Swine Care

 

Take Care. Use Antibiotics Responsibly™
This producer-directed program, which was launched in
early 2005, focuses on raising awareness and guiding
producers on the judicious and responsible use of
antibiotics.


The program consists of five Responsible Use
Principles and six Responsible Use Guidelines. The
Take Care program encourages producers to implement management practices that reduce the need for antibiotics, to have a valid veterinarian/client/patient
relationship to implement PQA guidelines and to use
antibiotics only when other management practices do
not, or will not, succeed in managing a correctly
diagnosed problem.

The program educates producers on existing regulations, and it also raises awareness of the public health concern regarding agricultural antibiotic use.

The Checkoff-funded Take Care program has the
support of veterinarians, the pharmaceutical industry
and other industry affiliates. It is an example of cooperation that demonstrates to the swine industry's
customers that the safety and wholesomeness of pork
products this industry supplies are of great concern to
producers.

Producers can receive Take Care materials by contacting the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800)
456-PORK.




 

Distance Learning
Pork Checkoff funds have been used to develop
Distance Learning courses for producers. The courses
are interactive and can be executed via the Internet
or compact discs.
Producers can choose among the following courses:

• Farrowing Management

• Husbandry and Stockmanship

• Swine Welfare Assurance Program (SWAP)

• Grower-Finisher Management

• Effective Handling of Pigs

• On-Farm Euthanasia of Swine

• Breeding and Gestation Management

• Segregated Early Weaning

• Pork Quality Assurance

The courses can be used as training materials for those with little or no experience and as refresher courses for experienced producers. The format is user-friendly so that little computer experience is required. The combination of audio and visual aids facilitates the learning process. Additional courses are being developed.

Distance Learning CDs can be ordered via the Pork Checkoff’s Web site at pork.org, or by calling the Checkoff’s Service Center at (800) 456-PORK.