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Animal welfare is as much a philosophy as it is a science. For our dairy team, it is a constant goal that comes down to doing the right thing for our cows. Our team members buy into the philosophy of animal welfare, and our shared mission to use our expertise to sustain an ideal environment for how we care for our cows that prioritizes comfort, routine, and access to food and water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with no exceptions. We truly believe that if you take care of the cow, she will take care of you. This is why Threemile’s milk quality surpasses industry standards and keeps Oregon as one of the nation’s leaders in milk quality. At the same time, we know that true success in animal welfare is that you never rest on your laurels with the assumption that you have perfected your program, and you are always working towards learning and improving.

Being transparent and open to outside feedback is a cornerstone of the way we approach animal welfare at Threemile, and it’s also where Dr. Mike Paros comes in. Dr. Paros is a practicing veterinarian and college professor at Evergreen College in Washington state, where he teaches animal welfare among other subjects. For over 15 years, Dr. Paros has also played an essential role at Threemile as our independent animal welfare advocate. This means he can show up at the farm any time and visit our dairy facilities unannounced to make his own assessment of our animal welfare.

“The farm asked me to help develop a comprehensive animal welfare program. I independently make assessments in all areas and provide recommendations. We just try to make every single experience, every interaction that these cows and calves have, be in a positive and stress-free way as much as possible,” says Dr. Paros.

After each visit, Dr. Paros provides our team with a report that may include feedback and recommendations. These are reviewed and discussed as part of our animal welfare committee (read more in this blog post). The committee gathers monthly for discussions, joined by Dr. Paros and on-staff vets who share their knowledge with other committee members. Along with monthly meetings, each department holds short weekly meetings to ask questions, share successes and discuss areas for improvement.

“I think the sign of a good a good animal welfare program is that everyone, including the feeders, the folks that milk the cows etc., are aware that that this is our priority. We take care of these animals, they're going to take care of us, says Dr. Paros.

At Threemile, we think our commitment to superior quality of life for each animal under our care is evidenced by the high marks given to our animal welfare program. Validus - an independent agency – conducts animal welfare audits each year and scores the dairy based on the auditor’s own strict criteria. Threemile consistently achieves scores above 96% and was the first to receive a 100% on an independent animal welfare audit, and we have since received a 100% score two more times. Even though we are proud of earning the certification, we know that at the end of the day, what truly matters is creating the best, most comfortable environment for our cows. This means reducing stress and anxiety throughout our operation, from keeping noise levels and contact from humans to a minimum to keeping our temperature and air circulation in our milking parlor at optimal levels no matter the time of year. Our cows have constant access to feed, water, and comfortable bedding in their free stall barns.  

Working so closely with Dr. Paros provides us with the opportunity to continuously find ways to do even better. “We’re constantly improving, trying to refine these practices that we are striving to do. We don’t pretend to be perfect but we work on it on a daily basis.