The new federal regulation known as the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) will become effective January 1, 2017. This regulation will affect antibiotics administered in the feed or mineral for all food animal species, even if the animals are not intended for food production. Medications in the water will require a prescription.
A Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) must be established before a VFD can be written for your operation. A VCPR is established after a veterinarian has visited your farm, discussed your production system, and a VCPR form has been signed.
WHAT ANTIBIOTICS ARE INCLUDED?
Some antibiotics included in this regulation are:
- Chlortetracycline, aka CTC, Aureomycin, etc
- Pulmotil
- “medicated” mineral/feed
- “medicated” milk replacer
These medications are NOT included in this regulation:
- Ionophores (Rumensin, Bovatec, or Catalyst)
- Denagard, Meccadox
- Corid
- Injectable antibiotics
For a complete list of medications affected by the Veterinary Feed Directive please visit this site:
www.fda.gov/Animl/Veterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/vcm482107.htm
COMMON REASONS TO USE ANTIBIOTICS IN FEED:
- Anaplasmosis
- The highest concentration of CTC that is legal to be fed with this regulation is 6000g/ton. At this rate, a cow cannot eat enough mineral to adequately control anaplasmosis. This means we may no longer be able to treat anaplasmosis using CTC.
- Other methods, including vaccination are available to help control anaplasmosis. Talk to our veterinarians to develop a plan for your herd
2. Pink eye and foot rot
- There is no antibiotic that is legal to administer in the feed for this purpose.
3. Respiratory disease
- We do not recommend treating or preventing respiratory disease with medicated feed. There are better options for prevention and treatment of this problem. Our veterinarians would be happy to discuss a plan for your herd
While you can purchase and own medicated feed without a VFD, you cannot legally feed it without a valid VFD after January 1st, 2017.
WAYS TO PREPARE:
- Have a VCPR established with Countryside Veterinary Clinic prior to January 1. This will allow us to process your VFD quickly and accurately.
- Provide feed labels and/or a list of antibiotics/feed additives that you use in your production system, including the reasons you use them and the time of year you are feeding them.
- Provide the physical farm address.
- Call our office and request a VFD well before you need to begin feeding the product.
If you would like to hear more information regarding the new VFD regulations, follow the link below:
https://www.beefcattleinstitute.org/vfd-producer/
To address any further questions regarding VFD’s or VCPR’s, please call (785)448-6454. Our office hours are Monday through Friday 7am-6pm and Saturday 8am-2pm.