Natural Livestock Farming (NLF) is the organization continuously engaged in knowledge exchange programs for reduced use of antibiotics and other chemicals in dairy farming. Dutch Farm Experience is one of the organizations spearheading the international NLF network, which strategically combines knowledge from the Netherlands, India, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Bangladesh has countless number of rural families and women that keep one or two cows each. They keep them in small sheds alongside the house, providing them with bits of grass and other green fodder that is locally available. Twice daily a milker will come to the home to milk the cows and bring it to a local shop to sell milk or make sweets out of it.

Main conclusion of the article: “The focus on crossbreeding and increasing the productivity of dairy cattle has, besides enhanced milk production, also lead to increased use of agro-chemicals, importantly antibiotics and anti-parasite drugs.

On June 13 a group of prize-winning farmers from Uganda visited two interesting Dutch farms. Aim of the visit:  to get to know the lessons learnt in Dutch farming not only in dairy, but also in poultry, pig and bee keeping, strawberry and horticulture production.

The Natural Livestock Farming 5-layer integrated strategy to reduce antibiotic use in dairy farming was welcomed as a new and innovative approach to improve food quality. Meanwhile, it became clear that, although nutrition and safe food are gaining importance on the WB agenda, the emphasis on residues in food is still very limited.

Dutch Farm Experience regularly receives requests from individuals who are seeking temporary (volunteer) work on a farm in the Netherlands. This can indeed be a very interesting experience!

This symposium will highlight the current state of knowledge on the use of herbal products, as well as other green solutions, to reduce antibiotic use in dairy farming in the Netherlands, India, Ethiopia and Uganda.

This Jun 2015, Evidence on Demand, an international development information hub supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), published a 44-page paper identifying key evidence gaps in our knowledge of livestock- and fisheries-linked antimicrobial resistance in the developing world and documenting on-going and planned research on this topic by key stakeholders.

Because of restrictions on the use of antibiotics, livestock farmers are increasingly resorting to herbal remedies, bacterial drinks and other natural products to make and keep their animals healthy. Although there might not always be hard medical evidence, farmers sometimes get spectacular results from natural remedies.