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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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Survey: 95% of Pork Producers Complying with Antibiotic Rules
USAgNet - 01/17/2017
U.S. pig farmers are not only well aware of new federal rules for on-farm antibiotic use, but already are complying. In a survey conducted by the National Pork Board in November, 95 percent of pig farmers surveyed said that they were ready to be fully
compliant by the time the rules took effect on Jan. 1, 2017.
"The pork industry worked toward the Jan. 1 implementation date for nearly two years. There was a concern that some producers would not make changes until after the date of implementation, but that does not seem to be the case," said Jan Archer, National
Pork Board president and a pig farmer from Goldsboro, North Carolina. "Pig farmers are committed to the substantive changes regarding antibiotic use, and many discontinued using antibiotics for growth promotion years ago, while also reviewing swine medical
treatment uses of antibiotics as well."
One of the key changes to the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules is that medically important antibiotics could no longer be used for growth promotion. Today, human medically important antibiotics can only be used to treat sick animals or to
prevent disease and/or control it.
Archer added that a key hurdle in complying with new FDA rules is ensuring that every pig farmer has a defined and ongoing client relationship with a veterinarian. That can be a challenge in remote areas of the country where the nearest veterinarian could be
hundreds of miles away. Last month the Pork Checkoff announced a partnership with Global Vetlink of Ames, Iowa, to offer a veterinarian locator tool, which is available at pork.org/antibiotics.
"Complying with the new rules is critical to maintaining consumer trust in the high quality and safety of pork produced in the U.S.," Archer said. "The two key elements are having an established veterinarian-client-patient relationship and ensuring that antibiotics
are administered under the guidance of a veterinarian. To do so without veterinarian oversight is now illegal."
In addition to information about antibiotic use changes, the National Pork Board's annual November survey was designed to take the pulse of U.S. pork production. The survey showed that for the seventh consecutive year, pork producer support for the Pork
Checkoff increased and is now at a record 91 percent - up 1 percent from the 2015 survey. Meanwhile, opposition to the Checkoff remains at a record low 4 percent. These results are the most positive in the history of the survey.
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