Film: Dairy farmers come together to research ways of reducing antibiotics
Organisation:
Innovative Farmers
Date:
January 2020
Copyright:
Evidence:
Farmer experience
Related theme:
Watch the video
Resource explained:
This is the third in a series of short films telling the story of Innovative Farmers. Mastitis is one of the biggest reasons for antibiotic usage in dairy farming. This is why farmers, vets and researchers are investigating whether a new on-farm causative identification test can be used by farmers as a tool to significantly reduce antibiotic usage without affecting animal welfare and milk quality. A group of 10 dairies have been working with Innovative Farmers and the Royal Veterinary College to set up a field lab to measure the benefits of this on-farm test and to see whether it is practical to use within the pressures of everyday farm life. This film looks at how the research has been going and tells the story of why farmer-led research like this is so important.
Findings & recommendations:
- Find out more about the 'Reducing antibiotic use through on farm culture & selective treatment of clinical mastitis' field lab here.
- Get involved in your own farmer-led research! To keep informed of how this field lab and others are progressing or if you have your own ideas for a field lab, you can sign up and become a member of the Innovative Farmers network and contact the Innovative Farmers team to find out how to get involved.
Image credit: Innovative Farmers
Summary provided by:
Innovative Farmers