New Directive Will Affect All Meat And Dairy Producers

cow and calf at fairOrange City, Iowa — A new set of regulations are going into effect in January that will affect all livestock producers, and there’s a meeting coming up on Tuesday to help explain what’s going on.

Iowa State University Extension Swine specialist Dave Stender tells us about the new Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD).


Stender says those medications will now be by veterinary prescription.


Extension experts including Stender say the new rules will affect production of all meat and dairy animals. Stender says there are also new directives and paperwork to be filed regarding those who mix feed on-site.

They tell us that some drugs used in animal production are also used in human medicine, and that the reason for the VFD is to help avoid antibiotic resistance to these drugs. Hence, livestock producers will not be able to routinely use these drugs in livestock production after December 31, 2016.

The meeting in our area is on Tuesday, August 23, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the ISU Extension and Outreach Meeting Room, Orange City. If you’re going they’d like you to RSVP to 712-737-4230. There are also meetings on Monday in Emmetsburg and Wednesday in Storm Lake if either of those would work better.

The meetings are sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Farm Bureau, and the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and are free of charge. For more information, contact your local ISU Extension and Outreach Beef Specialist Beth Doran at 712-737-4230 or Swine Specialist Dave Stender at 712-225-6196.

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