another broker valuation, page-4

stevo any chance of providing a weblink to this article?
What are your thoughts on imu at the moment?
i think they are holding up ok on light info flow.
will the flood gates open?
with antibiotics producing gains of only3 to 4% and imu's product upwards of 7.5% you would think poultry producers will embrace a product should it make it to the market place.




Identifying Alternatives to Antibiotics as Growth Promotants in Animal Agriculture


Marcia R. Hathaway
Department of Animal Science
University of Minnesota

For 50 years antibiotics have been used to improve growth performance of livestock species. Recently, however the American consumer has become worried about the potential health risks associated with the prolonged use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. There has been increasing pressure to eliminate the use of antibiotics as growth promotants in meat-producing animals since there is unequivocal evidence that the use of antibiotics increases the potential for the development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. The concern is that these resistant strains will develop and be transferred to humans either through the food supply or through direct contact with the animals. The mechanism by which antibiotics enhance growth has never been determined. This has fueled renewed interest in identifying viable alternatives to antibiotics as growth promotants. Ideally these alternatives would maintain production efficiencies and simultaneously allay public concerns by eliminating possible health .