Tracking antibiotic use on individual dairy cows

A System Approach to Animal-Level Antimicrobial Use Monitoring in Dairy Cattle

NIH-funded research Cornell University · NIH-11193515

This project builds a farmer-friendly system to track antibiotic use on individual dairy cows so we can better curb antibiotic resistance that affects animals and people.

Quick facts

Grant typeU01 cooperative agreement
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionCornell University NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Ithaca, United States)
Project IDNIH-11193515 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

The team will create a system that collects and quantifies antibiotic use at the individual-animal level on dairy farms, automating data entry and linking to on-farm records. They will design tools that give farmers actionable clinical and business insights, protect privacy, and lower the labor required to share data. The project will pilot participation strategies to make it worthwhile for herds to join and test privacy-preserving data sharing methods. Work is aimed at scaling the system across U.S. dairy farms to inform stewardship and One Health efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are U.S. dairy farmers and herd veterinarians willing to share animal-level treatment records and try on-farm data tools.

Not a fit: People without exposure to food-animal production and those with infections unrelated to agricultural antibiotic use may not see direct benefit.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could help lower antibiotic-resistant infections in people by improving how antibiotics are used in dairy production.

How similar studies have performed: Herd-level monitoring programs have shown benefits for stewardship, but a national, automated animal-level monitoring system that protects farmer privacy is largely novel.

Where this research is happening

Ithaca, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.