scholarly journals On-farm biosecurity in livestock production: farmer behaviour, cultural identities and practices of care

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Maye ◽  
Kin Wing (Ray) Chan
Keyword(s):  
Science Studies ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Agricultural Commodity ◽  
Farmer Behaviour ◽  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
Farming Industry ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Psychosocial Models ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Definitions of biosecurity typically include generalised statements about how biosecurity risks on farms should be managed and contained. However, in reality, on-farm biosecurity practices are uneven and transfer differently between social groups, geographical scales and agricultural commodity chains. This paper reviews social science studies that examine on-farm biosecurity for animal health. We first review behavioural and psychosocial models of individual farmer behaviour/decisions. Behavioural approaches are prominent in biosecurity policy but have limitations because of a focus on individual farmer behaviour and intentions. We then review geographical and rural sociological work that emphasises social and cultural structures, contexts and norms that guide disease behaviour. Socio-cultural approaches have the capacity to extend the more commonly applied behavioural approaches and contribute to the better formulation of biosecurity policy and on-farm practice. This includes strengthening our understanding of ‘good farming' identity, tacit knowledge, farmer influence networks, and reformulating biosecurity as localised practices of care. Recognising on-farm biosecurity as practices of biosecure farming care offers a new way of engaging, motivating and encouraging farmers to manage and contain diseases on farm. This is critical given government intentions to devolve biosecurity governance to the farming industry.

scholarly journals On-farm biosecurity practices and causes of preweaning mortality in Canadian commercial mink kits

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Compo ◽  
David L. Pearl ◽  
Brian Tapscott ◽  
Amanda Storer ◽  
Jutta Hammermueller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity ◽  
Mink Kits

scholarly journals 305 Awardee Talk: Transferring a culture of biosecurity to the feedmill

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 42-42
Author(s):  
Jason C Woodworth ◽  
Jordan T Gebhardt ◽  
Cassandra K Jones ◽  
Chad B Paulk ◽  
S S Dritz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Abstract A culture of on-farm biosecurity has been established and practiced by modern swine production systems for many years. The value of this has been repeatedly demonstrated through improved animal health and performance based on the prevention of disease introduction to the herd. With the introduction of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) to the US swine industry in 2013, we have learned that feed and feed ingredients can be vectors of disease transmission. Therefore, there is a heightened need to transfer our on-farm biosecurity culture to our feedmills and entire feed supply chain as a way to help prevent disease introduction into swine farms. Feedmills are designed to efficiently and effectively blend feed components into a homogenous batch, and the potential to distribute contaminated feed to multiple farms is significant. While feed and ingredients can be vectors of disease and pathogen transmission, our data continues to show that people are a major risk for pathogen transmission throughout the feed supply chain. Key biosecurity principles such as exclusion, prevention, isolation, mitigation, disinfection, and containment should be adopted and enforced for a strong feedmill biosecurity program. A written feedmill biosecurity plan should be developed and a training program that covers all employees as well as visitors and delivery drivers should be implemented. Continuous risk assessment and environmental monitoring should be utilized to identify new areas of risk and to assess the current status. Unfortunately, feedmills are nearly impossible to completely disinfect and therefore every effort should be made to prevent the introduction of pathogens into the mill. Research that we have conducted with PEDV and African Swine Fever Virus has demonstrated that adopting a culture of biosecurity at the feedmill will reduce risk of disease and pathogen exposure on farms.

scholarly journals Ovine Paratuberculosis Control in Australia Revisited

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1623
Author(s):  
Peter Windsor ◽  
Richard Whittington
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Extension Programs ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Attitudinal Differences ◽  
Human Food Chain ◽  
Australian Sheep ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

OJD is no longer the serious animal health issue that it was for many Australian rural communities a decade and a half ago. Despite declining OJD prevalence as determined by abattoir surveillance, the disease continues to spread, with OJD extension programs required to continually address the misinformation promulgated by some disaffected producers as new areas have become affected. Improved regional and on-farm biosecurity, including the introduction of a risk-based trading system, may have contributed to improved attitudes to OJD control, although attitudinal differences between OJD endemic areas and where the disease is not well established remain. Declines in on-farm OJD prevalence are almost certainly attributable to the widespread uptake of vaccination programs, although encouraging the ongoing use of vaccination to prevent recrudescence and improved biosecurity when mortalities disappear, remains challenging. Vaccination has provided a robust strategy for managing OJD and contributed significantly to the health of Australian sheep and the lives of producers with affected properties. As vaccination offers a pathway to reduce the risk of MAP infection entering the human food chain from small ruminant products, it should be more widely adopted globally, accompanied by research efforts to improve efficacy and importantly, the safety of vaccination to both operators and livestock.

