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Changes coming in antibiotic use

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times praises drug companies and the livestock industry for their positive response to the FDA’s voluntary guidelines curbing overuse of agricultural antibiotics.

The Times calls it an “extraordinary achievement for the FDA” that 25 animal drug companies have agreed to new drug labels prohibiting the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in livestock.

Western Kentucky University animal scientist Dr. Nevil Speer tells Brownfield the new FDA guidelines will bring changes to the livestock industry.

“I don’t think there’s probably any denying that there’s going to be more oversight,” Speer says. “We’re going to have veterinarians more involved.  A lot of things that maybe we take for granted today is going to change.

“That’s probably true in everything we do—there’s going to be more regulation no matter what—but on the other hand, maybe that’s better that we’ll have a longer-term license to continue to operate.”

Speer was one of the presenters at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture conference in Omaha.

AUDIO: Nevil Speer (4:04 MP3)

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