Pork Farmers Gear Up for FDA Rule

DES MOINES (DTN) -- Pork industry leaders stressed Wednesday that they are prepared to educate farmers and make changes in production practices to deal with new FDA restrictions on antibiotic use for livestock growth.

The antibiotic rule handed down Tuesday by FDA was a hot topic Wednesday at early events surrounding the World Pork Expo.

Ron Prestage, a pork producer in the Carolinas and president of the National Pork Producers Council, was one of roughly 150 people who attended a White House meeting on Tuesday as the FDA directive was rolled out and the Obama administration sought to spotlight efforts to curb non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock.

"Antibiotics have been a very intense thing in the media for the past several months," Prestage said.

Prestage said the industry has recognized for a long time the need to protect the use of medically important antibiotics. He also said he was surprised that no one at the meeting Tuesday pushed for an all-out ban on antibiotics in the livestock industry. He was pleased USDA's chief veterinarian also stressed the need to use antibiotics in livestock production.

"No one ever really challenged the fact that we as ethical caretakers of the animals in our care have a moral obligation to treat animals if they are sick. The good news is there was no pushback on that. They all recognized the fact that antibiotics have got to be used to treat animals if they are ill."

The Food and Drug Administration finalized changes to the Veterinary Feed Directive on Tuesday as another strategy to reduce the use of medically important antibiotics in livestock raised for food. One FDA rule requires licensed veterinarians to oversee the use of such antibiotics in livestock feed. A related rule effectively prevents companies from marketing antibiotics to promote livestock growth. The FDA rules go into effect at the end of 2016.

Jennifer Koeman, chief veterinarian for the National Pork Board, stressed that antibiotics aren't going away but how producers use them will change. As many as 283 antibiotics now sold over the counter will effectively need veterinarian oversight for feed and will require a prescription to use in water. Koeman said producers need to take the time to sit down and discuss plans with their veterinarians.

"It's important to have a close working relationship with your veterinarian in order to use these products on the farm," Koeman said.

Once the FDA directives go into effect, labels for antibiotics will also change to restrict the use of those drugs for growth promotion. Koeman said that would effectively make it illegal for producers to ignore the directive and keep using antibiotics for that purpose. It also means FDA could check records on a farm for compliance.

"There is the ability to make sure they are in compliance," she said.

Some companies have already made changes in their feed and processes at their mills. Paul Cline, nutrition and research coordinator for Christensen Farms in Minnesota, said the farm is nearly compliant with the new FDA rules already.

"We have updated our processes so when the law goes into effect, we are ready for that," Cline said, noting Christensen Farms is not using antibiotics to help with weight gain and feed efficiency. "We have gone away from using growth promoters in our feed products for that reason."

Prestage criticized a push by some lawmakers for legislation for an outright ban on the use of key medical antibiotics in livestock production. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., has pushed such legislation for the last 15 years. Slaughter also wants more data collection on antibiotic use.

"Collecting data on the gross pounds of antibiotics used isn't meaningful," Prestage said. "If each farm, veterinarian or feed mill were required to report it, it would overwhelm FDA's ability to receive and analyze the data, and it would be time-consuming and costly for farmers, veterinarians and feed mills."

Prestage stressed that there still has been no proven link tying antibiotic use in animals with antibiotic resistance in humans. "That link has never been established scientifically," he said.

NPPC represents 68,000 producers, Prestage noted. Larger, vertically operated livestock operations such as his own that have veterinarians on staff are going to be more aware of the FDA directive than perhaps smaller, independent producers, he said. "It is a big challenge for us to make sure they are aware of what the changes in the law will require," Prestage said.

Liz Wagstrom, chief veterinarian at NPPC, said the livestock and poultry industries are working with FDA and USDA to look at how and why antibiotics are used as well as outcomes to help producers benchmark their use of antibiotics. It's a difficult task to develop accurate data while minimizing the expense for everyone involved.

The National Pork Board is going to take a lead in both educating producers and consumers about antibiotic use in livestock and the FDA changes. Chris Hodges, chief executive officer for the pork board, noted the pork checkoff has a history of work in antibiotics. The Pork Quality Assurance-plus program began in the late 1990s early on to deal with issues of antibiotic residues. The PQA-plus will continue to play a role in the industry's work on the FDA directives.

Hodges said the pork industry wants to assure consumers that farmers are responsible users of antibiotics. He also noted the key issue for the industry is to continue working on ways to protect the health of the hog herd.

"At the end of the day, that's what we are talking about," Hodges said. "The healthier the pigs are, the less antibiotics we use."

National Pork Board President Brad Greenway, a hog farmer from Mitchell, S.D., said producers who don't have a regular relationship with veterinarians need to begin developing that relationship.

Over the next year, the pork board will be revising its PQA program to add more emphasis to antibiotic stewardship. The pork board also approved a policy and position statement on antibiotic education, as well as investing another $1.4 million for research on antibiotic resistance.

Dale Norton, past president of the National Pork Board, operates both a sow and finishing farm near Bronson, Michigan. He said he already uses an antibiotic that requires a veterinary feed directive, so he's used to the process of working with his veterinarian on these products.

"We already know how to do that with our veterinarian; this will be a huge number more that we have to have VFDs (veterinary feed directives) for to use them," Norton said.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN

(AG)

Copyright 2015 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.