Many patients have been prescribed penicillin, amoxicillin or Z-Pak and have been happy with the results. Antibiotics can be incredibly effective against bacterial infections. Until they're not. Those germs that the antibiotics are designed to kill can develop a way to outsmart the drugs.

Vermont State Epidemiologist for Infectious Disease Patsy Kelso and Dr. Kemper Alston, Professor of Medicine at UVM discuss the growing concern over antibiotic resistance, its consequences and what can be done to avoid it.

Post your questions or comments about antibiotic resistance here or email them to vermontedition@vpr.net.

Also on the program, after the droughts in the middle of the country this summer, the price of corn went way up. Most of that corn isn't used directly as food for people, but rather indirectly, as animal feed. Bob Parsons, an agricultural economist at the University of Vermont Extension, explains how the high price of corn and other goods on the commodities market might affect Vermont farmers.