Devolved Responsibility and On-Farm Biosecurity: Practices of Biosecure Farming Care in Livestock Production

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughan Higgins ◽  
Melanie Bryant ◽  
Marta Hernández-Jover ◽  
Luzia Rast ◽  
Connar McShane
Keyword(s):  
Livestock Production ◽  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Prevention of losses for hog farmers in China: Insurance, on-farm biosecurity practices, and vaccination

2013 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 819-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue-hua Zhang ◽  
Chu-Shiu Li ◽  
Chwen-Chi Liu ◽  
Kevin Z. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

scholarly journals Characterization of commercial poultry farms in Mexico: Towards a better understanding of biosecurity practices and antibiotic usage patterns

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0242354
Author(s):  
Erika Ornelas-Eusebio ◽  
Gary García-Espinosa ◽  
Karine Laroucau ◽  
Gina Zanella
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Antimicrobial Usage ◽  
Farm Type ◽  
Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis ◽  
Poultry Farms ◽  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Mexico is one of the world’s major poultry producing countries. Two significant challenges currently facing the poultry industry are the responsible and judicious use of antimicrobials, and the potential occurrence of infectious disease outbreaks. For example, repeated outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H7N3 have occurred in poultry since its first detection in Mexico in 2012. Both of these challenges can be addressed through good husbandry practices and the application of on-farm biosecurity measures. The aims of this study were: (i) to assess the biosecurity measures practiced across different types of poultry farms in Mexico, and (ii) to collect information regarding antimicrobial usage. A cross-sectional study was carried out through on-farm interviews on 43 poultry farms. A multiple correspondence analysis was performed to characterize the farms based on their pattern of biosecurity practices and antimicrobial usage. Three clusters of farms were identified using an agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis. In each cluster, a specific farm type was predominant. The biosecurity measures that significantly differentiated the visited farms, thus allowing their clusterization, were: the use of personal protective equipment (e.g. face masks, hair caps, and eye protection), the requirement for a hygiene protocol before and after entering the farm, the use of exclusive working clothes by staff and visitors, footbath presence at the barn entrance, and the mortality disposal strategy. The more stringent the biosecurity measures on farms within a cluster, the fewer the farms that used antimicrobials. Farms with more biosecurity breaches used antimicrobials considered critically important for public health. These findings could be helpful to understand how to guide strategies to reinforce compliance with biosecurity practices identified as critical according to the farm type. We conclude by providing certain recommendations to improve on-farm biosecurity measures.

Biosecurity: tools, behaviours and concepts

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 449-452
Author(s):  
Alan MacLeod ◽  
Nicola Spence
Keyword(s):  
Plant Protection ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Surveillance Programs ◽  
Harmful Organisms ◽  
The One ◽  
Biosecurity Practices

COVID 19 has raised the profile of biosecurity. However, biosecurity is not only about protecting human life. This issue brings together mini-reviews examining recent developments and thinking around some of the tools, behaviours and concepts around biosecurity. They illustrate the multi-disciplinary nature of the subject, demonstrating the interface between research and policy. Biosecurity practices aim to prevent the spread of harmful organisms; recognising that 2020 is the International Year of Plant Health, several focus on plant biosecurity although invasive species and animal health concerns are also captured. The reviews show progress in developing early warning systems and that plant protection organisations are increasingly using tools that compare multiple pest threats to prioritise responses. The bespoke modelling of threats can inform risk management responses and synergies between meteorology and biosecurity provide opportunities for increased collaboration. There is scope to develop more generic models, increasing their accessibility to policy makers. Recent research can improve pest surveillance programs accounting for real-world constraints. Social science examining individual farmer behaviours has informed biosecurity policy; taking a broader socio-cultural approach to better understand farming networks has the potential to change behaviours in a new way. When encouraging public recreationists to adopt positive biosecurity behaviours communications must align with their values. Bringing together the human, animal, plant and environmental health sectors to address biosecurity risks in a common and systematic manner within the One Biosecurity concept can be achieved through multi-disciplinary working involving the life, physical and social sciences with the support of legislative bodies and the public.

scholarly journals High Heritabilities for Antibiotic Usage Show Potential to Breed for Disease Resistance in Finishing Pigs

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 829
Author(s):  
Wim Gorssen ◽  
Dominiek Maes ◽  
Roel Meyermans ◽  
Jürgen Depuydt ◽  
Steven Janssens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Antibiotic Usage ◽  
Finishing Pigs ◽  
Production Traits ◽  
Parenteral Antibiotic ◽  
On Farm

The use of antimicrobials in animal production is under public debate, mainly due to the risk of transfer of resistance to pathogenic bacteria in humans. Therefore, measures have been taken during the last few decades to reduce antibiotic usage in animals, for instance, by national monitoring programmes and by improving animal health management. Although some initiatives exist in molecular genetic selection, quantitative genetic selection of animals towards decreased antibiotic usage is an underexplored area to reduce antibiotic usage. However, this strategy could yield cumulative effects. In this study, we derived new phenotypes from on-farm parenteral antibiotic records from commercially grown crossbred finishing pigs used in the progeny test of Piétrain terminal sires to investigate the heritability of antibiotics usage. Parenteral antibiotic records, production parameters and pedigree records of 2238 full-sib pens from two experimental farms in Belgium between 2014 and 2020 were analysed. Heritability estimates were moderate (18–44%) for phenotypes derived from all antibiotic treatments, and low (1–15%) for phenotypes derived from treatments against respiratory diseases only. Moreover, genetic correlations between these new phenotypes and mortality were low to moderate (0.08–0.60) and no strong adverse genetic correlations with production traits were found. The high heritabilities and favourable genetic correlations suggest these new phenotypes, derived from on-farm antibiotics records, to be promising for inclusion in future pig breeding programs to breed for a decrease in antibiotics usage.

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