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VFD last “regulatory jump” for swine industry for awhile

A member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria says pork producers should not be concerned about any more regulations in addition to the Veterinary Feed Directive.

Dr. Mike Apley, a professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Kansas State University, tells Brownfield the swine industry was prepared for the new rules.

“I think (the VFD) is our big regulatory jump for a while.  And it’s been rougher on some species than others.  In swine, the VFD concept was well-established and was mostly just an expansion and working forward a little more.”

He says nothing more than minor additions to labels should be expected, and the VFD could prove a useful tool in understanding the cause and effect of antibiotic resistance.

“We’re probably going to look at some antibiotic-use monitoring.  One of the really good give-backs to producers involved with that will be the ability to be benchmarked confidentially against others and see where you are.  (That will) help us learn from people that aren’t having to use as many.”

He says the resistance issue is real, and the livestock industry is taking appropriate steps to address it.

Brownfield recently interviewed Apley at the Minnesota Pork Congress in Minneapolis.