Farm Security - "Treat it Seriously,"
Security for Animal Agriculture:
Security Checklist

Author: Bill R. McKinnon, Extension Specialist, Animal Sciences; Virginia Tech

Publication Number 445-003, July 2002

Farm managers must take the primary responsibility for maintaining the health of their herds and flocks. A major strategy in providing for healthy animals is biosecurity of the farming operation. The goal of biosecurity is to halt the spread of disease causing agents. An effective biosecurity program seeks to limit the introduction of disease causing agents onto the farm premises and to reduce the spread of those agents to healthy animals. This is accomplished by preventing or minimizing the cross contamination of body fluids, including feces, urine, saliva, and mucous among animals. Cross contamination may occur by animal to animal contact, animal to feed or water contact, or indirect animal to animal contact through equipment or other intermediary agents.

The checklist below should serve as a guideline in establishing a biosecurity plan or evaluating an existing program.

Attitude

• Do you accept that it is management's responsibility to provide for strategic biosecurity of the farming operation?
• Do you believe that it is more cost effective to prevent disease problems than to correct problems?
• Are you constantly vigilant for symptoms of animal disease?
• Does each farm enterprise operate under sound product quality assurance guidelines?
• Is an individual animal identification system maintained?
• Are complete records of animal health management practices maintained?
• Are strategic vaccination and parasite control programs conducted for all animals?
• Do you regularly perform necropsies of dead animals to determine the cause of death?
• Is a viable client-veterinarian relationship maintained with a local practitioner?

Farm Visitors

• Do you know who is on the farm at all times?
• Are unauthorized persons and vehicles restricted from entering animal production areas?
• Are signs posted to direct visitors to central headquarters and away from animal production and other restricted areas?
• Do you use disinfectant foot baths or disposable plastic footwear for farm visitors with access to production areas?
• Are visitors required to wear clean clothing or disposable outer coveralls?
• Do you prohibit any visitors to the operation if they have been outside the continental U.S. during the past two weeks, unless they can assure you that they have not been in close proximity to hoofed animals within the past five days?

Input Security

• Is purchased feed obtained only from suppliers with effective quality assurance programs?
• Are delivery vehicles and personnel restricted from entering animal production areas?
• On cattle, sheep, and goat operations, are precautions in place to ensure that no feed or supplements containing prohibited mammalian proteins such as meat and bone meal are fed to or contaminate feed for cattle, sheep, and goats?
• Are invoices for purchased feed maintained for a minimum of three years?
• Are crop residues used for animal feed tested for pesticide residues and excessive nitrate levels?
• Are separate and secure feed storage areas maintained to prevent accidental or deliberate contamination from pesticides, petroleum fuels and lubricants, fertilizers, manure, pests, etc?

Animal Control/Facilities and Equipment

• Are facilities and fences maintained in a manner to contain your animals and prevent other animals from mixing with your animals?
• Are you aware that a common fence with neighbors' animals is a potential source of contamination?
• Are feeding and water troughs managed to prevent manure contamination?
• Are feeding and watering facilities and equipment routinely cleaned?
• Is different equipment used to feed and handle manure or is the equipment cleaned completely after handling manure?
• Is the access of birds, rodents, cats, dogs, and stray animals to animal feed and water supplies restricted?
• Are sick animals isolated in a hospital area to prevent contamination of healthy herds or flocks?

On Farm Sanitation

• Is good aseptic technique used in vaccine handling and administration?
• Is animal vaccination and surgery equipment cleaned between use?
• Is animal health equipment stored in clean and dry areas?
• Do you take precautions to avoid cross contamination between sick or dead animals and healthy animals?
• Is a dead animal disposal plan in place that avoids exposure of healthy animals to the carcass or potential pathogens?
• Is all equipment used to handle dead animals thoroughly cleaned?
• Is an effective fly, bird, and rodent control program in place?

New Animal Additions

• Are new animals maintained in a quarantine area for 21-30 days before mixing with other animals?
• Is the quarantine area designed to prevent cross contamination with other animals?
• Are you aware of the health/vaccination history of purchased breeding animals added to the herd?
• Are new animals transported in clean vehicles?
• Do you borrow or use "loaner" bulls, rams, boars, etc.?
• Are records maintained of purchased animals including source, arrival date, etc.?

References:

Kopperud, S. and K. Johnson. Vigilance is Key. Animal Industry Foundation. 2001

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