Page 14 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Producers urged to reconsider animal health management
AN innovative pig- gery in Young, NSW has proven successful in reducing the use of antibiotics with- out compromising the health and productivity of its stock.
Australia’s Chief Vet- erinary Officer Dr Mark Schipp visited the large 2000-sow farm recently as part of activities to mark Antibiotic Aware- ness Week and said the piggery is leading the way for other producers.
“It’s common know- ledge that excessive use of antibiotic treatment can lead to strains of bacteria emerging that don’t respond to current
antibiotic treatment – this is known as anti- microbial resistance,” Dr Schipp said.
“Antimicrobial resist- ance is recognised as a growing threat to human and animal health on a global scale, and by creating awareness, we are mitigating this threat to animal welfare, bio- security and production.
“While Australia has among the lowest lev- els of antibiotic use in animals, some use is required to maintain health and welfare, which means the threat of an antibiotic-resistant bacteria emerging is very real.
“In Australia, both the human and animal health sectors are col- laborating with the food and agricultural indus- tries to develop a combat plan in case antimicro- bial-resistant bacteria emerges.
“The Young piggery I visited has implemented a common-sense ap- proach to managing ani- mal health by providing adequate nutrition, abid- ing by strict biosecurity measures and using vac- cines to control infec- tious diseases in live- stock production.
“This piggery’s man- agement model has been duplicated in other parts
of the world, which dem- onstrates that Australia is a world leader in de- veloping innovative and practical animal man- agement strategies.”
All livestock farmers and animal health pro- fessionals including vet- erinarians are part of the solution in tackling antimicrobial resistance by reducing the need for, and use of, antibiotics.
Further information about Antibiotic Aware- ness Week can be found at safetyandquality.gov. au/our-work/healthcare- associated-infection/an timicrobial-stewardship/ antibiotic-awareness- week
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Support for the
next generation
of grain leaders
THE Australian grains industry is set to benefit from the Government’s $5 million Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund.
Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Anne Ruston said Grain Pro- ducers Australia Limited would receive $270,000 from the fund to boost leadership capacity and support the development of industry leaders into the future.
“The Government be- lieves in and supports agriculture as one of the powerhouses driving the Australian economy and is investing in the next generation of leaders in the grains industry to help drive the industry for- ward,” Minister Ruston said.
“This funding will help develop and expand lead- ership capacity and ex- pertise across the grains industry nationally, ensur- ing there are strategies and leaders to drive the industry to meet its future goals.
“Through the Leader- ship in Agricultural In- dustries Fund, Grain Pro- ducers Australia will re- ceive support to develop a leadership development strategy and deliver a tar- geted training program for up to 32 emerging leaders.
“This is an important in- vestment in future leaders and will ensure ongoing support for farmers that produced over $18 billion worth of grain crops in 2016-17 (including cere- als, pulses and oilseeds) and over $14.5 billion worth of exports.
“The Government rec- ognises that leadership is critical to agriculture remaining one of the pillars of our national economy.
“This funding will have a lasting impact on the grains industry – support- ing the current and next generation of leaders to champion their industry’s priorities and provide ro- bust oversight of research and development initia- tives to growers and in- dustry.”
Page 14 – Australian Pork Newspaper, December 2017
www.porknews.com.au