Dairy Cattle

Cargill processes dairy cattle for meat and byproducts that are purchased via auctions and other channels in the marketplace. Cargill does not process milk but is a limited buyer of milk products as ingredients.

Humane handling on the farm

In the U.S., Cargill supports the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management program, which is a set of guidelines for dairy farmers, and has contributed to the National Dairy Farmers Guide to Cull Dairy Cattle Management.

Cargill supports several animal welfare initiatives in the U.S. and Canda, including the CowSignals program which helps dairy farmers analyze environmental and health factors that affect their cows’ comfort, milk production and longevity. To date, we have trained more than 35 master trainers and advisors for the program. With their help, groups of local farmers have participated in more than 350 sessions on topics ranging from stall spacing and animal bedding to hoof trimming and nutrition. In Canada, we support the Dairy Farmers of Canada and their ProAction Initiative. 

More than 95% of the dairy cattle Cargill processes in North America are not subjected to tail docking. Cargill forecasts that this percentage will increase as applicable federal, state and provincial regulations, which are aligned with industry groups, move toward ending tail docking.

Humane handling at processing

The activities described in the beef section also apply to dairy cattle.

Transport

Greater than 90% of the dairy cattle Cargill processed in North America are transported from point-of-origin to destination in less than 8 hours. This is significantly lower than the regulatory maximum, which is 28 hours in transit.

Dairy cattle processed by Cargill in Canada and Australia also meet the transportation regulation requirements for those nations – 36 hours for Canada and 48 hours for Australia.

Industry standards and guidelines

The standards and guidelines outlined for Cargill’s beef cattle processing also apply to dairy cattle.

Government regulations

The standards and guidelines outlined for Cargill’s beef cattle processing also apply to dairy cattle.