According to the National Pork Board, effective biosecurity doesn't have to be difficult or expensive.
“There are many simple things you can do to protect your herd’s health,” said Patrick Webb, director of swine health programs for the National Pork Board. He provided the following suggestions:
- Conduct a biosecurity audit with input from your veterinarian.
- Use proper signage at your farm, identifying disease control areas, visitor areas and parking.
- Use a visitor log book to record every non-employee who comes through your doors — even regular service providers.
- Require appropriate downtimes (these can be established by your veterinarian) for visitors with previous swine contact.
- Require employees and visitors to wear clean coveralls and boots; provide small, medium and large sizes of each.
- Limit the sharing of equipment to reduce the potential spread of diseases.
- Establish a plan for bringing new animals onto your farm that includes a mandatory quarantine period.
- Change boots and coveralls after visiting animal concentration points, with special care taken after visiting sale barns or buying stations.
- Maintain animal movement records — both incoming and outgoing — and keep detailed information of buyers, sellers and the animals themselves.
“Preventing the introduction of swine disease is an ongoing challenge, but good biosecurity goes a long ways towards controlling serious animal health problems,” said Webb.
