ASI Discusses New VFD Protocol at 2017 Convention
You may have heard, but on January 1, 2017 new federal rules were enacted which affect those raising sheep in the US. The Veterinary Feed Directive (or VFD), requires that antibiotics commonly used to treat diseases in humans are not incorporated in food and water given to meat animals raised in the United States unless a written VFD order is obtained from a local veterinarian.
If the grain and other sheep food you feed your flock have contained these antibiotics in the past, or if you've added antibiotics as supplement to your flock's food supply, you don't necessarily have to change what you feed your flock. Those drugs that shepherds have traditionally used will still be available in the United States ... the new rule simply requires that you obtain a written VFD order from a local veterinarian to continue feeding your flock as you have in the past.
If you don't supplement your flock or add antibiotics to the food or water your sheep consume, this rule won't affect you.
If the grain and other sheep food you feed your flock have contained these antibiotics in the past, or if you've added antibiotics as supplement to your flock's food supply, you don't necessarily have to change what you feed your flock. Those drugs that shepherds have traditionally used will still be available in the United States ... the new rule simply requires that you obtain a written VFD order from a local veterinarian to continue feeding your flock as you have in the past.
If you don't supplement your flock or add antibiotics to the food or water your sheep consume, this rule won't affect you.
The Goals of the VFD Protocol
The goal of the new Veterinary Feed Directive is to make meat raised in the US safer for human consumption, and as a byproduct the government hopes to foster stronger relationships between producers and their local veterinarians. As long as antibiotics in food given to animals are given therapeutically, producers should have nothing to worry about.
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Here's a Short Video Discussing the Veterinary Feed Directive from ASI
The American Sheep Industry has published a video sharing information about the new Veterinary Feed Directive. The video includes helpful interviews with ASI leadership and reaction from veterinarians who work with large and small sheep producers in the USA. We've included that video below for your convenience:
Final Thoughts about the VFD and How It Will Affect Shepherds in the USA
For most small-scale and hobby sheep producers, the Veterinary Feed Directive probably won't change anything for you. Antibiotics aren't typically used in the sheep industry as extensively as they are in other livestock industries (poultry is one where the use is much higher), but it's still important that all shepherds are aware of this so they aren't accidentally adding supplements without obtaining the proper order from their veterinarian.
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