Given current conditions around the United States, we are recommending that you suspend on-farm activities for the FARM Program until further notice. We will continue to provide you weekly updates and will provide at least two weeks’ notice as to the withdrawal of these recommendations.

The deadline for any evaluations and Corrective Action Plans impacted by the stoppage will be determined upon the withdrawal of our recommendations. Rest assured that we will give you plenty of time to get caught up due to the inevitable backlog that this suspension has created.

Third-party Verifications are currently being postponed in two-week intervals. This is a step that we are taking to ensure that Verifications can be resumed as efficiently as possible once stoppages are lifted. However, we will not allow Verifications to resume until it is safe to do so.

As a reminder, the recommendations of the FARM Program include:

1. Temporary suspension of all 2nd party evaluations by program participants.
   • No facility will be penalized if they do not have a V4 evaluation on record by their evaluation due date because of interruptions due to the coronavirus. We already implement a 3-month buffer as standard practice, and we will increase this buffer as needed to ensure that all of your facilities currently in good standing remain in good standing.
2. All Mandatory Corrective Action Plans (MCAPs) and Continuous Improvement Plans (CIPs) with due dates during the stoppage will be given new deadlines upon the resumption of normal operating procedures.
   • The database will not generate notification emails related to MCAPs or CIPs with deadlines that originally fell within this timeframe.
   • If MCAPs or CIPs related to documentation (protocols, VCPR, Cow Care Agreements, etc.) can be resolved through electronic communication, please do so with the understanding that items requiring further verification will need to be confirmed on-site at a later date.
3. Willful Mistreatment Protocol implementation will occur should needs arise.
   • For those with facilities currently within the protocol, FARM has provided next steps for completion via email earlier this week confirming next steps.
4. All in-person evaluator or trainer trainings should be postponed and rescheduled upon the resumption of normal activities. Training deadlines will be extended to those whose certifications may expire during the recommended stoppage.
   • Modifications to the recertification process for those currently trained will be forthcoming next week.
5. Any farm tours for customers/brands or the general public should be cancelled and rescheduled for a later date.

If you have any questions, please email dairyfarm@nmpf.org.