Positive animal handling is important for both animal and worker safety. It reduces stress, increasing milk production and reducing potential injuries on the farm.
UMASH has compiled resources (videos, posters, and fact sheets) to help promote positive dairy animal handling practices and keep workers safe.
5-Part Video Series on Dairy Animal Handling
UMASH created a 5-part video series on positive animal handling to be used by farmers, ranchers, farm employees, veterinarians, human resources training staff, and those involved with worker health and safety training/education. The videos demonstrate:
- Using Predictable Animal Behavior to Increase Milk Production
- How a Cow Uses Her Senses
- Working with the Pressure Zone
- Moving Cows More Effectively
- Making the Milking Parlor a Happy Place
The series can be a tool for training and retraining workers in small groups or individually. It is also a useful resource for ag educators to help bring safety and health to the classroom.
CLASSROOM LESSON PLANS
UMASH developed lesson plans to help ag educators use these dairy handling videos in the classroom. The plans include discussion questions and suggestions for additional resources and classroom activities.
Links to download the classroom lesson plans are provided with the videos below.
Lesson plans are only available in English at this time.
These videos are provided for informational and educational purposes only. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of CDC/NIOSH or any other funders.
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLAN (pdf)
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLAN (pdf)
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLAN (pdf)
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLAN (pdf)
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLAN (pdf)
Needlestick Prevention Videos for Dairy Workers
Posters and Fact Sheets for Dairy Handling
Repetitive Motion Injuries: [noun]
Injuries due to performing the same motion over and over. These conditions are due to overuse, without adequate recovery. Low back strain due to repeated lifting, especially with poor technique, is an example.
– Suzanne Tanner, M.D. (Mayo Clinic)
Dairy Worker Health and Well Being Training
Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
University of Texas Health Sciences Center of Houston
Explore these videos from the University of Texas to better understand the importance of your health and wellbeing as an essential worker in the dairy industry and how to best prevent the spread of pathogens both on the farm and in your home.
- Dairy Farm Safety
UTHealth: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
We encourage you to share these resources with your colleagues and anyone you know who may benefit. In addition to the downloads on our website, the materials are also available on DVD, which includes additional UMASH safety resources. For more information on these and other resources, or to request a DVD, please contact Carol Peterson at ctrefry@umn.edu.
It addresses an issue that many farmers are unaware of. We may not want to recognize it but there is a lot of negative animal handling on farms.
Good common sense handling advice for cattle.
This DVD has been a hit with several producers I have been able to share it with. [Producers/workers] really like the Spanish videos.
The videos give a concise introductory explanation to working with cattle and how an employee can make animal interactions more pleasant and efficient for both animal and handler