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.

Vaccine products that are administered to cattle are foreign to the animal’s body. The goal is for the body to recognize these foreign organisms and develop an immune response for protection in the event of a future disease challenge.

Correctly differentiating mastitis from teat sealant residue is important to minimize unnecessary interventions and to make sure we’re using antibiotics judiciously on farms. 

When an antibiotic is administered, susceptible bacteria may be eliminated, allowing resistant bacteria to thrive and become dominant. This can make the antibiotic ineffective for future treatments and can therefore increase the risk of infections persisting in the afflicted animal and spreading to other animals in the herd, or to humans. 

Controlling pathogen outgrowth in recycled manure bedding is possible. When a bacillus-based bedding additive was tested on-farm, a significant reduction in bulk tank SCC and mastitis cases was noticed.

Meet Dr. Sam Galphin, a renowned specialist with a rare vocation. Galphin’s desire to “help feed the world” has taken him around the globe as an advocate and practitioner of herd welfare and safety. From milk production to meat consumption, the “Moo Vet” has seen it all.

Two years ago, when Jobo Farms started looking at different programs and ideas to make their parlor run more smoothly, they instead found a herd health monitoring system that fascinated them with what it could do for their cows.