Livestock Management RANCHING What Is the Veterinary
Feed Directive Rule? By Kristin Hawkins
I
F YOU USE OR HAVE PLANS TO PURCHASE MEDICALLY IMPORTANT feed-grade antibiotics for your cattle, such as tetra-
cycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, aminogly- cosides, potentiated sulfas and macrolides, changes are underway to limit how ranchers are able to access such products. Public concern about the use of antimicrobials in
animals destined for consumption has prompted the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to enact a plan to eliminate the use of medically important antibiotics for production purposes such as growth promotion and feed effi ciency. The Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) fi nal rule was developed to bring this class of drugs under veterinary oversight in a way that still allows for the judicious use of VFD drugs when deemed medi- cally necessary. Once the changes are fully implemented in late 2016,
it will be illegal to use feed- and water-based antibi- otics for production purposes. Ranchers will need to obtain authorization from a licensed veterinarian to use VFD drugs for the prevention, control or treatment of a specifi cally identifi ed disease. Extra-label use, such as to promote growth or promote feed effi ciency, will be banned. By requiring ranchers to consult with a veterinar-
ian regarding the use of feed- and water-based anti- microbials, the FDA hopes to ensure the judicious use of such products under a defi ned set of circumstances and ailments. Veterinarians will play an integral role in the VFD
rules by ensuring the proper use of medically impor- tant antimicrobial drugs according to label directions and only when appropriate to meet specifi c needs. By adding this level of oversight, the veterinarian can ensure proper use of the drug, including the appro- priate amount of time and at the correct dose to the proper animals. By giving industry stakeholders at every level in
the animal production chain plenty of time to prepare before the rules go into effect, cattle raisers are advised to consult with their veterinarian to formulate a plan
48 The Cattleman January 2016
of action, should these products be needed. Those producers without a relationship with a vet-
erinarian will be required to consult with one to de- velop a veterinary-client patient relationship, or VCPR, to ensure the proper use of drugs under the VFD label. By assuming this responsibility, the veterinarian will be required to have a suffi cient level of engagement with the client or producer to make clinical judgments about health and treatment by examination or facility visit and follow-up care. The FDA believes that medically important antibi-
otics labeled for continuous or undefi ned durations of use are not consistent with judicious use principles. In the case of disease prevention, the FDA believes it is important such use appropriately targets animals at risk for a specifi c disease and that the use duration is limited and risk-based. In the next year, many steps will be taken to imple-
ment the VFD rules, including product label changes and revisions to the guidance. The only drug used in cattle feed that currently requires a VFD is tilmico- sin. The list of VFD drugs will expand next year to include all medically important antibiotics used in feed for prevention, control and treatment of disease. Over-the-counter sales of those drugs will no longer be allowed, and producers will need to work through their veterinarian to obtain a VFD order. Every month this year, The Cattleman will include
a column focused solely on VFD rules and regulations to educate and inform cattle producers so they will be up-to-date and well prepared for 2017. For further information and fact sheets, visit FDA. gov and search "VFD."
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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