The Judicious Use of Antibiotics - A Growing Concern

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria develops the ability to survive exposure to antibiotics, making it difficult or impossible to treat infections in people or animals. It is a growing concern today, with many fearing a "post–antibiotic era" where common infections become life threatening. Livestock producers are under pressure to use antibiotics carefully and that’s the topic for this episode of DairyVoice.  Featured this episode is dairy producer Heidi Fischer, partner and calf manager in the Fischer-Clark Dairy Farm in Hatley, Wisconsin. She’s the grand prize winner in the Producers for Progress program sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, the international animal health firm, focusing on the judicious use of antibiotics.  She discusses management priorities at her family’s high producing 900-cow herd.  Talking with her is Dr. Linda Tikofsky, the senior associate director of dairy professional veterinary services at Boehringer Ingelheim with an extensive background in mastitis management and judicious antibiotic use. For more details about the Fischer-Clark herd, see the article in the Dec. 2 edition of DairyBusiness Digital magazine here. For details about Producers for Progress go to https://www.bi-vetmedica.com/producers-progress.