Deadline for STAMP vet software funding

Veterinary practices have been urged to apply for funding for the STAMP AMU Benchmarking Tool before the March 31 deadline.

Thanks to a research initiative in Northern Ireland entitled ‘STrategic AntiMicrobial use in Dairy, Beef and Lamb Production’ (STAMP), a software application to benchmark antibiotic use is now widely available and Livestock and Meat Commission will fund the installation cost.

The tool can be used to report antibiotic usage for the purposes of the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (NIBL FQAS), thereby replacing the need for vets to fill out the existing paper form.

Demonstrating the responsible use of antibiotics is a critical component of food production, however, a key challenge faced by vets and producers is gathering accurate information on the purchase and use of medicines on farms.

The benchmarking tool developed in partnership with the STAMP project partners and Farmvet Systems is a user-friendly web-based platform that captures and monitors antibiotic prescription use at farm level. With the appropriate permissions in place, the tool aggregates and standardises existing data sets from vet practices, APHIS or vet entered records in VetIMPRESS to produce AMU reports in a few simple steps; with significant savings made on the time it takes to produce reports manually.

‘More responsible use’

The tool also provides producers with key information that supports decisions to improve animal health and enables vets to have effective discussions with their clients on how best to optimise the use of antibiotics.

Encouraging veterinary practices to avail of the funding opportunity, Colin Smith, Industry Development Manager at The Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland said: “LMC is delighted that to date there has been an encouraging level of interest in the STAMP AMU Benchmarking Tool. LMC has funded the installation cost of this software in several local veterinary practices and we are pleased that feedback on the software has been very positive.”

George Brownlee, CEO of Farmvet Systems, added: “The important area of antibiotic use in livestock production is increasingly coming under the spotlight. A capability of our VetIMPRESS platform is the capacity for vets to effectively monitor medicine usage. We are pleased to put our expertise towards the development of this industry-wide platform, which will lead to more responsible use of antibiotics for the long-term benefit of farmers, their animals and the public.

“The STAMP AMU Benchmarking Tool will enable vets to make informed decisions as advisors and provide an effective means for vets and producers to work together.”

Vets who wish to use the tool should contact Farmvet Systems Ltd directly to organise this.