Local veterinarians, feed suppliers and livestock producers gathered in Lehi on Thursday to learn how the federal feed directive, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, will affect their operations.
One certainly cannot neglect emissions from the livestock sector, but to compare them to the main emission sources would put us on a wrong path to solutions, namely to significantly reduce our anthropogenic carbon footprint to reduce climate change
Like carbon dioxide, methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. It doesn’t last as long as in the atmosphere, but over a century, it traps heat 25 times better than its better-known cousin.
The new ruling will demand some veterinarian and client interactions that weren’t required before regarding the use of medically important antibiotics in feed and water, said Apley, a veterinarian who specializes in beef production medicine.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration implemented the Veterinary Feed Directive, or VFD, which will require farmers to get prescriptions on most antibiotics they would normally get over the counter for their livestock feed.