Investing in Animal Care
From growing our internal animal welfare team, to leveraging industry expertise and exploring innovations in animal care, we work closely with supplying farms to ensure great care for the cows that provide us with milk.
$20M+ Investment
in our animal welfare program since 2019
Full-time Staff Veterinarian
with more than 12 years of specialized experience in cow care
fairlife Animal Welfare Advisory Council
includes 6 of the leading experts in the dairy and animal health industry
Animal Welfare Advisory Council
fairlife’s Animal Welfare Advisory Council consists of 6 of the top experts in the dairy and animal health industry. Together this group works with fairlife to review on-going animal welfare programs and guide advancement and improvement to our animal welfare program based on new research and learnings.
Industry Leading Animal Welfare Standards
Our goal is that all cows and calves are provided with the best care possible. As a dairy processor that doesn’t own farms or cows, we rely on the partnership of industry experts, advisors and our network of supplying farms to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to continuously evaluating our animal welfare program for areas of opportunity.
100%
of supplying farms passed critical care standards in 2022
Regular Audits
performed at all supplying dairies each year
Leading Certification
such as National Dairy FARM program and Validus is required at all supplying farms.
Supplier Selection
We only work with farms committed to delivering the highest quality milk. This starts with meeting our strict quality standards, which is a reflection of animal health and hygiene, on-farm cleaning procedures and employee training. Additionally, we require farms to chill their milk immediately after harvest to preserve the quality.
All farms that supply to fairlife:
FARM Program
Supplying dairies must participate in the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program
Regular Audits
Supplying dairies must participate in regular audits conducted by a certified 3rd-party organization
Zero Tolerance Policy
Supplying dairies are required to have signed Cow Care agreements with all employees and a zero-tolerance policy for animal abuse
Standards and Oversight
fairlife has a robust set of animal welfare standards and requirements for supplying farms. Beyond care, they also include requirements for on-farm worker care, biosecurity and environmental standards.
Audit Cadence
Supplying farms to fairlife are audited more frequently than the cadence required by industry standards.
Addressing Issues
More frequent audits help to identify any issues and quickly take corrective action, when needed. Additionally, it helps reinforce a culture of transparency among supplying farms and their employees.
Leveraging Technology
We work with our partners to invest in camera monitoring and scaling AI technology for additional oversight. We believe in the future of on-farm camera monitoring, as it can move beyond the cow-human interaction to help farmers in other areas such as feed management, health surveillance and milking parlor analytics.