Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent global health threats and development challenges scientists face today. And dairy is responding with stewardship and materials that advance our industry’s interests in combating the threat.

Clinical mastitis cure versus bacteriological cure … is there a difference between the two? Does it really matter? In a word, yes. In a few more words, it matters because the difference between achieving one and not both can be the two things that make or break a dairy’s bottom line: lost productivity and increased costs.

For the past several years, the U.S. dairy industry has continued to reduce antibiotic and antimicrobial residues in milk and dairy beef. To support producers in the dairy industry’s commitment to antimicrobial stewardship, the FARM Program released its 2024-25 Milk & Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Reference Manual.

“Overuse of antibiotics is a very significant threat to our industry,” stated Pamela Ruegg, DVM, Michigan State University as she addressed a crowd of dairy producers at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. 

Are you feeling anxious about the upcoming change of over-the-counter medically important antibiotics shifting to a prescription status in June? Don’t be. It can be a very smooth transition by focusing on what you’ve always been focusing on: excellent animal husbandry.

In a recent Penn State webinar on Dec. 6, 2022, Hayley Springer, DVM, discussed how over-the-counter “medically important” drugs will shift from an over-the-counter status to a prescription status effective on June 11, 2023.

Millions of cows around the world consume diets that have been formulated as optimally as possible.