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F A R M S K I L L S
Sophie Throup
FarmSkills Manager
The responsible and sustainable use of
antibiotics in farmed livestock is a matter for
all farmers and vets to have at the top of their
minds. In 2011, FarmSkills started delivering
the first of their ‘Safe and Responsible Use of
Veterinary Medicines’ workshops, to pig,
poultry, sheep and cattle farmers and have
continued ever since, including further training
for vets on the topic, delivered by industry
leaders such as Peter Edmondson (Shepton
Vets) and Dave Gilbert (Lambert, Leonard
and May) and the development of accredited
training materials and workshops for farmers
and industry.
The law is very clear in terms of what
it requires from farmers regarding
record-keeping: records must be retained
for five years and anyone who keeps food
producing animals must keep proof of
purchase of all veterinary medicines. If you
are on a Farm Assurance Scheme, you may
be required to record additional information;
you should consult the scheme you are on
for further details.
What does the Safe and
Effective use of Veterinary
Medicines workshop cover?
The FarmSkills Safe and Effective Use of
Veterinary Medicines workshop aims to
increase trainees’ knowledge of safety and
good practice as well as outlining the
legislative requirements for on farm medicines
use. The course also aims to increase trainees’
understanding of the different types of
medicines used and how these relate to
the common diseases on farm.
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
15
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
The Safe and Responsible Use
of Veterinary Medicines
At the end of this course, we aim
to ensure delegates are able to:
l
Safely administer veterinary medicines
to animals under their care
l
Understand the actions of an NSAID
and when they should be used
l
Store and maintain medicines on farm
in accordance with legislation and
farm assurance requirements
l
Record on farm medicine usage in
accordance with legislation and farm
assurance requirements
l
Describe the difference between
vaccines and treatments and the
different legislative classes
l
Describe the basic classes of
anthelmintics and the need for veterinary
or SQP guidance on their use
l
Describe basic differences that exist
between different classes of antibiotic
and the need for veterinary guidance
for their use
l
Understand the responsibility of those
administering medicines to farm
animals in terms of welfare, safety
and public health
For up-to-date guidelines on responsible
antibiotic use including strategies for
reducing usage, please refer to;
www.ruma.org.uk/antimicrobials.htm
The FarmSkills workshop is
accompanied by really helpful
materials to take back on farm.
We are running over 20 medicine
workshops across the country
over the coming weeks: to book
yourself on, please call the training
team on
01765 608489
, or email;
farmskills@xlvets.co.uk