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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Academic advocates user fees for agricultural antibiotics

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

University of Calgary economics professor Aidan Hollis sees user fees for the non-human use of antibiotics as a way to stop dangerous overuse.

Hollis and co-author Ziana Ahmed argue in a paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine that the "promiscuous" use of antibiotics is leading to antimicrobial resistance, which could seriously threaten human health.

Their research shows agriculture accounting for 80 per cent of annual antibiotic use in the United States. Hollis told The Poultry Site that many applications are "low-value" – designed to increase productivity, but resulting in marginal profits. "The real value of antibiotics is saving people from dying," Hollis says. "Everything else is trivial."

Rather than advocating an all-out ban on agricultural antibiotics, which would stress some farmers and drive up food prices, Hollis argues for a user fee that would deter indiscriminate use. BF

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Farms.com Breaking News

How will Carney work with Farmers?

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Prime Minister Carney has a mandate to lead the country, but the country is quite divided, and much of the agriculture industry feels alienated. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre have both pledged cooperation on key issues like U.S. tariffs. As the new... Read this article online

Sheep farmers win Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Sheep farmers and wool producers from Wallenstein, Ont. are Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025. “It’s great to be recognized by your peers in the industry with an award like that,” Ryan Schill told Farms.com. “When we started the sheep farm, there were people questioning us... Read this article online

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