Ceva Swine U.S. Launch & Scientific Symposium recently featured a panel discussion entitled “Swine Industry Expectations, Innovations & Transformations.” Chuck Zimmerman caught up with a few of the panelists and got their take on solutions for antibiotic use.
Bob Ruth is President of Country View Family Farms, a supplier for Hatfield Quality Meats. The company harvests about 10,000 hogs a day, some of which are produced and marketed as antibiotic free. Ruth is pleased with the approach Ceva is taking in looking for solutions outside of antibiotics to overcome problems faced by consumers.
“About 30 percent of our production right now is marketed as antibiotic free, and that’s a growing market.” Ruth says. “It’s in high demand right now. So it would always be good to be able to increase that flow. That’s the biggest thing we’re working on right now.”
Panelist Jan Hueber had a little more to add about the fast-growing antibiotic movement. “I think the conversations about antibiotic free… should be science-based. I think both the production community and the veterinary community need to educate and have those conversations with the buyer to make sure they understand why they are buying it and how that affects the cost of their product and production system,” Hueber tells Agwired. Communication with all areas of the food chain is key, he notes.
Hueber is the general manager and co-owner at Great Plains Management, a company that helps family farms when they expand enough they need to outsource aspects of business to allow them to focus on production. He says the larger toolbox of treatment options will be helpful to everyone in the industry and more competition is welcome.
Learn more about the antibiotic issue as well as many other issues in Chuck’s interviews.
Listen to the interview with Jan Hueber: Interview with Jan Hueber, Great Plains Management
Listen to the interview with Bob Ruth: Interview with Bob Ruth, Country View Family Farms
You can find lots of photos from the event here: Ceva U.S. Swine Launch Photo Album