"Why Proper Handling of Veterinary Drugs is a Good Investment" will be discussed as part of the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2018 (14-15 November).

Dr Judy Hodge, a Swine Health Professionals vet, says it's important to know what products you have on hand, and to rotate products so that they don't expire.

Dr Hodge explains:

"The volume of products that a producer would keep on-hand varies with the storage space that they have, their herd size and how accessible veterinary drugs are.

"Health challenges on a farm will vary and it can be hard to plan for that so if you're ordering vaccines, you can normally do that based on the number of animals in the herd.

"This said, you don't always know which of your animals are going to get sick or if they're going to get sick at all, and it may be very specific vaccines or antibiotics that you require to treat the illness.

"Limitations on how long products can be kept is mostly due to the expiry dates of the products themselves so if you stock up with too many drugs, they may expire before you have chance to use them. Equally, if you're not rotating your drugs, you may forget that you've got some in the back of the cupboard and that’s more money and drugs wasted.

"It is also important to note that some drugs will expire within one to two weeks once opened.

"We suggest keeping an inventory of the drugs kept in your fridge so you can see when you're starting to run low on something.

"It is also important to regularly clean your medication fridge or cupboard so that you're aware of what's in there and nothing gets forgotten."

Dr Hodge notes storage needs can be very specific. For example, she says, vaccines need to be kept in a fridge but them temperature in a fridge can vary so if you keep them in the wrong part of the fridge they might freeze or they might get too warm.

Source Farmscape.Ca