A Scottish pilot that measures antimicrobial use (AMU) on livestock farms is helping farmers show that they use antibiotics responsibly while pointing vets to the health problems behind medicine use, The Scottish Farmer reports.

Fifteen veterinary practices are producing annual AMU reports for their farm clients from veterinary records, with cattle and sheep enterprises reported separately. The aim is not to change how vets and farmers work but to give them standardised data. Early findings suggest use on many Scottish farms is lower than expected.

Seb Batchelor, clinical director at Caledonia Farm Vets, said the reports show where a particular antimicrobial was used more, for example after a pneumonia outbreak, which leads to tests such as nasal swab PCR and to vaccination tailored to what is circulating. After two years of use, he said, year-on-year comparisons show vaccination protocols cutting antimicrobial use while improving stock health.

Hugh Fraser, who runs 185 Limousin x Simmental cows and 650 ewes at Kinchyle in Inverness-shire, said the report confirmed his use is very low; since the farm began vaccinating a few years ago, foot rot is no longer a problem in the breeding sheep.

Batchelor said zero use is impossible without harming welfare and urged the Scottish Government to adopt AMU reporting. Bruce McConachie of Quality Meat Scotland said farm-level data give producers evidence that responsible use is already embedded in practice. The report is by Kelly Henaughen.

Photo: Glen Breaden / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: The Scottish Farmer