See Impact of Animal Care from Farm through Processing at PDPW Dairy Wellbeing Workshop

Two one-day sessions to feature processing plant tour, provide insights on animal wellbeing at every stage of life

Dairy producers, farm employees and dairy industry professionals have a unique opportunity to see firsthand the critical importance of animal care from the farm all the way through to the processing plant at the 2023 Dairy Wellbeing Workshop presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW).

During the workshop, participants will tour the American Foods Group facility in Green Bay, where they’ll track cull-cow quality backwards from the cooler to the harvest floor. Inside the recently remodeled and expanded facility, participants will see how animal wellbeing and worker safety is prioritized. They’ll also hear from USDA inspectors and others tasked with ensuring zero bruised or drug-residue meat enters the product line.

“The opportunity to tour a functioning processing plant is a really big deal,” said Ken Feltz, PDPW board member and owner and operator of Feltz Family Farms, Inc., and Feltz’s Dairy Store in Stevens Point, Wis. “For many, this will be an eye-opening experience that brings to life the connection between how animals are cared for on the farm and the final beef products that are delivered to consumers.”

The one-day workshop will be held on Tues., Feb. 21, and repeated Wed., Feb. 22, at the Tundra Lodge Resort Waterpark and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wis. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the program will conclude at 4:30 p.m. each day. Pre-registration is required.

In addition to the American Foods Group tour, participants will hear from animal welfare experts in two sessions focused on improving wellbeing at every stage of the animal’s lifespan, with the goal of keeping each animal comfortable and productive as long as possible.

• “Managing pain throughout the life cycle,” facilitated by Dr. Kate Creutizinger, PhD, assistant professor in dairy animal welfare at University of Wisconsin-River Falls, will outline pain experiences animals may encounter throughout their lifecycles, how they can be identified at the farm level and how to manage them.
• “Assessing animal welfare,” facilitated by Dr. Sharon Kuca, BVetMed, MRCVS, MS, assistant director in the Animal Welfare Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association, will introduce the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest Workshop – a groundbreaking approach that integrates science-based knowledge with ethical values and enables dairy producers to holistically view their farm’s protocols from the perspective of the animal. Dr. Kuca will also equip participants to implement this system on their farms.

Learn more about the 2023 PDPW Dairy Wellbeing Workshop, including speaker information and available continuing-education units, and register your team today by visiting www.pdpw.org or contacting PDPW at 800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW and using #mypdpw on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.