Abstract
Since 1996, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken regulatory action via the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) to ensure that drugs used to treat bacterial diseases in all food-producing animals, even those not intended for actual food production, are used appropriately and safely. This publication helps livestock owners navigate the directive's complex guidelines by providing the basics contained in the most recently amended VFD: what the directive is, the veterinarian's role, common feed-use antibiotics affected by the regulation, other feed-use and water-use antibiotics approved for use, proper labeling to watch for, an example of a VFD form, lists of permissible feed additives and helpful FDA online resources. Hypothetical case studies involving different kinds of livestock (dairy cattle, swine, poultry, small ruminants) will also help ranchers to problem-solve various scenarios.