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In recent years the livestock industry has done brilliantly in reducing antibiotics usage, and all of us in the industry believe the ruminant sector is now a pretty low antibiotics user.

According to antibiotics sales data, the UK is reckoned to be the fifth-lowest user in Europe. The problem is that there is not enough data on usage to confirm this.

Nicky Bowden graduated from Glasgow Vet School and has worked mainly in dairy practice as well as running discussion groups for AHDB Dairy. She now works in business development for Nantwich Farm Vets

Many vet practices and other groups have been collating and benchmarking antibiotics use for their farms, but there has been no national database. This is where Medicine Hub comes in.

Medicine Hub will allow farmers, with the help of their vet practice or other third party if required, to calculate their antibiotics usage.

Progress can then be monitored over time and benchmarked between similar types of farms, as well as forming part of the antibiotics review component of a herd health plan.

Data will only be shared anonymously, and only at a national level. For anyone else to see an individual farm’s data, the farmer must grant them access to their account.

See also: New livestock Medicine Hub – what it’s for and how it can help

These are the key steps to getting started with Medicine Hub.

Many farms may find it easier to grant their vet practice full permissions to their account. This will allow the vets to help manage the farm’s Medicine Hub account as well as upload medicine sales data.

The national database is going to be a valuable tool for demonstrating that the ruminant sector is using antibiotics responsibly.

It is important to be able to demonstrate this responsible use – as much as necessary, as little as possible – to consumers, retailers and buyers, as well as in trade negotiations.

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