“Catch 22”: biosecurity awareness, interpretation and practice amongst poultry catchers

Campylobacter contamination of chicken on sale in the UK remains at high levels and has a substantial public health impact. This has prompted the application of many interventions in the supply chain, including enhanced biosecurity measures on-farm. Catching and thinning are acknowledged as threats to the maintenance of good biosecurity, yet the people employed to undertake this critical work (i.e. ‘catchers’) are a rarely studied group. This study uses a mixed methods approach to investigate catchers’ (n = 53) understanding of the biosecurity threats posed by the catching and thinning, and the barriers to good biosecurity practice. It interrogated the role of training in both the awareness and practice of good biosecurity. Awareness of lapses in biosecurity was assessed using a Watch-&-Click hazard awareness survey (n = 53). Qualitative interviews (n = 49 catchers, 5 farm managers) explored the understanding, experience and practice of catching and biosecurity. All of the catchers who took part in the Watch-&-Click study identified at least one of the biosecurity threats with 40% detecting all of the hazards. Those who had undergone training were significantly more likely to identify specific biosecurity threats and have a higher awareness score overall (48% compared to 9%, p = 0.03). Crucially, the individual and group interviews revealed the tensions between the high levels of biosecurity awareness evident from the survey and the reality of the routine practice of catching and thinning. Time pressures and a lack of equipment rather than a lack of knowledge appear a more fundamental cause of catcher-related biosecurity lapses. Our results reveal that catchers find themselves in a ‘catch-22′ situation in which mutually conflicting circumstances prevent simultaneous completion of their job and compliance with biosecurity standards

The Costs of Biosecurity at the Farm Level: the Case of Finnish Broiler

In the European Union, the animal health and food safety strategy includes managing biosecurity along the entire production chain. Farm-level biosecurity provides the foundation for this. However, the farm-level costs of preventive biosecurity have rarely been assessed. Yet many risk management practices are in place constantly regardless of whether there is a disease outbreak or not. We contribute towards filling this information gap by studying the costs incurred in preventive biosecurity by the Finnish poultry farms. In a preliminary analysis, we find that the cost of biosecurity is some 3.55 cents per bird for broiler producers and 75.7 cents per bird for hatching egg producers. The results indicate that work-time devoted to biosecurity represents some 8% of total work time on broiler farms and about 5% on breeder farms.Biosecurity, on-farm costs, poultry, Livestock Production/Industries,

Blackwood Biosecurity Annual Report 2018/19

It is with immense pride that I reflect on the last 12 months of BBI. We have had our first year of full operation and are having good effect and gaining visibility and respect within our communities in our operational area.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/rbg_reports/1030/thumbnail.jp

Implementing biosecurity measures on dairy farms in Ireland

peer-reviewedDairy farms in Ireland are expanding in preparation for a new era of unrestricted milk production with the elimination of the European Union (EU) production quotas in 2015. Countries experiencing a changing agricultural demographic, including farm expansion, can benefit from documenting the implementation of on-farm biosecurity. The objectives of this study were to document and describe influences on biosecurity practices and related opinions on dairy farms. A representative response rate of 64% was achieved to a nationwide telesurvey of farmers. A 20% discrepancy was found between self-declared and truly ‘closed’ herds indicating a lack of understanding of the closed herd concept. Although >72% of farmers surveyed considered biosecurity to be important, 53% stated that a lack of information might prevent them from improving their biosecurity. Logistic regression highlighted regional, age, and farm-size related differences in biosecurity practices and opinions towards its implementation. Farmers in the most dairy cattle dense region were three times more likely to quarantine purchased stock than were their equivalents in regions where dairy production was less intense (P = 0.012). Younger farmers in general were over twice as likely as middle-aged farmers to implement biosecurity guidelines (P = 0.026). The owners of large enterprises were almost five times more likely to join a voluntary animal health scheme (P = 0.003), and were over three times more likely to pay a premium price for health accredited animals (P = 0.02) than were those farming small holdings. The baseline data recorded in this survey will form the basis for more detailed sociological and demographic research which will facilitate the targeting of future training of the farming community in biosecurity

Midland Biosecurity Group Final Report 2019/20

I am pleased to present the final report to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, for the project “Development of the Midlands Recognised Biosecurity Group”. Through this project the Midlands Biosecurity Group has progressed from a seed of an idea to a stand-alone incorporated organisation, recognised as a Biosecurity Group by the Honourable Alannah MacTiernan, Minister for Agriculture and Food, and having a Declared Pest Rate gazetted, all within the space of 18 months.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/rbg_reports/1035/thumbnail.jp

BRI: The First Five Years

This 2012 Annual Report highlights the history of the first five years of the Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) at Kansas State University. Topics include the facility, its operations and safety, education and training, partners and funding, research highlights and leadership, since the Institute\u27s founding in 2007.https://newprairiepress.org/specpubs/1000/thumbnail.jp