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Medications

Farmers use animal health and other regulated products to treat animals that are ill or to enhance the efficiency of livestock and poultry production. Farmers consult veterinarians in cases of disease outbreak and in developing herd health programs. This allows farmers to provide the public with safe food at reasonable prices. Most farmers use these products responsibly and are committed to providing consumers with safe, wholesome food.
One only needs to have a prescription filled to realize how expensive medicine has become. And unlike many people, farm animals are not covered by a drug plan! The cost of animal health products is, in itself, a deterrent to indiscriminate and improper use by farmers.  But there are other factors to consider. 

First and foremost, medication is a poor substitute to proper management. Many health problems and production requirements can be more effectively met through sound husbandry practices, selective breeding; and proper nutrition. Just as many people are moving towards preventative medicine, so too is agriculture. As a result, less pharmaceuticals are used today than even 5 years ago, and as advances are made in veterinary science and animal husbandry, future requirements will continue to decline.

Secondly, animal health products have an important and much needed role to play in the production of wholesome, high quality meat, milk, and eggs. Much animal suffering and mortality has been made unnecessary and obsolete because of the existence of products to prevent and treat disease. In addition, much human suffering caused by transmittable diseases (i.e. TB, rabies, etc.) has also been eliminated or reduced. The responsible and appropriate use of these products is justified and warranted.

There are many checks and balances in place to ensure that the food we eat is safe. But the most important point of all to understand is the fact that when agricultural chemicals and medicines are used according to the instructions on the label, no residue violations should ever occur in milk, meat and eggs and there will be no detectable difference between food produced with or without these modern production aids.

Animal health products, as well as dosage rates and withdrawal periods are strictly licensed and regulated. All pharmaceuticals must undergo testing and approval by the federal government before they can be marketed. Regulations and guidelines regarding the on-farm use of these products, together with education programs by producer groups, government, manufacturers and extensions educators all contribute to responsible use of these products by food producers.

Most farm sectors are implementing quality assurance programs, which require farmers to follow prescribed herd health and management practices. Detailed record keeping, livestock medicine training, and feed and water testing are all part of these extensive programs designed to reduce the risk of food-borne diseases and chemical contaminations, originating from the farm.

Additional checks are in place in the way of government inspection of graded meat, eggs and milk, which help to further ensure that these food products meet government standards. Because these standards are among the most stringent in the world, consumer risk of pharmaceutical residues is minimal, and well below the risk posed by the diseases they are used to prevent.