Biosecurity Basics - Plan for the Future
Biosecurity refers to any preventative measures put in place to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases, pests or weeds.
As livestock producers it is essential that you have some procedures in place to minimise the risk of infectious diseases being introduced onto your property.
These can include:
Having a formal documented Farm Biosecurity Plan for each different property (PIC).
Ensure all livestock movements are recorded and health status is known.
Have measures in place for introduced livestock, such health inspections prior to entry, suitable quarantine paddocks and initial preventative practices such as a quarantine dench or footbath.
Have adequate fences to reduce strays entering your property, and if strays do enter your property have protocols for returning them which both you and your neighbours are aware of, as it goes both ways (just don’t throw them back over the fence).
Record all vehicle movements and if possible, have a designated washing station for contaminated vehicles.
For those considering putting a biosecurity plan in place, some of the main avenues for disease transmission to consider include visitors, stock carriers and feed suppliers, although there are also many more.
Any person visiting your property may be unintentionally carrying pest, weeds, or diseases, on their boots. Some ways around this are:
Have a dedicated area for visitors to report to and clean their boots and equipment when entering the property.
Limit the number of entry points on the farm so you know who is on your property.
Ensure that visitors vehicles are clean prior to entry.
Ensure staff are trained to identify basic clinical signs associated with disease or pest outbreaks.
If tourism is a part of your business, it is important to have clear signage of where tourists can and cannot go.
Watch this video below for more information on Farm Biosecurity Planning – Biosecurity Queensland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn87sBJioG4
Stock carriers come into contact with hundreds of animals a day and drive onto several property’s, all which have a varying level of disease risk. It is important to ensure if you are not carting your own stock, that the transport company you use has procedures in place to reduce the spread of disease, for examples through waste management. This could be done by regularly washing the trailers between loads.
Purchasing feed supplies or seed can also be an avenue for biosecurity concern, with the potential for contamination of weeds carried within the feed. Ways to reduce serious weed invasion is to source supplementary feed or seed from certified suppliers, where possible.
If you have not already implemented a Farm Biosecurity Plan, or feel it’s time to update your plan, please use the link below for a template from Integrity Systems.