4-24 IAN Fewer Antibiotics

Those of you who listen to my reports know that I am often opposed to federal agencies stepping in and dictating what farmers and ranchers can and cannot do with their agricultural operations. That said, it has long been in the press and is well-known that there is great potential for a superbug to evolve because antibiotics are overprescribed by all kinds of physicians and veterinarians. Well, I’m happy to see that the Food and Drug Administration has issued a guidance document that calls for a substantial reduction in antibiotics used in livestock in order to keep the drugs from becoming ineffective against human infections. Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom says producers will only be able to use antibiotics for health purposes and there will be a phase out process for other uses: “what we hear from FD a is anything that says improvement of growth or nutritional deficiency will be phased out over a three-year period and they will re-evaluate progress after 3 years and determine if they have to have even further regulations.”

The only downside is that Dr. Wagstrom says what the guidance ruling means is more costs for producers and consumers…but...