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California Ranchers Will Need Vet's Prescription To Use Livestock Antibiotics

By Julia Mitric 
 
 
In California, ranchers already need a veterinarian's prescription for certain antibiotic treatments for livestock.
 
But a new law taking effect in January will require a prescription for all medically important antibiotics used to treat health problems in cattle, sheep and other livestock. 
 
University of California Agricultural Natural Resources farm advisor Dan Macon works with ranchers on livestock production in the northern Sacramento Valley and the Sierra foothills.
 
Macon notes the law doesn't require a vet to be on site for each animal that needs treatment. But there will need to be a veterinary-client-patient relationship.
 
As Macon explains, that means "the vet knows the operation, knows the rancher and has some idea of the types of animals and types of issues the rancher may be dealing with.
 
"And so, it does require some semi-annual check in with the vet at the ranch," he adds.
 
Macon points out that food animal veterinarians have become increasingly rare.
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How Morning Chores Are Done On Our Sheep Farm

Video: How Morning Chores Are Done On Our Sheep Farm

At Ewetopia Farms, we show you how our daily morning chores are done on our working sheep farm. In the summer, this would also involve letting the sheep out to pasture. But it is fall in Canada, and most of our sheep are currently in breeding groups, and the pastures are eaten off, so most of the sheep are being fed indoors until the end of winter. What is a little different in our farm routine in this sheep farming vlog is that we have a customer drop by to pick up one of our Suffolk rams for breeding to their flock so we load him up and have a look at the ram they picked out.