Many beef farmers are currently in the process of purchasing livestock, either for winter finishing or for storing over the winter and letting to grass next year.

With this in mind, Animal Health Ireland’s (AHI’s) biosecurity programme manager Lawrence Garvey has shared some biosecurity factors to consider when buying livestock.

In the AHI September newsletter, Garvey said that biosecurity is simply a technical term for preventing and controlling diseases.

Since many diseases are spread through the movement of infected animals, farmers can reduce the risk of spread by managing the inward movement of animals.

Garvey said that farmers should review what animals they need to buy in and added that keeping a closed herd is the best way to keep diseases away.

However, farmers who do buy in animals should remember that the risk of disease being introduced increases when more animals come from multiple sources.

It is also worth remembering that younger, non-pregnant animals that appear healthy on inspection and that test negative for diseases of interest are less likely to be infected.

Garvey added that buying livestock from herds that have good disease-control practices on-farm is also helpful.

“You may need to ask challenging questions of an animal’s supplier, but the reduction in disease risk will be worthwhile,” he added.

Transport-related disease risks can be reduced by sourcing livestock from herds located in close proximity to the destination herd and by the purchasing farmer using his/her own transport equipment.

Transport equipment should be cleaned and disinfected before and after transporting animals.

Furthermore, livestock that has been bought in should be quarantined for at least four weeks before they are allowed to join the existing herd on the farm.

Quarantined animals should be completely isolated and have zero nose-to-nose contact with the rest of the herd.

During the quarantine period, farmers should:

  • Monitor for disease and investigate as appropriate;
  • Vaccinate and treat animals as should be protocol;
  • Test for specific diseases of importance;
  • Implement quarantine on an ‘all-in-all-out’ basis and clean facilities between batches to isolate new infections;
  • Use handling facilities, utensils and personnel for quarantined animals separate from others; if sharing is unavoidable, clean and disinfect between uses. Spreading slurry from the quarantined area on grazing ground is discouraged;

Garvey reiterated that animal performance can be protected through strategic implementation of biosecurity.

If some of these suggestions are too challenging for some farmers, Garvey suggested that they start with small management steps and gradually build confidence towards a sound biosecurity approach.

Farmers who want to find out more about biosecurity should talk to their veterinary practitioner, he said.