Beef Cattle Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Toward On-Farm Biosecurity, Antimicrobial Use, and Antimicrobial Resistance in Illinois, United States of America

Background/Objectives: Understanding beef cattle farmers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices on infectious disease prevention, antimicrobial use, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is important to developing stewardship programs. Methods: A cross-sectional stratified mail or phone survey of beef cattle producers in Illinois was conducted between June and August 2022. Ordinal logistic regression models assessed the impact of having a biosecurity plan on beef cattle farmers’ familiarity with cattle diseases. Logistic regression models evaluated associations between antimicrobial treatment practices and the type of cattle operations. Results: A total of 514 producers responded to all or some of the questions. Only 45% of producers were familiar with AMR, and 11% were concerned about cattle infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Producers agreed or strongly agreed (64%) that inappropriate AMU contributes to the development of AMR. Most producers (70%) thought that antimicrobials were as effective in treating infectious diseases as 5 years ago. Only 50% of farms were visited by a veterinarian in the previous year and 35% had their biosecurity evaluated. Producers were more familiar with infectious diseases if their farm biosecurity was assessed. Treating respiratory infections was the most common reason for antimicrobial use. Compared to cow–calf farmers, whole-cycle farmers had a higher probability of having their farm’s biosecurity evaluated (OR = 1.66) and having a veterinarian visit in the previous year (OR = 2.16). Whole-cycle (OR = 3.92) and stocker/backgrounder (OR = 2.18) farmers had a higher probability of treating their cattle with antibiotics than cow–calf farmers. Conclusions: Antimicrobial stewardship and farm biosecurity programs are needed to raise awareness of disease prevention, AMU, and AMR among Illinois beef cattle producers.