ABSTRACT
This study reports the development and validation of a novel diagnostic tool, based on the FAO and IDF ¨Guide to Good Dairy Farming Practice¨. Sixty-two dairy farms over six different regions within the State of Rio Grande do Sul were selected, evaluated and ranked, from January 2014 to March 2017; as part of the PROTAMBO- Dairying Technology Transfer Project (EMBRAPA). Results indicated that the proposed diagnostic tool was significantly consistent among different field evaluators, meeting trueness validation parameter for ISO/IEC 17025 validation requirement. Binomial distribution of probabilities of positive changes showed significant kind of metric evolution for the treatment group when compared to the control, in addition to significant consistency. Approximated t-Student test for comparison of the means of GAP non-compliances demonstrated significant improvements for the treatment group relative to the control. This novel approach could assist in overcoming existing and emerging GAP challenges to maximize dairy quality.
Keywords:
Dairy farming; milk quality; diagnosis tool; Good Agricultural Practices; GAP; production system