Criteria for antimicrobial injection use on feedlots in the U.S. 2016, by importance
Antimicrobial usage among U.S. livestock has remained a hotly debated topic in recent years. Research indicates that unwarranted usage of antimicrobial agents will contribute to a more widespread antimicrobial resistance among both humans and animals. As of 2016, about 79.8 percent of feedlots that would treat a group of cattle with an injectable antimicrobial said they would consider the occurrence of respiratory disease in some of the cattle in the pen/group a very important criteria in making the decision to treat the rest of the group. Comparatively, at that time just 6.7 percent of feedlots said that arrival weight is an important criteria when deciding whether to treat a group of cattle with an injectable antimicrobial.