Getting ready for your Bord Bia dairy audit
Preparing for your Bord Bia audit is straightforward. Bord Bia's guide offers practical advice to help you get ready and highlights the key checks to make before the audit.
Bord Bia audits under the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) are essential to supporting the Irish dairy sector. The data collected helps Bord Bia and Irish dairy processors to substantiate environmental and quality claims about Irish dairy.
These assurances are vital in a competitive global market, where buyers increasingly require robust data on sustainability, quality, and animal welfare.
Preparing for your Bord Bia audit is straightforward when you know what to expect. This guide offers practical advice to help you get ready and highlights the key checks to make before the audit.
A key step in preparing for your renewal audit is to schedule a date and time with the auditor as soon as you are contacted. This ensures that certification remains active while the renewal process is ongoing. Completing the audit early won't shorten your certification period – your next 18-month cycle still starts from your current expiry date.
When the auditor arrives, they will first explain the process during the opening meeting and answer any questions you may have.
They will then walk around the farm with you, looking at stock, housing, equipment, and the farmyard. Most aspects of the audit are completed through observation of good farm practices and conversations with you about your typical farm operations.
Following the farm walk, the auditor will carry out some paperwork and record checks to confirm that the information gathered during the walk matches the farm records.
During the audit, the auditor will discuss any findings with you as they arise and will go through everything again with you before leaving the farm (the closing meeting).
A typical dairy audit lasts 2 to 2.5 hours, but the better prepared you are, the shorter the audit will be.
At the end of the audit, the auditor will explain if any issues are identified as non-conformances. Rest assured, you will not fail the audit on the day if any issues arise. Instead, you will be given up to 28 days to address the issue (or issues) and provide evidence that corrective action has been taken. For example, if an auditor identifies that a lagoon is unsafe, they may request a photo within 28 days showing that the lagoon has been made safe.
Evidence can be sent by text message to the Bord Bia Helpdesk or if preferred by email or post. You can also upload evidence by logging onto farm.bordbia.ie. You can nominate an individual, such as a relative or neighbour, to do this on your behalf. Your milk processor will also be able to assist you with closeout and related queries. This ‘close-out’ process does not apply if no issues are found during the audit.
During the farm walk, the auditor will check that the milking parlour and bulk tank area are clean, tidy and well maintained, with washable surfaces and no obvious risks to milk hygiene. They may also review recent milk collection dockets and milk analysis results to confirm that milk quality is within regulatory limits.
Ensure potable water is available for hand washing and for cleaning all milk-contact surfaces, and store cleaning products safely.
If you use a private well for dairy washing, make sure you have a valid water test report. The test must be less than three years old and show that Enterococci and E. coli are absent in 100 ml. A report is not required if your water comes from a group water scheme.
For farm safety, ensure you have a completed and up-to-date Farm Safety Risk Assessment (FSRA). Where three or more people are employed on the farm, an up-to-date Farm Safety Statement (FSS) is required instead. This is also a legal requirement designed to reduce the risk of injury or ill health.
An incomplete, outdated, or unreviewed assessment or statement may result in a non-compliance. Before the audit, check that the correct document is in place and up to date.
The FSRA form can be downloaded and printed from the Health and Safety Authority website. The form can also be completed online at www.farmsafely.com
Before your audit, ensure that you have a full and complete record of all medicines purchased and all medicines administered at least back to the last audit date.
For animal remedy usage, check that every entry includes:
- Date of administration.
- Name of medicine.
- Quantity given.
- Identification of animal.
- Name of person giving the medicine/remedy or the name of the prescribing vet.
- Record the actual date the withdrawal period ends, not just the number of withdrawal days — this is a common non-compliance.
A treatment record must clearly identify the animal or animals treated. For an individual animal, record the tag number or freeze brand. For a group treatment, record enough detail to identify every animal in the group, for example, all calves born from 1st January to 31st March.
Animal remedy purchase records should include complete and up-to-date information. Check that each purchase record includes all of the following:
- Date of purchase.
- Medicine name.
- Quantity purchased.
- Name and address of the supplier.
Ask your veterinary practice for an account statement covering the period since your last audit and check it against your own records so that no purchases are missing.
A recent survey conducted with farmers after their audit found:
- 97% believed that the audit took a reasonable amount of time.
- 99% found the auditors themselves to be professional.
The Helpdesk can help you to prepare for the audit and answer any queries about the process. 01 5240410. Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm.
