Farm Horizons • Feb. 6, 2017 • Page 8
What farmers need to know: Veterinary Feed Directives
By Starrla Cray When a person doesn’ t feel well and needs an antibiotic, they go to the doctor to get a prescription.
As of Jan. 1, sick cows must go through a similar process. Feed that contains certain medications can no longer be purchased“ over the counter,” and instead requires a written note from a licensed veterinarian. Similar to a prescription, these orders are known as veterinary feed directives( VFDs).“ It’ s mainly for beef and dairy beef,” said Brian Yager, food safety coordinator at Munson Lakes Nutrition in Howard Lake.“ This has already been going on in the pork and poultry industries for quite a while.”
The regulations set by the Food and Drug Administration( FDA) aim to protect public health, reduce resistance to antibiotics, and eliminate the use of drugs for
growth promotion. Affected medications are those that are used by both humans and animals, such as penicillins, sulfas, tetracyclines, glycopeptides, and others. Unaffected medicines – those exclusively used by animals – include polypeptides, pleuromutilin, bambermycin, carbadox, and ionophores.
At Munson Lakes Nutrition, feeds that make up the majority of products requiring VFDs are 39 % beef concentrate with Rumensin ® and Tylan ®, AUREO S 700 ® crumbles, and AUREO 10G.
Farmers are still able to purchase these feeds, but they can only be used for specific purposes, such as treating a diagnosed illness, controlling the spread of disease in a herd, and preventing animals that are exposed to sickness from becoming ill.
When drugs are necessary, a veterinarian can provide a written statement authorizing a specific amount. That statement is given to the feed supply store, which can then provide the medicine-containing feed.