the industry needs to engage with the public and address the concerns that emerge. Bring producers and consumers together, in virtual or real town hall meetings. This way we can get a shared appreciation of the key issues necessary to provide a good life for dairy cows and produce healthy milk.

Of course, Weary admits, if we open the door and ask the questions we might get answers we don't like, e.g. about pasture access and early calf-cow separation. Then we need to discuss these issues and get a better understanding of them, so that we can push this back to science and producers for solutions that work well for the cows and match the public concerns.

Agriculture a way of life

"One of the big failings in North America is that when people in agriculture realize that the public values are out of step with producer values, we think that all we need to do is to spend more money on advertisement, so that the public will change their mind. So we show pictures of pretty cows. I think this is a waste of money. We, everybody involved in agricultural production need to have our ears open, and engage in the conversation." says Dan Weary in an interview after his presentation.

He believes that getting the producers to talk to one another, to discuss what it means to be a good farmer is very important. The agricultural economists want us to think that everything we do in agriculture has to result in a maximum profit.

"I don't think maximizing profit is what the majority of farmers would consider the most important thing about farming. The profits are important, it's important to stay in business and make a good livelihood. But I think the pride in the way you care for the cows is equally important. Agriculture is not only a way of making money; it's a way of life."

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Animal welfare a risk for the future of the dairy industry

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"Milk producers need to engage with the public and address the animal welfare concerns that arise. We need to make sure that our on-farm practices haven't fallen out of step with the main stream values in our society." At the IDF World Dairy Summit in ...

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The least paying part of the process is the growing process.

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The least paying part of the process is the growing process.

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This quote was important to include because it show the reality of farming. The growing process is by far the least paying part of farming. Farmers put in the hard work to grow the animals they have to be the biggest they can be in the shortest period of time. However, as mentioned previously that part of the overall farm to table process is the least paying part. So the farmer is doing the hardest work, in the shortest amount of time, for less pay than the corporations that market the animals to the grocery stores would be.

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This is the growers job, maintain ideal conditions so they gain weight.

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This is the growers job, maintain ideal conditions so they gain weight.

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I think this is an important quote to include because it explains the work that has to be done to maintain the constant weight-gain chickens go through to be able to be marketed to the buyer. Grocery stores make a point to market more for your money, and in doing so demand as much as they possibly can from the grower. The grower then must work as hard as they can to facilitate the growth of their chickens to market them to the grocery stores.

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The chicken industry in the United States is one of the most successful sectors in agriculture. In a little over 50 years, the U.S. broiler industry has evolved from fragmented, locally oriented businesses into a highly efficient, vertically integrated, progressive success story increasingly supplying customers nationwide and around the globe. The modern chicken industry produces nutritious, wholesome, high quality products that became more affordable year after year. Much of the success of the industry can be attributed to a more efficient structural organization, improved production and processing technologies, and a continuing responsiveness to consumer demands. Outlined here are the important milestones that helped make the chicken industry the success it is today.

1800s - early-1900s

Early poultry production consisted of many households having backyard flocks of dual-purpose chickens. These chickens supplied eggs and an occasional chicken for Sunday or holiday dinner. By the turn of the century, a few entrepreneurs began selling young chickens during the summer for meat as a sideline activity on their family farms. Year-round production was limited because vitamin D had not yet been discovered and the importance of the photoperiod (cycle of sunlight and darkness) and its impact on production was not understood.

1920s-1930s

Chicken meat production, previously a subsidiary of the egg industry, began with the development of the broiler - a chicken raised specifically for its meat. Broiler production was initiated in locations such as the Delmarva Peninsula, Georgia, Arkansas, and New England. Factors in the geographic expansion of the industry were favorable weather conditions, adequate land and water, and access to supplies of corn and soybeans, which are the major components of poultry feed.

Mrs. Wilmer Steele of Sussex County, Delaware, is often cited as the pioneer of the commercial broiler industry. In 1923, she raised a flock of 500 chicks intended to be sold for meat. Her little business was so profitable that, by 1926, Mrs. Steele was able to build a broiler house with a capacity of 10,000 birds.

