Pennicillin availability?

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Vet supplies are in short supply because of Covid-related supply chain problems.
https://www.agweb.com/news/livestock/dairy/supply-chain-issues-hamper-animal-medicine-availability#:~:text=Why the shortages?,uses the same base ingredients.

Shortages of some medications like penicillin reflect in part a competition for raw materials between people and animals, as the COVID-19 pandemic shifts demand and disrupts global trade through shipping logjams and port bottlenecks.
thats the go to excuse for sure. if we are that dependent on our enemies to supply us with all these things that are in short supply we better get the politicians to get out of this globalism fast.
 
There is a lot of talk about the use of antibiotics. Justified talk. We in the rural community are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics too. We recognize that antibiotics can be abused and often are. WE AGREE that there is a problem.

Most of the abuse involved with antibiotics is by large corporate farms that put antibiotics in feed as a standard practice, and that practice is supposed to have been stopped.

So now there is some legislation being proposed that ANY use of antibiotics must be by prescription only.

Farmers know when their livestock is sick, and they know how to treat the animals they care for in almost every case. They can give an animal a shot of penicillin.

But if antibiotics are by prescription only then that means every time an animal needs antibiotics we will need to call the veterinarian. Vets are expensive. A vet call to the farm is serious business, because most animals, sheep, hogs, chickens, etc. are monetarily worth less than the cost of a visit by a vet. It is difficult to justify a $150 vet bill to save an animal that will sell for a hundred dollars or less… IF the animal even survives.

Farmers care about their animals… but they must survive or they lose their way of life. We WANT to care for our animals. It is in our best interests to take good care of our animals, both emotionally and financially.

But this law will kill a lot of animals that would otherwise be saved easily… over a concern that doesn't exist.

And this leads to one of the most insidious lies told and believed by urban people with no real experience with farming.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say that, "Farmers abuse animals so they can make more money." A patently untrue statement that sells because it triggers the emotions of people with no real knowledge.

It is an irrefutable fact… FACT… that animals gain more weight, lay more eggs, give more milk, and breed easier, if they are healthy and comfortable. Agricultural schools are teaching future farmers how to make higher profits… by training them how to treat their animals well.

These two examples of urban group-think have no place in reality, and farmers have to live with the ramifications.

And because of these misperceptions from urban people that feel so very, extremely justified in placing controls on farmers from afar (as we grow the very food that keeps you and your children alive and healthy) we feel abused by ignorance and by the government.
 
We can do with out antibiotics but the consumer is not willing to pay the price to operate like that. They want the veal on the beanie weenie budget.
They don't have a choice if we don't do it. But buying and selling gains on livestock is a competitive business and there will always be that incentive to ignore best practices in favor of chasing a buck.
 
Farmers know when their livestock is sick, and they know how to treat the animals they care for in almost every case. They can give an animal a shot of penicillin.

But if antibiotics are by prescription only then that means every time an animal needs antibiotics we will need to call the veterinarian. Vets are expensive. A vet call to the farm is serious business, because most animals, sheep, hogs, chickens, etc. are monetarily worth less than the cost of a visit by a vet. It is difficult to justify a $150 vet bill to save an animal that will sell for a hundred dollars or less… IF the animal even survives.

Farmers care about their animals… but they must survive or they lose their way of life. We WANT to care for our animals. It is in our best interests to take good care of our animals, both emotionally and financially.

But this law will kill a lot of animals that would otherwise be saved easily… over a concern that doesn't exist.
You packed a lot of misinformation into this stretch of your post. Putting antibiotics into prescription status doesn't mean that you will have to call a vet for every sick animal. If you have a relationship with a vet, you'll be able to purchase antibiotics from them just like you would have at a farm supply store. The difference is that they'll be providing some oversight and worthwhile advice to go with it.

Farmers want to care for their animals, but many of them overestimate their abilities to diagnose and treat sick animals. I see animals all the time that owners have ineffectively tried to treat on their own with a "shot of penicillin". Heck, plenty of posts on this board offer really bad medical advice.

This law isn't going to kill animals. If anything, it may do the opposite by forcing people to talk with someone qualified to give advice about antibiotics.
 
You packed a lot of misinformation into this stretch of your post. Putting antibiotics into prescription status doesn't mean that you will have to call a vet for every sick animal. If you have a relationship with a vet, you'll be able to purchase antibiotics from them just like you would have at a farm supply store. The difference is that they'll be providing some oversight and worthwhile advice to go with it.

Farmers want to care for their animals, but many of them overestimate their abilities to diagnose and treat sick animals. I see animals all the time that owners have ineffectively tried to treat on their own with a "shot of penicillin". Heck, plenty of posts on this board offer really bad medical advice.

This law isn't going to kill animals. If anything, it may do the opposite by forcing people to talk with someone qualified to give advice about antibiotics.
I get your point about having a relationship with a vet, and that may work for some people and others not so much. Certainly it would be nice if all vets gave out free information rather than insisting on a vet call and then charging... but they have to pay their student loans too.

As to your last point, I disagree. A lack of ready medicine and the requirement to contact a vet to get it will surely be the difference between many animals being treated or allowed to go without.
 
We have been dealing with these rules for awhile, and I had some serious concerns similar to Travlr at the outset. Fortunately I have a good working relationship with a good vet. He does sell me 'stock' so I have what I need when I need it. For example, before spring turn out I will ask for a bottle of Draxxin or Zuprevo to have on hand for the things we discuss and agree are likely to come up.
Thus far it hasn't been all bad. But I know there are vets out there (Im thinking of vets in my area) that are not good to deal with in this regard.
 
Travlr, I think tge legislation passed a while ago but goes into effect next year. It's way passed the proposed point. It's already about to happen.
Yeah, the point I'm trying to make is that urban people get sold on ideas and create a solution without regard to how it will affect rural folks.
 
I have a relationship with my vet. Problem is my local vet has not been able to get pennicillin for themselves for over a year. Something about not ordering a large enough quantity. My best friend was a vet and sadly died 2 months ago from a heart attack. Mysteriously 2 weeks after his covid booster. He would buy pennicillin from either TSC or a farm supply store near here for the clinic he worked at. They had problems getting it also. He also was the one who helped me with my cattle for over 15 years. We developed the penn, draxxin, sulfa routine after noticing that Draxxin took a while to take effect. We always kept in mind the withdrawal times and never sent any animal to sale that was even close to the withdrawal time.
 
I too have a good relationship with our vet, problem in our area is she is the only large animal vet. The others have retired and no one seems to want the debt to take their place. Both the county I live in and the county my cows are in have 1 large animal vet. That's a lot of ground to cover, she will be retiring in a few years I'm sure
 
I have a good relationship with my vet, so I'm able to get the medicine I need, but I know people who don't have a vet in their area, will have trouble getting medicine. But I also know people who have a vet close who charges $25/$40 for a office visit who buy penicillin at the local farm store and give 1cc of penicillin for a day or two for respiratory issues and wonder why it doesn't work. So I've seen both sides of the spectrum. (In my opinion)The law will help or hurt, depending on a person's situation,.
 

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