Huge prospects for further use According to Andrei Subbotin, Bacillius F so far is poorly-studied by scientists and further examinations are needed to fully assess its potential benefits for use in feeding of agricultural animals. At the same time, there are a number of different areas, where Bacillius F can be applied. Subbotin is currently working on the development of immunomodulatory drugs, not only for agricultural animals, but also for some grain species. “These drugs can help plants overcome the stresses associated with the peculiarities of climate and ecology, so it will have a positive impact on productivity.” The laboratories of the Tyumen Scientific Center noted some positive results in experiments with heat-loving plants – such as corn. Scientific-innovative biotechnological centre ‘Crops’, in conjunction with the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Zauralye, already started to develop a number of immunomodulatory drugs which in the future may enable Russian companies to grow corn in parts of central Russia and Siberia where previously the harsh climate made the cultivation of such crops almost impossible. Scientists believe that studies like these can bring huge benefits to the country’s feed industry. The new findings are very important for the future of Russia’s livestock industry, which faces a threat of microbial resistance and appearance of super bugs due to large scale use of antibiotics. Numerous reports show that due to the lack of control on the Russian market, the rate of the use of feed antibiotics in Russia is exceeding the average European usage by 15-40%, depending on regions and farms. Russian authorities have started to take steps to deal with the problem. The State Duma (Low chamber of Parliament) is currently considering a law which will exclude antibiotics from the list of OTC drugs. Also, the Russian government has been working on the improvement of the veterinary control system on the domestic market to decrease the use of feed antibiotics. Experts believe that Russian veterinary bodies have not succeeded in this area thus far. WP