Survey of treatment practices on Midwest dairy farms

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess current antimicrobial use practices and veterinarian involvement with these practices on upper Midwest dairy farms. Eighty-five dairy farms ranging in size from 105 to 5,400 lactating cows located in 6 states (SD, NE, IA, MN, WI, and IL) were visited by 2 veterinary students during the summer of 2015. Interns observed farm treatment practices, reviewed individual herd treatment protocols and records, and conducted a standardized survey with farm management assessing mastitis, metritis, lameness, pneumonia, heifer pneumonia, and heifer diarrhea. Results indicate the presence of written treatment protocols varied by disease type. Metritis was the most common disease for which a protocol was found on-farm (49%), followed by mastitis ( 46%), lameness (39%), adult cow pneumonia (34%), heifer pneumonia (21 %), and heifer diarrhea (19%). Ceftiofur was the most common primary antimicrobial selected for the treatment of mastitis (61 %), metritis (82%), lameness (54%), and pneumonia (72%). Thirty-nine percent of farms selected enrofloxacin as their primary antimicrobial for the treatment of calf diarrhea. This use of enrofloxacin was also the most common unapproved treatment observed in the study. Results of this study demonstrate an opportunity for veterinarians to educate producers about judicious antimicrobial use on dairy farms.