A joint initiative between California and Ohio focusing on sustainable livestock health and responsible antibiotic use has earned international recognition from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Developed in partnership with UC Davis and Ohio State University, the Early and Accurate Disease Detection in Dairy Cattle training program was honored with Technical Recognition by the FAO in the areas of Sustainable Transformation, One Health, Animal Health, and Reference Centres, as part of FAO’s 80th anniversary celebration.
The program was supported by a team of research partners, led by University of California, Davis Associate Professor of Clinical Livestock Herd Health, Dr. Richard V. Pereira, and Ohio State University Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Dr. Greg G. Habing. CDFA’s Antimicrobial Usage and Stewardship (AUS) program provided funding to facilitate the translation of this project into Spanish and its adaption to the current web platform, making it accessible to a much wider audience.
The recognition highlights the program’s leadership, collaboration, and innovation in upgrading agrifood systems, affirming international advances in the detection of infectious disease detection, and strengthening stewardship and dairy producer capacity.
Early Detection Minimizes Antibiotic Use
The success of this program lies in its direct support of the AUS mission to use antibiotics judiciously. The key to this is prevention and early intervention.
The goal is simple yet critical: Identify animal illness early to prevent the condition becoming so severe that it requires antibiotic treatment, or more than would be otherwise necessary. By equipping farm staff with the knowledge to act fast, we can optimize treatment and reduce the overall need for antibiotics across the industry.
Bilingual Training
The free online training is an interactive, bilingual course (available in English and Spanish) that empowers dairy farm workers with essential skills. Comprised of six engaging modules, the course can also be paused and started at any time, providing flexibility to workers.
The course teaches participants how to:
- Recognize and define signs of illness in different body systems of dairy cows.
- Follow established protocols for checking symptoms.
- Identify common dairy cattle diseases in California and the US.
The program provides workers with a formal certificate upon completion. This certification not only validates their expertise but also offers tangible value for their professional advancement, reflecting the high standard of care expected in California agriculture.
Partnership in Health
This global recognition from the FAO underscores the importance of these partnerships. By working with veterinarians, producers, educators, and, most importantly, dairy workers themselves, we are promoting the optimization of antimicrobial use and providing tangible value across the entire supply chain.
Initiatives like this demonstrate how high-level, holistic consideration for animal health and agricultural quality drives sustainable transformation for the industry.