What every producer should know about judicious antibiotic use

AMES, Iowa — Judicious use of antibiotics is tremendously important for the future of beef and dairy production.

“If we’re going to preserve the effectiveness of the limited number of antimicrobials that we have in the cattle industry, using them appropriately to minimize the development of antimicrobial resistance is vital,” said Pat Gorden, professor at Iowa State University specializing in dairy production medicine and clinical pharmacology.

Utilizing antibiotics responsibly also supports the long-term success of cattle operations and helps reinforce consumer trust in our industry.

“Keeping cattle healthy is always the goal,” said Nathan Meyer, senior veterinarian at Boehringer Ingelheim. “When antibiotics are used judiciously, it improves the lives of cattle, producers and consumers.”

Using antibiotics judiciously requires implementing these fundamental herd health practices on your operation:

1. Maintain a veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

The foundation of responsible antibiotic use begins with establishing and maintaining a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, which is required to access prescription antibiotics.

With a VCPR, your veterinarian can be a true partner in supporting your herd’s health. It can help them gain a better understanding of your herd and be more aligned with your operation’s goals.

“Before a disease occurs, your veterinarian can help develop protocols for receiving cattle, or moving cattle through an operation that can minimize the stress and the risk of disease,” Gorden said.

Then, when treatment is needed, your veterinarian can provide more timely and accurate treatment advice.

“Your veterinarian can help identify the correct animals that need treatment and recommend when to implement metaphylaxis protocols,” Meyer said.

A strong VCPR allows you to work with your veterinarian to build more effective protocols, preventing problems before they start and ensuring long-term success for your herd.

2. Maximize antibiotic efficacy.

A key strategy to judicious antibiotic use is accurately identifying which cattle need treatment.

“Making sure we identify sick cattle quickly and treat them soon after detecting signs of illness is very important,” Meyer said.

Tools like digital sensors, stethoscopes and rectal thermometers can help improve the odds of finding sick animals.

However, it still ultimately comes down to the human eye to properly identify illness, so it’s important that anyone working with the animals is trained to recognize the signs early.

Once an animal has been identified for treatment, the right antibiotic should be selected.

“For instance, if you’re treating bovine respiratory disease, a broad-spectrum antibiotic might be advised,” Meyer said.

“The macrolide class of antimicrobials is broad-spectrum, meaning they treat the four primary BRD pathogens. So, choosing the correct antibiotic is crucial, based on what you’re observing for clinical illness.”

Following the treatment protocols and label recommendations is also a must. This includes withdrawal periods, dosage and post-treatment intervals.

“Where we could improve is accurately knowing the weight of cattle, so we deliver the right dosage,” Gorden said.

When determining the correct dosage, try to weigh cattle individually to get an accurate weight or, at a minimum, use a weight tape.

Once cattle have been treated, keep thorough records on each individual animal to better adhere to withdrawal periods and know what to do if additional treatment is required.

“Frequently monitor records to see what’s changing,” Gorden said. “If you’re typically seeing a certain prevalence of a disease, and it suddenly increases, that’s an indication that something changed. Unless somebody’s looking at those records on a regular basis, an issue may not be found until it’s too late.”

3. Management matters.

Strong management practices are imperative to preventing disease and reducing the need for antibiotics.

Implementing tactics such as biosecurity, low-stress handling, limiting overcrowding, housing in well-ventilated buildings and providing a clean environment are just a few ways to help minimize stress and disease risk.

“Cover the basics, like trying to minimize stress by purchasing high-health cattle if they’re on the beef side,” Gorden said.

“Taking care of nutrition on the dairy cattle side is hugely important to grow those animals at a faster rate, but at the same time, feed the immune system so it’s ready to help fight off any infections that may come.”

Vaccinations are another way to prepare cattle for a battle with disease and reduce the need for antibiotics.

“The cornerstone to any herd health plan is prevention,” Meyer said. “We want to build immunity through vaccination to have a good herd health status. Whenever cattle are challenged, they normally mount a strong immune response. The key is prevention, so vaccination must precede the challenge to have maximum effect.”