Fall is here and the federal government has implemented new rules for us to live by. Whether we like it or not VFD’s are here.
VFD stands for Veterinary Feed Directive. The government has implemented this new directive because of the pressure to slow down the antibiotic use in agriculture. We are having more and more super infections in humans and they want the antibiotics we have to be able to work against these infections. An example of this is MRSA which stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. This bacterium is resistant to most antibiotics we have.
I have had experience with MRSA in animals and dealt with a lot of Staph. I have seen Staph in dogs, cats, cattle, horses, sheep and goats. One of the most common infections of Staph in animals is mastitis. Staph infects most beef cows in their udder from their skin or the calf nursing them. Somewhere around 65 to 80 percent of the beef cows that are aged in the United States will have Staph mastitis. Therefore, Staph mastitis is the most common reason for those large bad bagged cows at the sale barn. In dairies it is known as the “dairyman killer.” It is highly contagious and can be transmitted from cow to cow via the loafing area; milkers or any other fomite dairy cows are around.
We have been feeding antibiotics at low levels for added gain in animals for years. I agree with not doing this. Antibiotics are to be used to treat infection and not enhance gain. Honestly they really do not enhance gain. They work to fight infection and get rid of the bacterium in the animal or person. This allows the system to heal and the animal or person to feel better.
In understanding these reasons, the federal government has imposed VFDs. This means that your veterinarian will have to write a script for you to be able to feed antibiotics of any sort. Also your veterinarian will not be able to go off label at all. This means that if the disease you want to treat through the feed is not on the label, you won’t be able to use feed antibiotics. This is mandated by farad and amduca (farad is the Food Animal Drug Residue Avoidance Databank and amduca is the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act). These are the federal bodies enforcing the rules and regulations on drug use in animals.
Another thing your veterinarian must have to write a script for feed antibiotics is a valid client-patient relationship (VCPR). Without a VCPR a veterinarian cannot write or prescribe any antibiotics or any kind of treatment. If veterinarians do prescribe medicine for your animals without this, they subject to federal and state prosecution. And can end up losing their license to practice and may go to federal prison. The penalties are steep and we must live with these new rules and regulations.
A VFD must be written and then it is sent to the feed mill. Then the medicated feed can be used for only three-month period. The owner gets a copy, the feed mill gets a copy and the veterinarian keeps a copy. All copies of these VFD must be kept for minimum three years in records. I realize this seems like a lot, but it is what the federal government and the FDA has imposed.
