FDA Regulations for Vets and Sheep Producers - VCPR

Legamin

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After looking on the FDA web site I am more confused that ever. It seems that by 2023 all farm producers will have no other choice for antibiotics and some NSAIDS for pain control but the Vet…not just any vet but one that has submitted to, been licensed specifically for this purpose by, the FDA. My first response was aggravation because many of us are already registered with the FDA Scrapies Program and they have a working knowledge of the size of our operations yet with this ‘law’ bearing down on us NEXT YEAR not one Federal appointee or employee has thought to send out a general letter of compliance to sheep producers…
The expectation of compliance without information creates the usual Government SNAFU in paperwork and last minute requirements, finding a vet that is part of the FDA program (evidently most are not and do not intend to comply so finding a vet will be harder….than it already is) and actually complying with new laws of which no one has bothered to inform us. Annual inspections of every farm and a report of the conditions for animals must be submitted to the FDA annually…how many vets do you know are looking for more government paperwork to fill out?
Most of us have fewer than 100 sheep. We are not major producers. This new law gathers up everyone with farm animals and requires a once per year vet inspection and yet we know nothing about it until a local sheep producer group drops the bomb on us one year in advance of mandatory compliance…
Anyone else just want to take all of their sheep down to the Washington Monument and turn them loose to graze? (poor things would end up in Gitmo for INSURRECTION!….a sheep fence would be built around the Capitol and Nancy Pelosi would fall into her usual hysterics)
If anyone else out there knows more than I do or knows of a list of Vets in compliance that are willing to take on new farms….let me know!
 

mysunwolf

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Locally, most vets that I know have already signed up in preparation for the new laws. It's very similar to when medicated feeds moved to the status of only being prescribed via VFD. Can you show the legislation for 2023 where they say the vet must fill out some kind of assessment of the farm annually? That's a new one for me.
 

Legamin

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Locally, most vets that I know have already signed up in preparation for the new laws. It's very similar to when medicated feeds moved to the status of only being prescribed via VFD. Can you show the legislation for 2023 where they say the vet must fill out some kind of assessment of the farm annually? That's a new one for me.
This was the assessment of the totality of the law which was sent out by WASP - ‘Washington Association of Sheep Producers’ - as one of the topics of their most recent national convention. I did not see this specifically on the FDA web site so I don’t have a specific reference. WASP is generally very accurate and informative. This is the reason I was actually surprised to hear it from them first before being alerted by the FDA themselves who has my records on hand. I will look at this again and contact the WASP rep. Locally to see how this regulation fits in and where to find it.
 

Legamin

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Yes! get whatever you need NOW since in 2024 you won't be able to get anything over the counter!
I’m probably stocked for the next 12 months. The question will be whether vaccines and antibiotics can be frozen. I would guess some can and some can’t depending on the application. our vet mentioned that most basic antibiotics can be frozen for many years but to buy many small bottles as once they are open they will not last for the normal period of 6-12 months. Worming meds will also depend on the type. But I will have to start pulling white papers to see which ones are freeze tolerant. Just one more regulation specifically designed to push out the smaller producers in favor of mega-ag producers that can afford to pay off politicians…I mean…hire a lobbyist.
 

Ridgetop

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I need to order another 100 3cc syringes for my basic CDTs. Eventually probably will need vet prescription for those as well so better stock up. I seem to go through them pretty fast since I use 2-3 per lamb every lambing, and 1-2 per adult annually. With 35 ewes and 4 rams breeding it adds up.

How do I find out which vaccines and antibiotics can be frozen?
 

Legamin

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I need to order another 100 3cc syringes for my basic CDTs. Eventually probably will need vet prescription for those as well so better stock up. I seem to go through them pretty fast since I use 2-3 per lamb every lambing, and 1-2 per adult annually. With 35 ewes and 4 rams breeding it adds up.

How do I find out which vaccines and antibiotics can be frozen?
The manufacturer puts out white papers on their web site. Also there are some really good resources like Linesa Farms on You Tube who are suppliers of many products and I think he is a vet and is willing to answer questions through his web site. I will be asking my vet and will post answers as I get them. As for syringes bought two of the repeater syringes for $50 each. They each have a different range of adjustable dose from .5cc to 10cc and 6cc to 60cc. I ordered a couple hundred IM and SC needles for mature and young sheep (1/2”/3/4”/1”/1.25” and these will last me many years. The syringes come with replacement parts that I put in a vacuum sealed bag in a fine machine oil preservative. I just give the injection and jab an alcohol soaked rag between each sheep To avoid cross contamination. I think it’s important to use single use syringes for those sheep that are obviously sick or diagnosed…that would be a quick way to spread a blood born disease through a flock by including them in the mass injections. I don’t think I will ever surpass 40 sheep unless I get a larger bit of land and can grow my own hay. As it is I can sell what I have where I am and buy 20x the land and house and buildings where I want to go….so the temptation is real.
 

Baymule

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This will hit small producers hard. Why can't these non farmer politicians keep their grubby fingers OFF our farms? GRRRRRR..........
 

Ridgetop

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When we first started with livestock, we had an old vet here who could diagnose and treat farm animals as well as horses and small animals. He died and we started learning how to doctor everything ourselves because no other vets would do any work on our dairy goats or sheep. If we needed a vet for something very serious, we had to drive 2 hours and often the animal would die in the trailer. This included setting broken bones, stitching up skin tears, testing for mastitis, etc. We had to learn about medicines available, treatments, etc. and luckily you could still buy the antibiotics etc. over the counter. But since you had to have most things shipped, we started keeping a complete pharmacy in the garage fridge. We were really careful with hygiene in milking, and I used diluted Iodophor for udder washing, following the final washing with a teat dip. Iodophor is now a controlled substance! I routinely treated my dairy animals with Tomorrow when drying off from the final milking. I used Today after testing if I suspected a case of mastitis starting. This meant ordering and keeping several dozen boxes of those treatments in the cabinets. Now you can't even get them without a prescription here! Next year you won't be able to get Penicillin, and I wonder how long it will be before you need a prescription for the routine livestock vaccinations! DS1 says this is all part of the "libs" trying to do away with eating meat and do away with meat producers! Gates has bought up a huge amount of farmland as have other wealthy vegetarians. The pasture for meat animals can be controlled by those who don't want the rest of us to eat meat. Either they want all the the good stuff for themselves, or they want to enforce their restrictive life styles on us. BTW did you hear the latest in the "control emissions" rules from the "greenies"? "Don't drive on Sunday" and "Drive Personal Cars Only Every Other Day" to control gasoline prices! Since most of the lawmakers pushing this idea have government limos and drivers, this would not pertain to them! :barnie:somad:rant
 

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