By June 11, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration will require farmers to have a prescription from their veterinarian to purchase all over the counter, medically important, antimicrobial products. Dr. Melanie Hemenway, Veterinarian with NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets will provide an overview of what this means for your farm.

The need for the directives is to protect medically important microbials from the more rapid development of resistance. The loss of efficacy can occur with any drug, but care needs to be taken so we do not lose those products that are medically important for human health. With the elimination of OTC antimicrobials for livestock use, veterinary diagnosis is needed prior to treatment to ensure these products are used judiciously.

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