The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is studying a federal judge's order that it consider withdrawing two popular antibiotics from use in livestock. In a ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz says that the FDA must issue notices to drug manufacturers that the drugs will be withdrawn unless the companies can prove they're safe. Katz didn't issue a full ban -- suggesting the manufacturers should be given a hearing to make their case....More

The beef checkoff recently hosted a seminar with Mike Apley, Kansas State University DVM and a BEEF magazine "Vet's Opinion" columnist, to address the subject of antibiotic residues....More

USDA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week prohibited certain uses of cephalosporin antibiotics in animals. The move, FDA says, is aimed at preventing antibiotic resistance and preserving the drug's effectiveness for treating human diseases....More

The biggest reasons for disease breaks in livestock often have little to do with the vaccine itself, but more to do with how that vaccine is handled and administered, says Dale Moore, director of Veterinary Medical Extension at Washington State University...More

It’s often said that the herd bull contributes half the production in a calf crop. “That may be true for the average bull, but it likely exaggerates the contribution from a poor quality bull and dramatically under-estimates the contribution of a good bull,” says Bruce Carpenter, Texas AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in Fort Stockton...More