Progress by Sector: Dairy Cattle

Snapshot

• The dairy sector has identified meaningful objectives for reducing, replacing or refining antibiotic use.
• They include halving use of the highest-priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HP-CIAs) by 2020, and reducing total antibiotic use across dairy farming by 20% by 2020. This means a reduction from an estimated baseline of 26.2mg/PCU in 2015 to 21mg/PCU in 2020.
• Other targets include reductions in use of intra-mammary tubes to treat clinical mastitis, and an increase in use of teat sealants at drying off, indicating a swing to less use of dry cow therapy.
• For more detail on the dairy sector targets, please refer to the Targets Task Force Report.
• On 27 October 2017 it was announced by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate that dairy cattle in the UK had managed to halve use of  HP-CIAs between 2015 and 2016. Alongside this there was  a 9% increase in mg/PCU antibiotics used, and a 5% fall in Defined Course Doses (DCDVet). The reason for the increase in mg/kg but reduction in DCDVet is due to a switch away from HP-CIAs to non HP-CIAs, which have a higher amount of active ingredient per course than HP-CIAs.

• The dairy sector is overall considered a lower user of antibiotics, but is nonetheless committed to good stewardship.
• For case studies, inspiration and technical tools to help farmers and vets reduce, replace or refine antibiotic use, visit the Ideas Hub.

News Updates

#ColostrumIsGold campaign aims to slash antibiotic use

29 Jan 2018

Mastitis-causing E coli shows antibiotics resistance

21 Nov 2017

NZ vets want to stop routine use of antibiotics in animals by 2030 – NZ Farmer

10 Nov 2017

Industry task force announces new sector-specific targets

27 Oct 2017

Record low for sales of antibiotics for use in animals

27 Oct 2017

How precision tech helped a Norfolk dairy farmer cut antibiotic use by 80 per cent

26 Oct 2017

‘Increasing dairy herd size doesn’t increase drug use’

21 Oct 2017

New Red Tractor antibiotic rules outlined

28 Jul 2017

British cattle vets recommend voluntary clampdown on antibiotic use

24 Jan 2017

Antibiotics could be cut by up to a third, say dairy farmers

03 Oct 2016

Initiatives

#ColostrumIsGold campaign aims to slash antibiotic use

Jan 2018

Dairy sector launches new Dairy Antimicrobial Stewardship Group

Aug 2017

British Cattle Vets position statement on use on antibiotics in dairy & beef sectors – BCVA

Aug 2017

Dairy Pro professional training and development register for dairy farmers and operators

Jul 2017

MilkSure – antibiotic use in the dairy sector

Jul 2017

Research programme at University of Nottingham

Jul 2017

AMR Force project from University of Bristol

Jul 2017

Useful Organisations