Mastitis management is responsible for up to 85 percent of the antimicrobials used in the dairy sector. Implementing selective dry-cow therapy is the way forward, say the authors of recent analyses. The mindset of farmers and veterinarians and their attitude towards reduction of antimicrobial use is crucial for successful implementation of selective therapy at dry-off. The … [Read more...]
Purdue establishes National Academy for Veterinary Medicine
"Vet Up! The National Health Careers Opportunity Program" (HCOP) Academy for Veterinary Medicine will address a national shortage of veterinarians in public health and rural and food animal practice and a significant lack of under-represented individuals entering the veterinary profession. Vet Up aligns with other programs already in place at Purdue, including being home to the … [Read more...]
Horse owners trust veterinarians
Horse owners are relying on their veterinarians more and more for vaccination and deworming program recommendations, according to the 2018 "American Horse Publications" (AHP) online survey of 9,000 horse owners. Source: Feedstuffs, August 14, 2018. Link. “The percentage of respondents who said they discuss American Association of … [Read more...]
New antimicrobial stewardship efforts from FDA
“I told you so,” said an animal health colleague after reading this notice about extending the FDA’s antimicrobial stewardship reach, noting the companion animal mention as well. Some of the important issues to be addressed in this new plan include establishing appropriate durations of use of medically important antimicrobials and bringing all dosage forms of medically … [Read more...]
Study of animal personality, mood to give new welfare insights
AgResearch’s Animal Welfare Team is working to expand the knowledge of livestock behavior, at a time of growing consumer demand for strong welfare standards. Studies like this could be used to compare how animals experience different farming situations and to improve design of production systems. Source: Feedstuffs, June 12, 2018. Link. New research exploring the moods and … [Read more...]
Smithfield: every pig, every pen, every day (includes video)
Consumer pressure and perceptions routinely challenge animal care and food production practices. To support the release of the Animal Care section of its "2017 Sustainability Report," Smithfield released a new 360-degree virtual reality video, which transports viewers to one of the company's wean-to-finish hog farms. The company recently used the technology to take viewers … [Read more...]
Feedstuffs: Top 10 stories of 2017 (slideshow)
As 2017 closed, the editors of Feedstuffs revisited identified these top news stories of 2017. Source: Feedstuffs, January 1, 2018. It was a year marked by destructive wildfires, a meat industry scandal in Brazil, a new U.S. agriculture secretary, several significant acquisitions with industry-changing implications and, of course, regulatory changes. This photo gallery … [Read more...]
Bumblebees will return
Jeff Whitworth, Kansas State University associate professor of entomology, said bumblebees are not headed for extinction. Bee declines have been attributed to a variety of factors, including parasites, pesticides and urbanization, as well as fungal, bacterial and viral diseases. Source: Feedstuffs, January 27, 2017. Whitworth predicted that bee populations will continue to … [Read more...]
Transparency was the marketing word of 2016
Buzz words are fun to track and frequently represent top-of-mind focus for marketers. This year is no exception. Other top choices in the 2016 Marketing Word of the Year voting were "customer experience," "content marketing," "influencer" and "programmatic." It was the third consecutive year for which ANA announced a Marketing Word of the Year. Previous winners were “content … [Read more...]
Antibiotics in feed: a brief history – Sponsored Content
Ask anyone who has worked in animal health for 10 years or more what the hottest topics are, antibiotic resistance will be one of their first answers. Our world is rapidly adapting our approaches to food production, animal wellness and human health to be less dependent on antibiotics. While viewing this video, I reflected on the how the scientific method* brought us to where … [Read more...]
Help producers prep for VFD implementation
During last week’s Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show, Kerry Keffaber, DVM, advisor for scientific affairs at Elanco Animal Health, shared four ways producers can get ready to implement the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). Presented to members of the Livestock Publications Council, you’ll soon see more information in livestock media. There is opportunity in each of the … [Read more...]