Biosecurity Main Page
What is Biosecurity?
Biosecurity is defined as a series of management practices designed to minimize or prevent the importation of infectious agents onto a farm. These management practices include testing and screening for diseases, isolation or quarantine of infected animals, immunization, selective purchasing, and monitoring and herd evaluation. Biosecurity is practiced as a preventative approach to herd health, as minimizing risk of disease minimizes frequency of disease.
Despite all of the talk of biosecurity, there are cases of insufficient action when implementing these management practices. However, the steps necessary to put sound biosecurity practices into place typically do not require capital investment, only management changes.
There are three stages of biosecurity, first is risk assessment, or identifying potential concerns or problems. Evaluating who and what leaves and comes onto the farm, prioritizing risk of infection, and evaluating how diseases could enter the farm are all steps of risk assessment. The second stage of biosecurity is risk management. This involves implementing a biosecurity plan based on the findings from the risk assessment stage. The final stage of biosecurity is risk communication, or effecting a total buy-in to a biosecurity program.
Below are links to navigate the biosecurity focus area page and its resources. Included are risk assessment documents, biosecurity zone signs, risk area signs, presentations given by extension veterinarians regarding biosecurity, and outside resources to assist in implementing a biosecurity program.
