Learn to balance pig VFDs and milling sites
Pig and property ownership determines the requirements for manufacturing and using medicated feed products under the updated veterinary feed directive (VFD) rules. The type of medicated feed product triggers the need for specific forms and record keeping.
There are three types of VFD products:
- Type A: medicated article or drug
- Type B: medicated premix
- Type C: medicated feed
If you are a pork producer who owns a feed-manufacturing facility and makes feed for pigs that you own, you do not need a VFD to obtain a Type A medicated article containing a VFD medication. You can manufacture feed containing a VFD medication, just as long as you have a valid VFD before feeding the medicated feed to your pigs.
If you need to purchase a Type B medicated feed (VFD premix) to further manufacture feed or a Type C finished feed, you will need to have a VFD from a licensed veterinarian or provide the supplier of the Type B or C products with an acknowledgement letter (link to Diana’s article) indicating that you will not feed it to your pigs without a VFD.
Regardless of whether the VFD medication was obtained as a Type A article, a Type B premix or a Type C feed, a valid VFD is required to administer medicated feed containing a VFD drug to your pigs.
Manufacturing feed
If, as a pork producer, you’re manufacturing medicated feed solely for feeding it to your own pigs — even moving feed between sites — a single VFD will suffice. However, the VFD authorization must list all the locations or premises to which the feed will be delivered for use.
The exception to this ownership rule occurs when a large operation that has more than one feed-manufacturing site supplying feed to various locations or premises. Then you will need to have a separate VFD for each manufacturing site.
Keep in mind if you manufacture — and sell — medicated feed you are now a distributor and you will need a distributor letter.
Feed manufactured solely for the purpose of moving it from point A to point B — even across state lines — by the owner to feed to his own animals, will not need a distribution letter, according to William Flynn, DVM, MS, deputy director for science policy at FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.
By working closely with your veterinarian, he or she will be able to correctly write VFDs that contain the necessary information on number of pigs, drug products, manufacturing sites and feed locations, he told the VFD News Center.
Posted on March 2, 2017