Farmscape for June 9, 2016

The Vice President Science and technology with the National Pork Board says pork producers should already be preparing for pending changes in how they'll be allowed to use antibiotics.
Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines, due to take effect at the end of 2016, pork producers will no longer be allowed to use for growth promotion antibiotics considered important in human medicine and antibiotics used to prevent, control or treat disease with require a VFD, similar to a prescription, issued by a veterinarian.
Dr. Dave Pyburn, the Vice President Science and Technology with the National Pork Board, says the biggest change for producers will be arranging veterinary oversight and the record keeping.

Clip-Dr. Dave Pyburn-National Pork Board:
A key challenge for producers is going to be they need to plan ahead.
They really need to have already started planning.
If they don't have a relationship with their veterinarian they're going to need to establish that relationship with their veterinarian.
I would advise producers too to be speaking with their feed mill suppliers.
Make sure their feed mills understand what's happening with the Veterinary Feed Directive, the VFD, so that those feed mills are also prepared because in the end the VFD records, prescription records, for the feed grade antibiotics are going to have to be held by that producer, his veterinarian as well as the feed mill so they all need to be prepared together.
That really needs to have already started and if hasn't producers need to get on it now.
January 1, 2017 is a very real date.
That is the date when all of this changes over.
That's when the FDA guidance's go into place.
That is the day when those labels will be changed on those feed grade antibiotics.
To be able to feed human medically important antibiotics for treatment, control or prevention of disease to their pigs, starting right away on January 1 they're going to need to have those VFDs in place.

Dr. Pyburn notes additional information is available at pork.org.
He says by going through that information and speaking with their veterinarian and their feed mill they can be ready for January 1, 2017.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork