If biosecurity plans were easy to develop, perhaps most U.S. beef producers would have done one long before now, but there is no easy button for such a plan, and the task can be daunting.
The best strategy to get started is to tackle the challenge like you would eat an elephant, says Lisa Pederson, Extension beef quality specialist with North Dakota State University (NDSU) and North Dakota beef quality assurance (BQA) coordinator. How do you do that?
“One bite at a time,” she says.
Pederson addressed how to develop a practical biosecurity plan in a recent webinar, “Building A Resilient Cowherd,” which was sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). The webinar also featured Dr. Julia Herman, NCBA beef cattle specialist veterinarian, and Casey Fanta, seedstock manager for Wulf Cattle, based in Morris, Minn.
Prevention Beats A Cure
Biosecurity is the cheapest and most effective means of disease prevention, according to Pederson. She points out that trichomoniasis is a good example of a disease where biosecurity is the most important preventive measure.
Herman shares three benefits of biosecurity: 1. Fewer disease challenges mean better animal health. 2. A decreased germ load also results in better animal health. 3. Better animal health means improved potential for economic gains.
Financial implications
Pederson says producers who might have balked in the past about developing a biosecurity plan are more interested today, because of the economic value of cattle.
“Bred cows, four to five years of age, are selling for $2,500 to $3,000 each and maybe more,” Pederson notes. “Bred heifers have pretty easily been selling here in the North for $3,000 to $3,500. All weights of feeder cattle have been selling for $2,000 to $3,000 each. Finished cattle are selling for well over $3,000 a head.”
Fanta says good vaccination and nutritional programs have been foundational to the enduring success Wulf Cattle has experienced in the beef industry.
“Whatever your program is, I feel it’s very important to have protocols in place, a system for the health and well-being of those cattle from the time that they’re born,” Fanta explains. “It all equates to the long-term health and success of your operation.”
Increased risk potential from foreign disease entering the U.S. is another reason veterinarians and beef producers can benefit from developing biosecurity plans.
“The majority of producers have not dealt with a new, highly contagious disease,” Herman says.
The health risks to the beef industry, and the U.S. livestock industry overall, are real and concerning. One is the new world screwworm, which is currently advancing through Central America and into southern Mexico. NCBA has undertaken extensive education efforts with producers in recent months regarding this threat
Another concern, Herman references, is the potential for foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease to enter the U.S. FMD was first discovered in the U.S. in 1870 and eradicated in 1929. Herman says while FMD is not a human health or food safety threat, it would have a significant economic impact on the country’s livestock industry.
NCBA has worked with industry stakeholders on the Secure Beef Supply (SBS) Plan to help producers voluntarily prepare for FMD. If an outbreak does occur, Herman says having an enhanced biosecurity plan in place will help prevent exposing “naïve” cattle to the disease during an outbreak. More information from NCBA is available at Biosecurity Resources
More information specific for veterinarians is available from the American Association of Bovine Practitioners at aabp.org
Producers Need Help
Bovine veterinarians are in a position of trust and leadership to help beef producers understand the importance of a having biosecurity plan and how to create one. Pederson encourages producers routinely to work closely with their veterinary practitioner.
“A strong relationship means more than preg testing and Bangs vaccinating, and calling with calving problems,” Pederson says. “Strong relationship means you use veterinarians for their brains and disease knowledge. Engage them to help you identify biosecurity strengths and weaknesses of your operations.”
For producers who have not started developing a biosecurity plan, it’s a case of veterinarians helping them walk before they can run. Pederson references an elephant cartoon she once found online.
“I like to think about where you can take easy bites of the elephant to eat first,” she says. “Pretty soon, with one bite at a time, you can have that elephant eaten.”
With a biosecurity plan, the point is it can’t be developed all at once, but it can be accomplished one small step at a time when producers, especially with their veterinarian’s help, stick with it until it’s completed.
Five Easy Bites
Here are five factors that are important to consider in a basic biosecurity plan.
1. Help producers identify and develop their team of partners and advisers.
Sit down with producers and talk about the benefits of a biosecurity plan, advises Pederson. Discuss who would be good to include on their team, which might include veterinarians, key employees, nutritionists, Extension specialists, BQA state coordinators, state veterinarian and others.
2. Create a basic communications plan, one that will be straightforward to implement when a crisis does occur.
Help producers create the plan in advance of any crisis, emphasizes Herman.
“We really need to be prepared ahead of time,” she says.
Some of the topics to include in the plan and questions to answer are: Why is there a need to communicate? Who needs to be reached? How will the producer communicate and who with internally and externally? Who needs to know about the plan?
Make sure the plan is written down, so everyone is working off the same document. Also, help the producer decide if the plan needs to be posted in a break room, barn or other facility on the property for quick reference.
3. Address low-hanging fruit. Consider the biosecurity practices that can be adopted with some careful thought but little or limited expense.
The single most important one, Pederson says, is to have separate footwear and clothing for wearing on and off the farm/ranch.
Diseases and pests hitch rides on dirt, dust, manure, critters, shoes, clothes, vehicles and so much more. Remove manure, mud and other organic matter regularly and disinfect as well. As Pederson says: “You can’t disinfect a turd.”
4. Have a quarantine/isolation plan for new animals coming on the farm or ranch, whether purchased or acquired.
Isolate new cattle and other livestock for at least 21 days, ideally without the option for nose-to-nose contact. Do not allow for shared feed or water. The isolation can allow you and producers time for observation, testing, vaccination and revaccination, Pederson says.
There are many ways a disease can enter a farm, Herman adds. “Wildlife, rodents and birds are just a few examples,” she says. “That’s why an integrated pest management plan is important.”
5. Help producers adopt good record-keeping practices, if they haven’t done so already.
Pederson says items to keep track of include livestock purchases and sales, as well as livestock movements to exhibitions, rodeos and shows. Good records will be imperative to have should a novel disease outbreak occur, she adds.
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