New Dairy Industry Guidelines Focus on Polled Breeding

Following a letter from Ryan Gosling and pressure from PETA, the new version of the National Dairy FARM Program asks farmers if they’re incorporating polled (hornless) genetics into their breeding programs. This is an important development because “[m]ore than 90 percent of the U.S. milk supply” comes from farms that participate in this program and follow its animal handling guidelines. By breeding naturally hornless cattle, the dairy industry could eliminate the cruel practice of dehorning. The new version of the program is effective as of January 2017.