Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017

The USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System’s (NAHMS) Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017 study represents the Nation’s first in-depth look at antimicrobial use and stewardship practices on U.S. swine sites. The study was designed to collect information about antimicrobial use and stewardship practices on U.S. swine sites from July 1 through December 31, 2016—before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented antimicrobial use policy changes on January 1, 2017. The FDA changes included eliminating the use of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion purposes in food animals and requiring veterinary oversight for the use of medically important antimicrobials in animal feed or water.
Data for the study were collected from swine sites with at least 1,000 market pigs on December 1, 2016. In total, producers from 199 swine sites provided data for this report.