Proactive on-farm swine welfare; Tools, strategies and empowerment for the industry to succeed

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1 Proactive on-farm swine welfare; Tools, strategies and empowerment for the industry to succeed Dr. A. K. Johnson, Associate Professor Farm Animal Behavior and Welfare 2356-F Kildee Hall, Ames, Iowa, Phone: (515)

2 The beginning Why does every farm not have a well written, defined and successfully implemented swine welfare program? a) Labor shortage and/or open positions? b) Personnel with little understanding of on-farm animal welfare expectations? c) Lack of outside support and/or resources? d) No demand for a program from the chain? Aim of this talk is to provide a road map for producers whom are interested in creating or improving their onfarm swine welfare program

3 Hiring The caretaker can be your greatest asset and your greatest liability What are the right questions? Animal husbandry is more than just the physical tasks of taking care of animals. It involves compassion and commitment (Donovan, 2010) Spend time telling them what swine welfare means to your company!

4 On-boarding Ideal if a new employee had both classroom and job shadowing Sign all the paperwork related to swine welfare Zero tolerance policy for willful acts of abuse Suggest state codes are included Can you assign them a seasoned mentor? Train + Retrain + Train some more! Do they know the barn culture? Picture from

5 Firing Like all industries things can go wrong Empower people to be able to identify issues and have a system for reporting Do not make people feel like they are a snitch

6 Know your market(s) McDonalds In the U.S., we re working with pork suppliers to phase out the use of gestation stalls (small enclosed pens) for housing pregnant sows by By 2017, McDonald's will source pork for its U.S. business only from producers who share our commitment to phase out gestation stalls. Across our Europe region, 100% of our pork is already sourced from farms that do not use gestation crates. In the U.K. and the Netherlands, we use 100% Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Assured pork, which means that all pig farmers are required to provide bright, airy environments for pigs, bedded pens and plenty of space for them to move around. ISO/TS34700 Animal welfare management General requirements and guidance for organizations in the food supply chain Pictures from

7 Team work PRODUCTION WELFARE Formation based on the companies resources Team skills: Science + Ethics + Moral obligations + Experience + Education Example: AW specialist + Swine Veterinarian + Production + HR Picture from PQA-Plus, NPB 2018

8 Welfare team If it is not possible to have a welfare team then use outside resources for example All of the FS are trained advisors in PQA- Plus Vets State and National organizations IFAC is on hand to help

9 Colin Johnson Russ Euken Mark Storlie Anna Johnson Dave Stender Tom Miller Chris Rademacher Ph: IPIC Pictures from

10 Objectives and goals Before creating a welfare program, objective(s) and measurable goal(s) should be identified Knowing these will be beneficial when the program requires internal- and external validation!

11 Objectives and goals Objectives: Empower caretakers to make excellent animal welfare choices Use accepted on-farm animal welfare practices to provide animal and caretaker quality of life Goals: Improve employee retention and job satisfaction Increase pig survivability Decrease medication and treatment costs Enhance timely euthanasia of comprised pigs Decrease worker injuries related to animal interaction Decrease fatigued and injured animals during the marketing process

12 Components 1. Record keeping/training 2. Standard operating procedures 3. Animal based measures 4. Resource based measures Pictures from PQA-Plus, NPB 2018

13 Willful acts of abuse Think carefully about what this would include (production and legal inclusion) What swine welfare specs do your customers have? Picture from PQA-Plus, NPB 2018

14 Humane euthanasia 1. Timeliness 2. Conditions 3. Handling 4. Process 5. Insensibility & death 6. Disposal Chuck Bildstein, Product Specialist

15 Empowering the team Make your employees feel valued Give them the tools to be empowered! No longer acceptable to teach them how to, rather why we do it for swine welfare Think as a new employee on farm Showering in & wearing clothes that are not mine. No phones what! Large barns of animals! Noises, smells and sounds. Practice with your team in a safe environment Office and in the barn! Picture courtesy of PQA-Plus

16 Empowering the team Are you confident that if an auditor is on site that every employee can move your animals humanely? Pictures courtesy of PQA-Plus

17 Empowering the team Are you confident that if an auditor is on site that every employee can explain what pigs need to be euthanized? Pictures courtesy of S.M.E.C. Picture courtesy of PQA-Plus and Goggle

18 Communication outside of a crisis Ask your employees!! Farm tours?? On-farm video??

19 Communication and being transparent Initial statement List of stakeholders Interview plan On-going communication PR person? Communication in a time of crisis Follow up expectations Who is your team? Communication in a non-crisis?

20 Communication plan Who is your animal welfare spokesperson? Why is this important? 1. Answer internal- external questions 2. If you are targeted you have someone ready to get the ball going Are they media trained?

21 Internal and external accountability Are we meeting our goals and objectives? Where are we doing well and what still needs improvement? Assessments Audits Advisory group What expertise do you wish represented? What are the committee member expectations? Do you want them to review assessment and audit scores and to provide advise on improvements, and/or Do you want them to review and edit policies, SOPS s and training material and /or Complete on-farm third party audits?

22 Do you have your action plan ready? Does your farm have a action plan of what to do in what order and by whom IF an allegation is made against your farm? Oh boy it s happened Message points: 1. We do not care 2. Profit over animals 3. Main points (housing, euthanasia, medication)

23 I suggest the following plan.. Day one: Check that this is your farm! Get your team together Get your initial statement out to news media and your customers Day two: Get media on-farm Get your independent third party person/team on-farm (length of time depends on alleged issues) PR point person field questions

24 On-farm you need to do. Animals (all) Records/SOP s Facilities Interviews (translation?) BCS Training / certification Floor Role Wounds, abscesses, injuries Hospital pen Lameness Disease Production records Penning Training Internal / external audits Euthanasia Load out/in Off-farm you need to. Review video Review pictures Handling locations / tools Time of incidence 1. Claim 2. Source / details 3. Evidence 4. Finding

25 Proactive on-farm swine welfare; Tools, strategies and empowerment for the industry to succeed THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION