Livestock Management RANCHING Veterinary Feed Directive


Rules: What They Are Not By Kristin Lewis Hawkins


N


EW RULES ARE ON THE HORIZON FOR CATTLE PRODUCERS THAT will affect how they purchase and distribute medi-


cally important antimicrobials in their herds’ food and water. With the gradual implementation of Veterinary Feed


Directive (VFD) rules by the Food and Drug Admin- istration (FDA) throughout 2016, new protocols have been established to ensure that everyone involved in the beef production chain, from rancher, feedyard operator, feed producer and distributor to veterinar- ian, is promoting the judicious use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals. The goal of the strategy is to work with industry stakeholders to protect public health by phasing out the use of medically important antimicrobials in food animals for production pur- poses like growth enhancement or to improve feed effi ciency, and to bring the therapeutic uses of such


Unaffected by FDA proposals Animal Use Only


Drugs used exclusively in animals: • Ionophores • Polypeptides • Carbadox • Bambermycin • Pleuromutilin


Human Use Only


Drugs used exclusively in humans: • Daptomycin • Glycylcyclines • Mupirocin • Mycobacterium anti-infectives


50 The Cattleman February 2016


drugs under the oversight of licensed veterinarians. VFD rules will not affect injectable antibiotics or


antimicrobials. They will only affect medically impor- tant drugs that are ingested by food animals. The new rules will require a veterinarian’s over-


sight and direction, in the form of a Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), to purchase a product that contains medically important antimicrobials that are distrib- uted in animal food or water. The FDA considers any


Affected by FDA proposals Shared Use


Drugs deemed “important for human medicine” and used by both animals and humans, such as: • Penicillins • Cephalosporins • Quinolones • Fluoroquinolones • Tetracyclines


• Macrolides • Sulfas • Glycopeptides • Others


Therapeutic uses (still allowed under veterinary supervision)


Treat animals diagnosed with an illness Control the spread of illness in a herd Prevent illness in healthy animals when exposure is likely


Production uses (no longer allowed) Enhance growth or improve feed efficiency thecattlemanmagazine.com


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