Exciting news here! We have secured new funding for a five-year second phase of AMAST. AMAST Phase 2, Cultivating mindsets and practices for antimicrobial stewardship in agrifood systems, will take the priorities identified so far and turn them into practical approaches that can be developed and tested on farms across the UK.
AMAST is one of 18 research and innovation projects sharing £54 million from a joint UK government and UKRI investment in biosecurity, tackling threats such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), future epidemics and livestock disease. The investment is coordinated through UKRI, with co-funding from Defra, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Built on what the community told us
Since we launched in 2024, more than 250 members from farming, veterinary practice, industry, government and academia have joined conversations with us to discuss where progress on antimicrobial stewardship is still needed, and what is getting in the way.
Those conversations shaped shared priorities around animal health, antimicrobial use, diagnostics, data, behaviour and the environment, which are reflected in the phase 2 funded proposal.
UK agriculture has already made major progress in reducing antimicrobial use while protecting animal health and productivity. Phase 2 focuses on the harder challenges that remain, and on turning evidence and sector experience into approaches that work in everyday practice.
“The next gains will not come from simply telling farmers and vets to use less; they will come from solving the real problems that still drive antimicrobial use: disease pressure, availability of alternative medicines, diagnostic uncertainty, data gaps, economics and trust.” – Dr Matthew Gilmour, AMAST Director, Quadram Institute
Launching today: the UK Ruminant Antibiotic Stewardship Roadmap
One example of what the network can do is our work with the ruminant sector. Together with RCVS Knowledge, the Royal Veterinary College, the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) and the Sheep and Cattle Antibiotic Guardian Groups, AMAST brought farmers, vets and others together to co-develop a practical plan for improving how antibiotic use is recorded, monitored and shared across UK farms.
The resulting UK Ruminant Antibiotic Stewardship Roadmap is being launched today, 15 October 2026, at the BCVA Congress. Putting it into practice is one of the three core areas of Phase 2.
“We’re so pleased to be continuing the work with AMAST and others to deliver on the UK ruminant antibiotic stewardship roadmap. This collaboration has been vital in achieving what we have so far, and shows how much can be done when everyone involved is so invested in its success.” – Ashley Doorly, Head of Programmes, RCVS Knowledge
What Phase 2 will do
The programme is organised around three connected areas:
- Pigs. Working with farmers, vets and advisers on farms facing sustained disease and antimicrobial-use challenges. Using swine dysentery as a model, we will connect better diagnostics, biosecurity, farm management and decision-making.
- Ruminants. Putting the Roadmap into practice. Led by the Royal Veterinary College with RCVS Knowledge, Royal Holloway University of London and the Royal Agricultural University, this work will co-design trusted ways to collect and use antimicrobial-use data, so farmers and vets can understand their own use, benchmark progress and make informed stewardship decisions.
- Across agrifood. Identifying approaches that work across livestock, aquaculture, gamebirds and crops, and bringing international experience into UK stewardship.
Across all three, we will also look at the environmental side of AMR, including antimicrobial residues in manure, soil and water. Phase 2 will train a new generation of early-career researchers and set up an international expert panel to share UK learning globally.
“We need to understand the best balance of having healthy animals and good food, but also accepting that we need to use antimicrobials and their alternatives responsibly. This funding enables us to explore the realities of day-to-day decision-making.” – Dr K. Marie McIntyre, AMAST Co-Director, Newcastle University
Who is involved
AMAST is led by Dr Matthew Gilmour at the Quadram Institute, with co-directors Dr K. Marie McIntyre and Professor Alex Hughes at Newcastle University.
Phase 2 brings together 13 research organisations: CABI, Cranfield University, the James Hutton Institute, Newcastle University, the Quadram Institute, the Royal Agricultural University, Royal Holloway University of London, the Royal Veterinary College, Scotland’s Rural College, and the Universities of Cambridge, Leeds, Leicester and Stirling.
We are joined by partners from industry and government: RCVS Knowledge, AHDB, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the Food Standards Agency, RUMA, the Pig Veterinary Society, Arwain DGC, DAERA, the Game Farmers Association, the National Pig Association, Salmon Scotland, and the Sheep and Cattle Antibiotic Guardian Groups (SAGG and CAGG).