Antimicrobial Use in Farming Is Rising Again - Why Early Detection Matters
The latest 2024 FDA Summary Report shows that sales of medically important antimicrobials for food-producing animals increased by 16% between 2023 and 2024, marking the first major rise since 2017. While still below the 2015 peak, this reversal signals renewed disease pressure on farms and a growing challenge for antimicrobial stewardship (FDA, 2025).
Canadian data paints a similar picture. National reports show that antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock has plateaued rather than declined, and medically important antimicrobials remain widely used in food-animal production. Together, these trends highlight that progress on reducing AMU in agriculture has stalled.
At the same time, the scientific evidence is clear: antimicrobial use anywhere is a primary driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (CAHS, 2025).
The Science Behind Antimicrobial Use on Farms
Antimicrobials are used on farms to treat sick animals, prevent outbreaks, and in some regions, support production. But every time these drugs are used, they create selection pressure — killing susceptible bacteria while allowing resistant ones to survive and expand.
The scientific literature is unequivocal: Antimicrobial use is the main driver of antimicrobial resistance in animals, humans, and the environment (Adrakani et al., 2023)
In farm environments:
Resistant bacteria can emerge in the gut, skin, manure, soil, or water systems.
Bacteria share resistance genes with each other through horizontal gene transfer, even across species.
Manure, wastewater, feed water lines, and barn environments become reservoirs where resistance can evolve and persist.
As the paper explains, farms act as “microbial mixing bowls,” where resistance genes can spread rapidly in response to antimicrobial exposure (Adrakani et al., 2023).
Why Farm Antimicrobial Use Matters to Human Health
The scientific consensus shows that resistant bacteria originating in farmed animals can reach humans through several pathways:
Contaminated food
Water systems and runoff
Environmental spread (soil, dust, aerosols)
Direct contact with animals or manure
These pathways are well-established biologically and documented in surveillance data (Adrakani et al., 2023).
The paper emphasizes two important points:
Animal-to-human AMR transmission is real and supported by multiple lines of evidence.
As global AMU rises, the contribution of animal agriculture to human AMR risk will increase unless better prevention tools are deployed.
Because resistance genes can move easily between bacterial species, resistant bacteria originating in a farm can ultimately transfer their genes into pathogens that infect people. This is why both Canada and the U.S. identify AMU reduction in agriculture as an essential part of AMR mitigation.
Why Early Detection Still Matters
Even if the Kraken detects a pathogen after the first infection has occurred, it’s still early enough to prevent an outbreak. Diseases spread long before animals show symptoms, meaning farms usually don’t realize something is wrong until many animals are already exposed.
The KRAKEN monitors water, waste, and environmental systems continuously, catching pathogens far earlier than visual observation ever could. This early signal lets farms act quickly — isolating affected groups, treating only exposed animals, and adjusting management practices before disease spreads through entire barns.
So while the very first case may still need treatment, early detection prevents dozens or hundreds more. That means fewer animals need antimicrobials, shorter treatments, and significantly lower pressure for antimicrobial resistance to develop.
In short: early detection doesn’t stop the first case — it stops the outbreak.
A New Approach to AMR: Detect Early, Act Early
Taken together, the evidence is clear:
Antimicrobial use in agriculture is rising or plateauing, not falling.
AMU drives AMR; in animals, people, and the environment.
Farm-derived resistant bacteria can and do reach humans.
Outbreaks that go undetected trigger the heaviest antimicrobial use.
Early detection systems like the Kraken offer a practical, scalable way to intervene much sooner.
The goal isn’t to eliminate antimicrobial use entirely, it is to prevent small infections from becoming widespread, drug-driving outbreaks.
Early detection gives farms the chance to use fewer antimicrobials, more precisely, at the right moment — protecting animals, farmers, and the public from the accelerating threat of antimicrobial resistance.
