Put Guards in Place to Defend Your Farm

To properly defend the fortress, you have to define your perimeter, says Clayton Johnson, DVM. It's time to think about farms the same way.
To properly defend the fortress, you have to define your perimeter, says Clayton Johnson, DVM. It's time to think about farms the same way.
(Canva.com)

Biosecurity on the farm is like defending a fortress, explained Clayton Johnson, DVM, with Carthage Veterinary Service, during USDA’s African Swine Fever Action Week webinar on Wednesday.

To properly defend the fortress, you have to define your perimeter, Johnson said. Where is the clean and dirty line or the line of separation? Every farm needs that line drawn so that anything that crosses that line is going to have some sort of biosecurity expectation with it.

For example, in a fortress, there are limited points of entry. There is really only one way to get in and one way to get out.

“We need to think about farms the same way,” Johnson said. “We want to have specific access points for people introductions, for animal introductions, for supply introductions, etc. We need to build those barriers in so when anything comes in, we have a sanitation or hygiene step in place.”

Those sanitation or hygiene steps could be UV chambers, showers, disinfectants and more. Another possibility is downtime, he said, as a form of sanitation expectation for visitors or supplies coming into the farm. 

“We can't build tall walls and put guards on the walls of our farms like we would at a castle, but we certainly can define where those walls are going to be. We may not have guards in the literal sense, but our disinfectant options can be our guards to shoot down pathogens that may try to enter our farms,” Johnson said.

It’s About Plans, Not a Plan
A good biosecurity looks like a good series of plans – note the plural “s.” One plan won’t fit every risk factor, so it’s important to have plans for every potential thing that comes into or goes out of the farm. 

“Your plan to defend against a sea attack is not going to be the same plan as you would to defend against the land attack,” Johnson said. “The Army and the Navy are going to have separate plans, separate SOPs. Think of your biosecurity in the same way.”

Take a deeper look at the different functions of biosecurity plans and make sure to consistently approach each plan. 

“We don't want to have the world's best army to protect against one risk factor and then maybe not a very good Navy so we're exposed in one area. We want to make consistent levels of investment across these critical control points that we have defined here on the right,” he said.

3 Tips for Building Biosecurity Plans
While putting together those plans, Johnson said there are three main things producers should consider as they evaluate biosecurity risk factors. 

1. Exclusion 
First, consider if it’s possible to not allow that risk factor into the farm. Can we disinfect or build our farm perimeter in such a way that they are naturally excluded from it? This may work for rodents, wildlife and birds. 

“Anything we can exclude from our farm we know will not bring disease in. By definition, if that risk factor never enters the farm, it never brings disease into the farm,” Johnson said.

This sounds wonderful, he admitted, but it’s not always practical. There are things that simply must be brought into the farm from the outside such as feed, semen and even air.  

“Exclusion works wonderfully where we can apply it, and where we can, we should,” he said. “But it's not a one-size-fits-all solution.”

2. Hygiene/Sanitation
When things can’t be excluded from the farm, a hygiene and sanitation step for that risk factor is critical, Johnson said. 

“We can't exclude our employees and visitors, but we can enforce downtime, require showers and make sure that they come in in a safe manner,” he said. 

This is a critical tool in a producer’s biosecurity toolbox and when applied effectively, can make a big difference. 

“ASF and other pathogens aren't magic,” Johnson said. “They have weaknesses that we know how to exploit.”

And it doesn't have to be chemical disinfection all the time, he added. Producers can manipulate pH, use ultraviolet light, or use heat and downtime. 

3. Segregation
Segregation takes place when producers segregate risk factors and dedicate them to farms or specific groups of farms, Johnson said. 

A classic example of segregation would be maintenance tools. 

“We’d like each of our sow farms to have their own set of maintenance tools, so we are not taking tools from farm to farm, and in doing so, sharing risk unnecessarily across farms,” Johnson said. 

At the end of the day, he said it’s about creating a culture of accountability.

“Inspect what you expect. People will respect that,” Johnson said. “When you create expectations, but you don't monitor those expectations, you're telling me that you don't really care. Create a culture of accountability so people are holding each other accountable on your farm and not pointing fingers at each other.”

More from Farm Journal's PORK:

5 Pork Industry Experts Weigh in on the Threat of ASF

 

Close All the Windows to Keep ASF Out

ASF in the Western Hemisphere: What’s Different 40 Years Later? 

​​​​​​It's Time to ​Batten Down the Hatches, Pork Industry Experts Say

Study Affirms U.S. Pork Industry’s Efforts to Keep ASF Out

ASF Vaccines: Is the Waiting Game Almost Over?

 

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