National Standard for the Production of Milk from Grass-fed Cows

The DFC National Standard for the Production of Milk from Grass-fed Cows is a new national standard for milk labelled as “grass-fed.” The standard also establishes a certification process for farms that produce grass-fed milk.

Under the new standard, grass or forage must make up a minimum of 75% of a cow’s diet, with the remaining 25% consisting of grains and supplements, which are essential to the cows’ health. To ensure they meet the program requirements, farms must be certified and audited by qualified third-party certification bodies identified by DFC.

The standard was established in consultation with dairy producers, provincial dairy associations, dairy processors and representatives from Dairy Processors’ associations, ruminant nutritionist experts and university researchers. The program also follows Canadian Food Inspection Agency guidance for this type of claim.

The national standard was developed in response to growing consumer demand for grass-fed milk. The creation of a national standard will allow for greater consistency in participating provinces, with measures to ensure the grass-fed standard is being met.

Yes. The program also follows Canadian Food Inspection Agency guidance for this type of claim.

Producers and processors were consulted throughout the development of the DFC National Standard for the Production of Milk from Grass-fed Cows and had the opportunity to provide their input to DFC.

Grass-fed farms will be audited by an accredited certification body to ensure compliance with the standard. In addition to the annual on-site inspection, farms can be subject to an unannounced inspection.

Many other countries require 100% grass or 100% pasture in their feeding protocol, but this is not possible in Canada due to our winters. Cows produce a lot of milk and require a minimum level of grains and supplements to ensure they have the energy and nutrients they require for optimal health and milk production. Cows deficient in energy or protein may develop health issues. Grain supplements help ensure the cows meet their nutrient requirements. The 75-25 ratio was determined in consultation with ruminant nutrition experts and will be monitored during the pilot period. Every farmer should consult with a professional expert to ensure the quality of the feed under the 75/25 standard for their farm does in fact meet the nutritional needs of the herd.

Forage is actually the edible vegetative parts of plants, such as grass and other than separated grains, that can provide feed for grazing animals, or that can be harvested for feeding.

To ensure that cows are eating at least 75% grass/forage, we need to assure the integrity of the biomarker results by prohibiting certain feeds have an adverse effect on the biomarkers.

Full fat soybean, sunflower and safflowers are rich in linoleic acid so they will increase the ratio of Omega 6 : Omega 3.

Solvent-extracted meals like soybean meal, on the other hand, do not have this negative effect (because the oil is extracted) and are therefore safe to use.

Expeller-pressed meals may contain too much residual oil (6 to 8%) and should be used cautiously.

This percentage of grains and supplements can increase to a maximum of 30% of the total dry matter intake with a written recommendation from a Ruminant Nutritionist or the herd veterinarian. This would be coupled with an assessment of the quality of the forage being fed during wither the summer or winter months.

The Organic Standard uses “animal unit”. It was determined that the minimum requirement for the pilot should be comparable to the organic standard, in terms of providing a sufficient level of area for ongoing grazing.

No, you can maintain your current validation month and be compliant with proAction requirements.

An accredited certification body (CB) will perform at least one on-site and document audit per year. The accredited CBs must meet certain requirements established by DFC (including, being certified by CFIA to perform organic certification, compliance with ISO standards, etc.)

The list of accredited CBs will be published on DFC’s website.

Yes, and the process for any concerns over interpretation of the standard are laid out in the Operating Guidelines of the Program.

Yes. Producers who want to start on the program must submit documents for review by a CB, as well as undergo an initial on-site inspection. Once completed, they must meet the biomarker levels on 2 consecutive bulk tank tests (over 2 months) prior to being certified as grass-fed.

Yes, and be kept for 5 years.

Producers will be charged a fee by the accredited CB of their choice.

The premium for producing milk from grass-fed cows will be determined by each provincial board in consultation with relevant processor.