The United States Department of Agriculture is launching a
study into how, and how much, antimicrobials are used on hog farms in 13
states.
The department’s National Animal Health
Monitoring System (NAHMS), along with the National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS), is conducting the study.
It will look closely into practices at
farms with more than 1,000 hogs.
The study is part of the department’s
Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan released in 2015.
It will look at antimicrobial use last
year, before the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of
medically-important antimicrobials as additives to feed and water.
The 13 states are Colorado, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
