The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin a four-month study in May on how antimicrobials are used in United States swine operations. National Pork Producers Council Chief Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom says her group hopes the study will show how producers are using antibiotics responsibly and how well they’re following the Veterinary Feed Directive rules.

She says having the government conduct the study should make the results more believable.

The National Animal Health Monitoring System along with the National Agricultural Statistics Service will collect the data and will focus on swine nursery and grower finisher facilities with a pig inventory of 1,000 or more. Wagstrom says the study will be done every year.

Wagstrom says this study will be valuable for all pork producers and encourages them to take part if they’re asked to.