The antibiotic tools used in cattle today are likely the same ones you’ll have for the rest of your life. That’s the advice from Mike Apley, veterinarian and professor of production medicine and clinical pharmacology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. He’s not saying antibiotic resistance is threatening the cattle business. Instead he says it’s becoming harder to defend antibiotic use as a management tool.
Source: Beef, April 24, 2017.
I want us to get a gut ache when we decided to use an antibiotic. It’s that important,” Apley tells his veterinary students. “Ideally, use antibiotic to treat sick cattle, but adopt practices that minimize the number of cattle that get sick.”
INSIGHTS: This is the second installment of a six-part series with valuable information from Wes Ishmael. The first installment can be found here. This is a series to follow for veterinarians, reps and producers. Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide issue that concerns consumers. The beef – and other protein segments – must respond responsibly.