PAACO, Inc. press releases, white papers, & other publications

December 2, 2009

HERMES ELECTED NEW
PAACO CHAIR

David R. Hermes, DVM, of Washington, IN, was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) at the group’s annual meeting in Kansas City last month. Regional veterinarian for broiler chickens and turkeys for Perdue Farms, Inc., Hermes was PAACO’s vice chair the previous two years. He succeeds James Barton, DVM, of Fayetteville, AR.

Named vice chairman was Karen Christenson, MS, director of technical services at O.K. Farms, Inc., in Fort Smith, AR. Rounding out the officer team are Secretary Tom Noffsinger, DVM, of Benkelman, NE; and Treasurer Terry Mader, PhD, of Concord, NE, professor and Extension beef specialist for the University of Nebraska.

“I am honored to be elected as one of the leaders from our 15-member board,” said Dr. Hermes. “From its beginnings in 2004, the organization has come a long way in developing services to be recognized as a value to the animal industry community from production to customers.”

Currently more than 300 individuals have been through or are in the process of completing certification requirements for animal welfare auditing. In addition, welfare audit instruments for meat plants, dairy production and layers are being reviewed or certified based on quality criteria.

The PAACO board also welcomed five new directors, who were appointed by their respective member organizations:

Angela Baysinger, DVM, professional service veterinarian, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bruning, NE – American Association of Swine Veterinarians

D. Dee Griffin, DVM, professor and feedlot production management veterinarian, University of Nebraska Great Plains Veterinary Education Center, Clay Center, NE – American Association of Bovine Practitioners

Kenton Kreager, DVM, senior technical service veterinarian, Hy-Line International, Dallas Center, IA – American Association of Avian Pathologists

Frank M. Mitloehner, PhD, associate professor and Extension specialist, University of CaliforniaDavis, Davis, CA – Federation of Animal Science Societies

W.F. “Frank” Owsley, PhD, Extension animal scientist and associate professor, Auburn University, Auburn, AL – American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists

PAACO’s mission is to promote the humane treatment of animals through education and certification of animal auditors, as well as the review and/or certification of animal audit instruments, assessments and programs. Organization and program information can be found at the organization’s website www.animalauditor.org.

July 6, 2009

PAACO ANNOUNCES
FOURTH POULTRY AUDITOR TRAINING

The fourth edition of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization’s (PAACO) highly popular and well-respected poultry welfare auditor training course will be held Oct. 6-8, 2009, in Raleigh, NC.

Co-sponsored by North Carolina State University’s Department of Poultry Science – Extension, the 3-day course is the first step in reaching PAACO certification status for poultry (broiler, egg layer and turkey) welfare auditors. After passing an examination at the conclusion of the instruction, attendees move into a shadowing phase of training. Certification is granted after successfully completing two shadowed audits monitored by a PAACO-certified poultry auditor. To date, PAACO has certified 109 poultry welfare auditors.

As testimony to the prestige the course has garnered since its inception in 2006, more than a dozen industry-related companies are providing financial support for this year’s training. Primary contributors are Alltech; Alpharma Animal Health; Cobb; Hybrid Turkeys; Intervet Schering Plough Animal Health; Jones-Hamilton Co.; Kemin AgriFoods North America, Inc.; Lohmann Animal Health International; Novus; and Phibro Aimal Health Corporation. Daily breaks will be sponsored by CEVA Biomune; Century Poultry, Inc.; and Hy-Line Layers. Biosecurity items for the hands-on segment of the training will be provided by Ivesco.

“As the reputation of our poultry auditor training has grown, its value to many of our industry partners has become obvious,” says PAACO Chairman James Barton. “We are proud that these firms have signed on to help PAACO offset the costs of this effort.”

The course features instruction by leading industry specialists and on-farm live animal production and processing audit field experience at various sites in the Raleigh area. Course instructors include Dr. Ken Anderson, poultry science professor/Extension specialist at North Carolina State University; Dr. James Barton, laboratory director for The Poultry Federation Laboratory; Karen Christensen, director of technical services, O.K. Farms, Inc.; Dr. Eric Gingerich, staff veterinarian and adjunct assistant professor, University of Pennsylvania school of veterinary medicine; Dr. Temple Grandin, president of Grandin Livestock Handling Systems; Dr. Jesse Grimes, professor of poultry science, NC State; Dr. Dave Hermes, regional veterinarian for broiler chickens and turkeys, Perdue Farms, Inc.; and Dr. Mike Wineland, professor of poultry sciences, NC State. Hosts of the on-farm visits are Townsends, Inc.; Goldsboro Milling/Butterball; and Braswell Foods.

Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis, with an official deadline of Sept. 11. Previous courses have been filled several weeks prior to the deadline, so interested participants are urged to sign up now to secure a spot. Past attendees at the training have had broad backgrounds and included academia, producers, packers/processors and customers from retail and foodservice. PAACO reserves the right to limit class size.

April 25, 2008

VALIDUS DAIRY WELFARE PROGRAM
GAINS PAACO ACCREDITATION

The Validus Services’ Animal Welfare Review Program for dairy producers is the first of its kind to be granted accredited program status by the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization, Inc. (PAACO).

Earning the PAACO-Accredited distinction signifies that the Validus dairy program has met or exceeded all of PAACO’s minimum standards from start to finish – audit instrument, training and auditors.

The initial step in the process was submission of the Validus audit for third-party peer review. The audit instrument portion of the Animal Welfare Review Program - Dairy was granted PAACO certification last year.

In completing the steps toward accreditation, Validus conducted auditor training which was reviewed and monitored by PAACO representatives to assure that it met minimum standards similar to those of PAACO’s own meat plant and poultry welfare auditor training courses. Included in the PAACO training requirements are passing a written exam and completing a specified number of shadow audits.

Finally, PAACO verified that the auditors themselves met or exceeded the PAACO-established minimum education and livestock experience criteria. Once all three aspects of the Validus dairy program were PAACO certified, the entire program was then given “accredited” standing.

“As PAACO continues to emerge as a benchmark of animal welfare auditing, gaining the organization’s accreditation can only add value to the services of companies such as Validus,” says Earl Dotson, chief executive officer of Validus. “We believe third party validation brings credibility to our program, as well as to the customers and consumers who rely on us.”

PAACO Chairman James Barton, DVM agrees. “More and more, we see in the animal industry a call to validate husbandry practices related to welfare through credible audit instruments, professional training and qualified auditors that our organization supports. We are confident that the people responsible for the care of livestock and poultry do a fine job, but consumers are seeking some independent assurance that their food products come from a humane process.”

Validus is a third-party certification company that helps producers meet state and national regulatory requirements, validate customer standards, achieve their production goals, reduce risk and raise food products that satisfy the needs of today’s consumers. For more information on Validus, visit its website at www.validusservices.com.