Section 2 | Arrival Strategies for Veal Farms

The Need for an Arrival Strategy

As we discussed in an earlier section, How to Select the Right Calf, a relatively large number of calves enter the veal industry with health abnormalities. Because of this, a commonly used management strategy is the provision of antimicrobials in milk replacer to the entire herd for the initial portion of the growing period. This practice represents the greatest amount of antimicrobial use (AMU) on veal farms, and this broad AMU can contribute to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Resistant pathogens are not only identified in calves, but also in the humans that care for the calves themselves. Calves can shed these resistant pathogens in their urine and feces, exposing other animals and farm staff. Check out our other FAAST Reviews for more on AMU and AMR in livestock and poultry.