Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Florida received a $999,898 project grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310), effective March 1, 2026, with completion targeted for February 28, 2031. This five-year research project addresses metritis, a common post-calving uterine infection affecting approximately one in four dairy cows (2.3 million cows annually in the United States). The award funds the development of practical diagnostic tools to identify which infected cows will recover without antibiotic treatment, thereby reducing unnecessary use of ceftiofur—a critically important antibiotic for human medicine—and mitigating public health risks associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The project delivers multiple integrated products and services, including algorithmic prediction tools achieving 86% accuracy in identifying self-curing cases, tested on two large commercial dairy farms with over 800 cows. Key deliverables encompass prediction models for farms with and without automated monitoring devices to ensure broad applicability, economic impact analyses of treatment decisions, environmental microbiological studies on antibiotic resistance dispersal, and a free public online prediction tool with accompanying training workshops conducted in five states in English and Spanish. The research team established an advisory panel of dairy producers, veterinarians, and technology manufacturers to guide dissemination efforts and ensure widespread adoption across the dairy industry.