In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), in conjunction with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will launch "Antimicrobial Use on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017," a new national study focusing on how antimicrobials are used on U.S. swine operations.

Also in May in conjunction with NASS, NAHMS will launch "Antimicrobial Use on U.S. Feedlots, 2017," a new national study focusing on antimicrobial use and stewardship practices on feedlots with a capacity of at least 50 head.

The studies represent a new data collection and reporting effort for NAHMS — an effort that was first proposed in USDA’s "Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan" released in 2015, the announcement said. This plan specifically called for enhanced monitoring of antimicrobial use in food-producing animals. These activities will add to the understanding of antimicrobial use and stewardship in veterinary medicine and animal agriculture.

Swine study

In particular, the swine study will examine antimicrobial use and stewardship practices on swine nursery and grower-finisher facilities with a capacity of at least 1,000 pigs.

NAHMS said the objectives of the swine study are to:

* Describe antimicrobial use practices in feed and water on production sites with a capacity of at least 1,000 weaned market pigs;

* Estimate the percentage of production sites using and the percentage of weaned market pigs receiving specific antimicrobials in feed and/or water by reasons for use;

* Provide baseline data on antimicrobial use practices in place before implementation of Food & Drug Administration policy changes, with the baseline to be used to evaluate trends over time, and

* Describe antimicrobial stewardship practices on production sites with weaned market pigs.

In May, representatives from NASS will contact swine operations to inquire about their interest in participating in the study and to obtain producers’ consent for study participation. Beginning in July, swine producers who agreed to participate in the study will be contacted to schedule an in-person interview conducted by a veterinarian.

Feedlot study

NAHMS said the objectives of the feedlot study are to:

* Describe antimicrobial use practices in feed and water on feedlots with a capacity of at least 50 head;

* Estimate the percentage of feedlots administering and the percentage of cattle receiving specific antimicrobials in feed and water by reasons for use;

* Provide baseline data on antimicrobial use practices in place prior to implementation of FDA policy changes, with the baseline to be used to evaluate trends over time, and

* Describe antimicrobial stewardship practices on U.S. feedlots.

In May, representatives from NASS will contact feedlots to inquire about their interest in participating in the study and to obtain producers’ consent for participation. Beginning in July, feedlot operators who agreed to participate in the study will be contacted to schedule an in-person interview conducted by a veterinarian.

NAHMS is a statistical unit under the Confidential Information Protection & Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA). All information acquired during either study will be used for statistical purposes only and will be treated as confidential, in accordance with CIPSEA guidelines. Only summary estimates based on the inference populations will be reported. Data collected under CIPSEA are protected from Freedom of Information requests.