Practices to reduce antimicrobial use on pig farms U.S. 2016

There are several methods that U.S. pig farmers have suggested to help eliminate antimicrobial use and reduce disease among pig herds in the U.S. As of 2016, about 97.8 percent of pig farmers suggested that adjusting pig diets to meet nutritional needs at specific ages was very important in reducing antimicrobial usage and reducing disease. Comparatively, just 10.7 percent of farmers thought that using antimicrobial alternatives (probiotics, prebiotics, etc.) would be useful in reducing antimicrobial use and disease among pig herds.

Percentage of U.S. pig farms that felt select practices were important for reducing antimicrobial usage and disease among swine herds as of 2016, by importance

Characteristic	Not	Somewhat	Very
Adjust diet to meet the nutritional needs of pigs at a particular age	0%	2.2%	97.8%
Implement a vaccination plan for disease prevention	0%	2.2%	97.8%
All-in/all-out management of pigs at the room, barn, or site level	1.8%	3.5%	94.7%
Implement a site biosecurity plan for employees and visitors	1.1%	6.7%	92.2%
Facility management adjustments (e.g., adding ventilation systems or air filtering systems, etc.)	5.7%	12.3%	81.9%
Regular visits by herd health veterinarian	28.4%	24.4%	47.3%
Weaning pigs at older ages (e.g., 21 days or older)	20.6%	48.2%	31.3%
Use antimicrobial alternatives (e.g., probiotics, prebiotics, etc.)	20.6%	68.7%	10.7%
Other	71.9%	19%	9.1%