The long term goal of this project team is to establish a functional and efficient antibiotic use monitoring system in beef and dairy production systems which will support continued advancement of antibiotic stewardship in the United States. The overarching goal of this specific proposal is to develop and evaluate methods for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating antibiotic use data in the beef and dairy industries. To achieve this overarching goal we have identified 6 specific aims of this proposal for year one: 1) Collect antibiotic use data from beef feedlots and dairies while documenting available record systems. 2) Establish a scalable system to create an aggregate report of antibiotic use in these facilities using multiple metrics. 3) Provide benchmark reports back to each participating facility. 4) Establish a relationship with the USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System whereby they will consult on future data- gathering design structures for industry representation and also serve as data structure and report construction auditors. 5) Provide an estimate of resources required to expand this program to a representative sample of the industries on a yearly basis. 6) Identify optimal record system formats and explore ways to expand their use in the beef and dairy industries. The investigators will cooperate with 32 dairies and 30 feedlots in diverse geographic areas of the United States to collect antibiotic use data through antibiotic use records, inventory records, and survey instruments. A major challenge is that of multiple record systems ranging from electronic to manual methods. The research team is prepared for this challenge through their experience with these systems, and the experiences in this project will inform an estimate of resources necessary to expand this sampling system. To assure anonymity of the data providers, a private entity is being utilized for receipt of the data and maintenance of attribution for the purpose of returning benchmarking reports to each provider. Report metrics will be determined by the investigators in cooperation with an advisory board that connects across multiple stakeholders. Years 2-5 continue with the intent of continuing the year 1 aims but also adding in the responsibility of reporting on trends in antibiotic use coupled with cause-specific morbidity, mortality, and culling of debilitated animals. The effects of introducing improved record systems on the efficiency and resource requirements for data collection will also be evaluated. The research team is committed to working with multiple stakeholders to pursue resources for expanding this reporting system, as well as participating in using the data for hypothesis generation which will drive research to further advance antibiotic stewardship. This project creates a robust sampling structure which will demonstrate the value of benchmarking in the beef feedlot and dairy industries. The experience with data collection in this proposed project will allow construction of a systematic plan generating sound, representative samples of antibiotic use in these industries along with estimates of resource needs to achieve a sustained, expanded sampling program.
This proposal advances public health by initiating a sustainable system for quantifying antibiotic use associated with reason for use in dairy and beef feedlot production systems. These results will then be evaluated by individual producer-veterinarian partnerships and compared to the rest of the industry. Benchmarking awareness may then be used to drive questions and research hypothesis generation for defining the differences between high and low antibiotic users.
