Animal Health
Healthy animals are more productive animals
MFA knows that livestock producers are vital to the food chain. We support that role with medications, vaccines and supplies to help keep animals healthy, safe and profitable.
Building a healthy foundation
Ensuring that animals are free of disease, in good condition and performing at their best benefits everyone involved—from the farmers who raise them to the people who consume their products.
What is a VFD and why do I need one?
Veterinary oversight of prescriptions now required for most livestock antibiotics
To purchase medicated feed products containing antibiotics from MFA, producers must have a valid Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) on file with your retail location. This regulation was put into effect in 2017 by the Food and Drug Administration to require veterinary oversight or consultation for antimicrobial drugs that are considered necessary for assuring animal health.
Following this guidance “medically important antimicrobials”—medications that are used in treating human disease—administered through feed and water must have a VFD or prescription status. The VFD is a written statement issued by a licensed veterinarian that authorizes the use of a regulated drug or combination drugs in or on animal feed, even if the animals are not intended for food production.
In an extension to these rules, most other forms of these over-the-counter (OTC) animal antibiotics—injectable, topical, intramammary tubes and oral products—are now prescription-only as of June 2023. These medications can only be used in animals under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. Producers are still able to purchase a full line of OTC animal health products that do not require prescriptions from their local MFA.
MFA Director of Animal Health Dr. Tony Martin emphasizes that these antibiotic restrictions put even more focus on the importance of genetics, nutrition, management and preventive animal health measures that all livestock producers should be doing. These practices include minimizing stressors, feeding a fully balanced diet, doing a good job with parasite control and vaccinations to minimize disease and using additives like MFA Shield Technology that help support immunity.
Go here for more details from the FDA on the latest rules.
Fight flies with effective pest-control plans
Flies are a nuisance. They are irritating to cattle, horses, stock dogs and, of course, humans. More concerning, they are also vectors for diseases. An integrated pest management program (IPM) is important to control fly populations. Effective fly management is especially critical in feeding operations and dairies because of their confined nature.
No one practice is sufficient to control flies. Effective IPM plans use a variety of practices and control methods to keep fly populations in check, and these measures should start well before fly season begins. There are four important branches of an IPM program: cultural, physical, biological and chemical. While each branch is important, the cultural and physical branches are the fundamental components of fly control.
As you implement an IPM plan, monitor its effectiveness. Evaluate fly populations throughout your operation with traps and speck cards. Record which steps are successful and where additional improvement is needed. By carefully evaluating your program, you can make appropriate adjustments as needed.
Cultural practices make a world of difference in fly management. These practices include manure management, regular cleaning of spilled milk and feed, removal of vegetative buildup and soiled or decaying bedding in cattle areas, and landscape maintenance. Removing these breeding sites for flies dramatically reduces their population in a cattle operation. Additional cultural elements also help fly control. These practices include removing tall grasses and weeds, where flies can rest in the plants, regularly cleaning and moving calf hutches and pens, and ensuring that pens are well ventilated.
Physical efforts are perhaps the most obvious method of fly control, though it is not always the easiest. Structures and facilities can be designed to deny flies access to locations, or at least make the areas less hospitable for them. Patching or sealing cracks in structures, installing mesh screens over windows, and sealing around electrical outlets can close off entry points for flies. Installing fans that provide a downward and outward air flow reduces fly activity in buildings. Additionally, consider strategically placing non-insecticidal sticky, jug or bag traps to aid these efforts.
Biological control involves harnessing the power of natural predators of flies. Parasitic wasps, predatory mites, predatory beetles and fly pathogens are all used to control flies. These methods interrupt the lifecycle of the fly. For instance, predatory beetles feed on fly larvae found in dung, while parasitic wasps lay their eggs inside fly pupae.
Most producers are familiar with the conventional chemical fly-control methods, including foggers, baits, perimeter sprays and on-animal treatments. When using these products, remember to rotate active ingredients so flies do not become resistant. Chemical control also includes feed-through insect growth regulators (IGRs). Feed-through products prevent the emergence of adult flies. These products work by delivering an important active ingredient directly to cattle, where it is eventually passed into the animal’s manure. Flies then lay their eggs on the manure, and the IGR interferes with the lifecycle of the fly. This process prevents biting, breeding adult flies from developing out of the eggs laid in the manure.
A common free-choice MFA cattle mineral used for controlling horn flies on pasture cattle is Ricochet Altosid IGR Shield Mineral. Another IGR is Clarifly, with the active ingredient diflubenzuron, which has a label for four species of flies. It is fed to confined cattle and also approved for swine, horses, goats and sheep. Begin feeding these products about a month before flies begin to appear and continue until about a month after the first frost. This program of 30 days on each side of fly season suppresses fly activity early and reduces overwintering pupae. Feed the product to animals of all ages to treat as much manure as possible.
ASK US ANY QUESTIONS
If you have a question related to one of MFA’s products, send us a message here. We will direct it to the appropriate expert and get you an answer. If you have specific questions about product availability or pricing at your MFA retail store, contact your MFA representative or use our Store Locator to find information for the location nearest you.