Biosecurity is an important part of any farming operation with ranchers having to take special care for their own farm systems.
That can include managing disease risks wherever they pop up, including from outside sources.
Chelsea Siemens, a livestock and feed extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, talks about what biosecurity looks like on farms.
"Biosecurity is really any practice designed to prevent or reduce the introduction and spread of disease for livestock producers. It doesn't have to be complicated. There are some simple steps you can take to help protect your own animals and the animals of other producers."
Firstly a biosecurity plan should be drafted with some professional help.
"I'd say the first step is to work with your veterinarian to make sure you have a herd health plan, including which vaccinations you should give and when and how they should be administered. That way when you purchase new animals, you can determine their vaccination status so you know whether the new animals need additional vaccines before joining your herd."
When a new animal joins an operation, any farm operator should take a look at a few different aspects of biosecurity.
"The first step is really to evaluate the risk levels," said Siemens, "So where did those animals come from? Are they from a single source with a stringent herd health program, or did they come from multiple sources where you really don't know the vaccination history or the health status?"
"After that, you can consider segregating new animals away from the rest of your herd for up to three weeks. That gives you time to monitor for any symptoms and diagnose them and treat them if necessary. They can also be vaccinated during that time, according to your herd health plan, allowing them enough time to develop an immune response before being introduced into the herd. That strategy protects both your existing herd as well as the new animals."
Biosecurity is also important for people, as visitors could bring in sickness.
"There are lots of times throughout the year where we might have people coming onto the operation and footwear, vehicles, and clothing have the potential to spread pathogens from one farm to another. If you do have visitors, they should park in an area that livestock don't have access to and shouldn't walk through pens or feed storage areas unless it's necessary."
"If visitors do have to enter your pens, consider providing footwear or book covers so that pathogens are not introduced to your farm and are not transported back to the visitor's operation," said Siemens, "If there's any visible manure or bedding on your footwear, they should be removed before they're disinfected."
"Other times on your farm, think about situations where pathogens can be transmitted from one animal to another, so cleaning and disinfecting items like bottles, tube feeders between each use, and ensuring that your own hands, boots, and clothing are clean after dealing with sick animals is important. It's also important that everyone working on or visiting your farm knows the code and is committed to following the same standard."
Record-keeping is another important component with that information often being necessary to avoid outbreaks.
Siemens stresses that biosecurity plans are often not one-size-fits-all.
"Not all biosecurity procedures are feasible on all operations. However, it makes sense to create a plan and commit to the action that will help protect your livestock, your neighbors, livestock, and the wider industry. Often the time and expense associated with implementing these procedures are very small compared to the potential impacts of these."