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Farm and Home Biosecurity
Livestock/Row Crop Producer
Arkansas Farm Biosecurity Plan
Minimum Biosecurity Measures
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Managing the Herd
•
Employees
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Environmental and Pest Control
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Cleaning and Disinfecting
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Chemicals and Equipment
•
Farm Security
Biosecurity Plan
A biosecurity plan has three major components. They are isolation, traffic
control and sanitation. When effectively managed, these components meet the
principle biosecurity objectives of preventing or minimizing cross-contamination
of body fluids (feces, urine, etc.) between animals, animals to feed and animals
to equipment.
Isolation prevents contact between animals within a controlled
environment. The most important step in disease control is to minimize
commingling and movement of livestock. This includes isolation of new purchases
for at least three weeks as well as commingling between established groups of
livestock. Always isolate sick livestock and return them to their original group
when they have recovered. Long-acting therapies have improved our ability to
minimize movement of infectious organisms between groups. An important
biosecurity action on livestock operations is to separate animals by age and/or
production groups. Facilities should be cleaned and disinfected appropriately
between groups.
Traffic control includes traffic and visitors onto your operation and
traffic patterns within your operation. It is important to understand that
traffic includes more than vehicles. All animals including dogs, cats, horses,
wildlife, rodents and birds and people must be considered. Without good traffic
control, disease can sneak in on anything from coveralls to tractor tires.
People spread contaminated material directly by boots, shoes, hands, and
clothing. Indirectly, shared hoof trimmers, truck tires, farm machinery, and
other equipment passing between farms, can transmit disease. The following are
some traffic guidelines:
- Limit visitors’ access to barns and lots,
posting a warning sign asking visitors to keep out
- Give instructions or a telephone number to call
instead of entering the operation
- Demand that visitors wear clean boots and
coveralls or to wear disposable boots and coveralls
- Have livestock and other sale animals picked up
without dealers or transporters entering the barn
- Keep a record of visitors.
Ideally, the inside of truck, trailer and wagon beds, the bottom surfaces of
vehicles and tires should be washed and disinfected prior to entering the
operation. An alternative method to minimize contact is to locate a set of
holding pens away from the main housing areas and use them as a transfer station
to keep outside vehicles off the operation.
Traffic control within the operation should be designed to stop or minimize
contamination of livestock, feed, feed handling equipment and equipment used on
livestock. Vehicles and employees should not travel from dead animal burial
areas without cleaning and disinfecting. The dead animal should be placed in a
location that allows rendering trucks access without cross-contaminating healthy
livestock. Composting of dead animals may be an option for many producers.
Sanitation is the third component to a biosecurity plan. Beware of using
instruments and equipment on healthy animals following their use on sick or
infected animals. Avoid using common syringes and needles for vaccination, blood
testing or administering animal health product. Isolate sick animals, especially
animals with unfamiliar symptoms or those that do not get better with the usual
treatment. Be aware when working sick animals and try to move only from healthy
to sick animals during the day, not vice-versa.
Rodents and other wildlife are capable of carrying diseases within a herd.
Rodents can spread or accelerate the spread of established diseases from
contaminated areas to uncontaminated areas via their droppings, feet, fur,
urine, saliva or blood. Clean up, mow, seal openings in buildings and bait to
hold down their population. Deer-proof fences might be necessary in certain
situations.
Minimum Biosecurity Measures
- Visitors should avoid livestock areas, pens and
barn unless it is necessary
- Designate a parking location for vehicles at the
visitor receiving area. The location should be a paved or concrete area away
from the animal housing areas and production sites on farm to avoid contact
with dirt, mud or manure. If this is not possible, be certain that tires are
free of dirt and debris by hosing the tires and wheel wells before leaving the
premises. If this does not clean the tires adequately, take the vehicle to a
pressure car wash.
- Wash hands with soap and water or an antibacterial
gel before entering and after leaving the premises to avoid transmitting
disease agents from person to person
- Certain clothing should be specially designated
for working with livestock
- Change clothing before visiting other livestock at
different locations and when returning from other livestock at different
locations.
Managing the Herd
- New additions to the herd
- Purchase animals from healthy and reputable
sources
- Apparently healthy animals could be incubating
diseases or could be disease carriers
- Physically inspect all new animals
- Test for diseases of concern
- Try to vaccinate before the stress of transport
- • Quarantine new animals for 3 weeks
- Ideally, there should be a separate housing
facility to accept and isolate new animals for a specified period depending on
the diseases of concern.
- Isolate all sick animals
- Keep records of all disease occurrences
- Treat animals returning from the sick pen as if they are new
additions
- Keep feed and water supplies clean
- Minimize contact between different age groups
- Minimize fence line contact with neighboring
animals
- Use appropriate vaccine handling and
administration techniques
- Blood-borne diseases prevention
- Use disposable equipment
- Disinfect reusable equipment
- Work with your veterinarian to develop a
protocol for introducing new animals into the herd. Consider the health status
of the herd of origin, test results for specific pathogens, vaccination
programs and quarantine protocols before bringing any new animals onto your
farm.
Employees
- Be sure all employees understand and follow the
biosecurity protocol
- Realize that employee-owned animals can be a
possible source of contamination to your facility
- Certain clothing should be specially designated
for working with livestock
- Change clothing before visiting other livestock at
different locations and when returning from other livestock at different
locations.
Environmental and Pest Control
- Control wildlife (birds, deer, coyotes, dogs,
cats, etc.)
- Have a rodent control program in practice
- Have an insect control program in practice
(insects can be vectors for diseases such as anaplasmosis and bluetongue)
- Mechanically transport infectious organisms
(shoes, clothing, feeding equipment, trailers, etc.)
- • Wash livestock trailers
- Restrict access of people
- Provide boot and hand washing facilities
- Remove manure contamination
Cleaning and Disinfecting
- Clean and remove as much organic material as
possible, before disinfecting
- Choose a disinfectant that will work against the
pathogen you are trying to control
- Be aware of any toxic, harmful or corrosive
effects of the disinfectant
- Follow the label on the disinfectant package
Chemicals and Equipment
- Read and follow pesticide labels
- Report any vandalism
- Buy only the amount of pesticides, animal health
product, etc., you need at the time.
- Keep an inventory list (product name, date of
purchase, quantity, etc.) of all chemicals
- Inspect storage areas regularly (including feed
room)
- Keep storage areas locked and equipment locked up
(pesticide application equipment, trucks, tractors, etc.)
Farm Security
- Be aware of potential for siphoning or stealing
from bulk tanks
- Watch for unusual or suspicious behavior:
- Persons unfamiliar with details of using
agricultural equipment
- Persons acting nervous, uneasy or avoiding eye
contact
- Persons demanding immediate possession of
purchased materials and paying in cash
- Be aware who is around the farm (roads, driving
by, etc.)
- Promptly report any thefts of pesticides or
equipment and any suspicious behavior to your local law enforcement agency
Pay attention to what you are doing and to what is going on
around you!
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