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The pork industry tackles antibiotics

Consumers continue to have questions about antibiotic use in meat production and pork producers are working to answer those questions.

The director of Indiana Pork checkoff programs says the pork industry is doing its part to educate consumers on antibiotic use in hog barns.

Jeanette Merritt says pork producers continue to reduce antibiotic use, and when they do use antibiotics, it is done judiciously.

“Livestock farmers are not just going out and administering antibiotics to every animal on the farm at will,” she says. “We want consumers to understand that those antibiotics are expensive and we want to make sure that we’re taking care of those animals in the best way we can.”

Audio: Jeanette Merritt, Indiana Pork 

Joe Baldwin, a contract hog grower in eastern Indiana, says swine care and reducing antibiotics is on the mind of all producers.

“It’s very important,” he ways. “And we want to produce piglets economically so that we can get our product to the market.”

Merritt says often times consumers are overwhelmed with too much information from sources and Indiana Pork wants to make sure consumers understand the food supply is safe.

Merritt and Baldwin spoke to Brownfield during the Midwest Pork Conference.

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