1940s - 1960s

Feed mills, hatcheries, farms, and processors were all separate entities in the early industry. The hatcheries were called upon by their customers to become more involved in coordinating the production, processing, and marketing of broilers with their own operations. To a certain extent, hatcheries played this role in order to their protect market share and production. Later, feed mills extended credit to farmers to purchase feed to produce the live chickens. The feed mills would lend farmers the money needed to buy the chicks from the hatcheries, with the debt being secured by a note on the flock. When the flock was market-ready, the farmer sold it to a processor and paid back the feed mill. Eventually entrepreneurs consolidated feed mill, hatchery and processing operations, resulting in the beginnings of the integrated industry.

Chickens were typically sold "New York dressed," with only the blood and feathers removed. In 1942, an Illinois plant was the first to win government approval of "on-line" evisceration. Evisceration and packing ready-to-cook whole carcasses in ice in wooden crates would eventually become the norm.

By 1949, USDA launched a voluntary program of grading to assure consumers of high quality.

The commercial broiler industry began its economic boom. By 1952, specially bred meat chickens ("broilers") surpassed farm chickens as the number one source of chicken meat in the United States.

The contract broiler relationship developed in response to a number of farmers losing their farms due to the risks involved in financing chicks and feed.

"Vertical integration" took hold, with a single company involved in every stage of production, processing and marketing. Entrepreneurs started to combine and coordinate different broiler production stages in the 1940s. By the mid-1960s, ninety percent of broilers produced came from integrated operations. Vertical integration would allow the broiler industry to take advantage of new pharmaceutical, biological and production technologies to become more efficient, responsive, and profitable.

In 1954, the National Broiler Council (which on January 1, 1999 became the National Chicken Council) was organized to stimulate consumer demand. NBC would eventually locate in Washington, DC, to handle government relations and public affairs for the broiler industry. Jesse Jewell was the first president (chairman) of the organization.

Federal inspection of broilers became mandatory in 1959. Since 1926, many processing plants had voluntarily participated in a USDA inspection program for wholesomeness.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, major companies used television and print media to market chickens under brand names. Today, 95 percent of broilers sold at retail grocery stores carry a brand name. This is sometimes the processor's brand and sometimes a store brand; store brands are produced by major processors, a type of production called "private label." Repeat business is thus dependent on a consistent, reliable level of quality in the branded product.

Since 1970s

By the mid-1970s, the industry had evolved into its modern state with the implementation of nutritional discoveries, disease eradication programs, genetic improvements through traditional breeding, and mechanization and automation technologies.

By the early 1980s, consumers preferred cut-up and further-processed chickens to the traditional whole bird.

Chicken consumption surpassed beef consumption in the United States in 1992. Chicken had already surpassed pork consumption in 1985.

In 1991, the U.S. government helped sponsor the first shipments of frozen poultry leg quarters to the Soviet Union. Russian consumers called them "Bush legs" in honor of the first President George Bush. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Russian market opened to international commerce and U.S. poultry exports skyrocketed. By 2001, chicken exports to Russia and other foreign markets accounted for approximately 20 percent of total American production, worth more than $2 billion.

On January 26, 1998, USDA required the HAACP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) process control system program in all large poultry slaughter establishments. This program is a modern approach to quality control that seeks to identify and control the points in processing at which chemical, physical and microbiological hazards can be controlled, reduced, or eliminated. Pathogen reduction is a key component of USDA's initiatives.

Driven by industry advancements, the broiler produced today is meatier, more affordable to the consumer, and more wholesome than the broiler of fifty years ago - or even 15 years ago. The industry employs the most advanced scientific technology available and is constantly seeking new methods to ensure wholesomeness and enhance quality for the consumer.

On January 1, 1999, the National Broiler Council changed its name to the National Chicken Council to better reflect the industry that the organization represents.

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National Chicken Council | U.S. Chicken Industry History

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The chicken industry in the United States is one of the most successful sectors in agriculture. In a little over 50 years, the U.S. broiler industry has

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From the day they are born to the day they are packaged and shipped, the chickens belong to the poultry company.

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From the day they are born to the day they are packaged and shipped, the chickens belong to the poultry company.

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I found this quote important because it makes you realized that there are chicken farmers, but they don't own their chickens they just raise them for the chicken producing corporations. They end up doing all of the hard work while the chicken producing companies end up making the larger profit, for the lesser amount of work. Thus, the chicken farming industry is not necessarily one of great return on investment, unless you're a corporate chicken producer.

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The modern broiler industry has developed a hybrid that is unlike any other breed.