Merck Animal Health today introduced a new Dairy C.A.R.E. initiative to support the significant efforts of dairy producers to provide the best quality care for their animals. An extension of the Dairy Care365 program, this new initiative focuses on providing resources on animal husbandry practices and hiring. Dairy C.A.R.E. also offers communication resources to help producers enhance awareness and understanding of their commitment to animals within their own communities.
"When it comes to managing a productive dairy operation, there are a lot of parts that need to be moving in harmony, and it's important that we provide our customers with more than products to help them achieve success," said Scott Nordstrom, D.V.M., director of dairy technical services for Merck Animal Health. "Training and maintaining sound policies and practices are critical to that success. They also help a producer to establish very clear performance expectations for employees who are hands on with the animals every day."
Developed with input from veterinarians, university experts and dairy farmers, Dairy C.A.R.E. includes workforce resources, sample animal care commitment statements and policies, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that outline how animals should be handled to optimize their health and well-being. Working with their veterinarians, dairy farmers can customize these materials to meet the specific needs of their farm or use them to enhance the programs.
The initiative also includes the Dairy Care365 animal handling training videos that feature real on-farm settings to provide a realistic representation of how cows behave and react to their surroundings. Through these videos, employees learn how to work with dairy cattle and youngstock safely and effectively, move cows to the milking parlor and handle non-ambulatory cows. Available in English and Spanish, every video concludes with testing to gauge employee understanding of the material.
Merck Animal Health is offering hands-on Dairy C.A.R.E. workshops to help farmers customize the materials for their farms, which are free and open to farmers who register for the Dairy Care365TM program. For more information about the Dairy C.A.R.E. initiative and workshops, visit www.DairyCare365.com, or e-mail info@DairyCare365.com.
About Merck Animal HealthToday's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter at @MerckAH.
9.30.2014