In favor of antibiotics for pigs

By CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/The Associated Press

December 30, 2009 | 12:01 a.m. CST

This July 9 photo shows Craig Rowles of Elite Pork Partnership standing with hogs in one of his confinement buildings in Carroll, Iowa. Rowles gives his pigs virginiamycin, which he says has been used for decades and is not absorbed by the gut of the pig. He withdraws the drug three weeks before his hogs are sent for slaughter. He also monitors his pigs for signs of drug resistance to ensure they are getting the most effective doses.