Biosecurity for your Farm

Farm Biosecurity

Farm biosecurity means preventing the introduction of infectious agents to your property and livestock, preventing the spread of disease agents from an infected area to an uninfected area, and minimising the occurence and transmission of microorganisms of public health significance. Biosecurity and quarantine are vital components of any successful farming system. How seriously you take biosecurity on your property is an individual choice, and strict biosecurity may seem like a bit of overkill- until you introduce a disease or infectious organism to your property and then have to deal with the aftermath. Eradicating some infectious agents is very, very difficult.

Farm biosecurity is about keeping your farm and all of the animals and crops on it free from potential disease. It is the application of various systems and practices in order to prevent the introduction of diseases, pathogens, weeds and other pests onto your farm. It also is the implementation of systems and practices which prevent the spread of these pathogens, weeds and pests from your property onto other people’s property.

Biosecurity is the ongoing day to day application of a set of simple yet essential practices designed to safeguard you lifestyle and livelihood from potential disaster. To be effective you must be uncompromising in the applications of the principles and practices required to ensure the system works properly and does not fail.

 Keeping diseases, pests and weeds off of your farm and out of your business is essential because they reduce your farm productivity and therefore your business income. These diseases and pests can make your animals sick and in order to solve the problem you may be required to pay costly veterinary bills or cull valuable animals and lose irreplaceable bloodlines. Certain diseases have an added risk as they can be passed on to humans, potentially affecting the health and wellbeing of your family and workers.  If the pests and diseases are difficult to eradicate from the land, the value of the land may be reduced, possibly greatly. If large numbers of farms in an area are affected by the pathogens or pests, it can have a flow on effect to markets, domestic and international.

Why is establishing a biosecurity system on your farm important?

The efficient Australian quarantine system and the fact that we live on an island can lead some people to believe that we are relatively safe from potentially devastating diseases and pests. While these two facts do help reduce the risk of new pests and diseases being introduced into Australia and therefore making their way to your farm, they are not fool proof (and there are plenty of fools out there who ignore our quarantine rules) and we already have many devastating and costly diseases and pests in our country.

Some of the pathogens, pests and weeds that cost Australian farmers vast amounts of money, time and stress are:

·         Bovine and Ovine Johne‘s Disease- a muscle wasting disease of ruminants that is rare but endemic in Australia. There is no treatment for this disease and affected animals either die or must be destroyed.

·         Newcastle Disease- a highly contagious disease affecting the digestive, respiratory and nervous systems of birds. Highly virulent strains can cause 100% mortality. This disease is occasionally passed on to humans.

·         Avian Influenza- a contagious disease of birds that occurs worldwide. Severe strains cause sudden and quick deaths in birds. There is no effective cure. It is occasionally transmitted to humans.

·         Classical Swine Fever- a highly contagious disease of pigs last documented in Australia in 1961. The risk however is not eliminated and an outbreak would have disasterous consequences to the Australian Pork industry.

·         Anthrax- a disease caused by spores that may be buried in soils for many years before coming into contact with an animal. It can be passed to humans who come into contact with the carcass of an infected animal. Outbreaks in Australia have only occurred in NSW.

·         Foot and Mouth Disease- is a highly contagious disease of cloven hooved animals. It is one of the most serious livestock diseases in the world. While Australia is considered to be FMD free, outbreaks of this disease have occurred in Australia from 1801- 1872.

·         Intestinal parasites- cost farmers valuable dollars in lost or slowed growth and development in affected livestock, costs to drench animals, and the increasing risk of parasites developing resistance to drenches

·         Prickly Pear (Opuntia stricta spp.) This plant, introduced from the Americas sometime in the early 1800’s became a truly unmanageable menace in NSW and Queensland between 1900 and 1930. By 1925, prickly pear was completely out of control, infesting some twenty-five million hectares in New South Wales and Queensland. It was spreading at the rate of half a million hectares a year. Chemical weed control failed to stop this plant’s advance and it was only with the introduction of a biological weed control in the form of cactoblastis caterpillars (Cactoblastis cactorum) released in 1926 that the prickly pear problem was overcome. Within six years the weed was almost totally eradicated. (http://www.northwestweeds.nsw.gov.au/prickly_pear_history.htm)

Reasons to bother about farm biosecurity

Two recent examples illustrate the need to practice biosecurity on your farm

1)     The 2001 Foot and Mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom resulted in 2030 reported cases across the country, over six million animals required culling, and an ultimate cost of 7.5 billion dollars. (DAFF)

2)     Until the outbreak of Equine Influenza in 2007, this disease was not known in Australia. It is thought four racehorses imported from Japan into NSW started the epidemic. Within four months nearly 500 cases were reported across over 50 properties in NSW and Queensland. Fortunately the disease has been successfully eradicated in Australia and a vaccine is available to prevent the disease. The lesson to take away from the outbreak is that without effective biosecurity, disease can spread rapidly and over great distances. (DAFF, CSIRO) Farm biosecurity is vital because it provides the next level of protection for your farm or property, after Australian national quarantine systems, which occasionally fail or are circumvented by unscrupulous people.

How is disease spread between properties?

 There are five main ways that disease is spread from property to property. These are by people movement onto and off of properties; by animal movement onto and off of properties; by vehicle and other equipment moved onto and off of properties; by feed supplies and water supplies and finally by pests, such as mice, foxes and rabbits entering infected areas and carrying away contaminated material. Infectious diseases can be spread by many means. Some you may not have considered, such as contaminated clothing and footwear, insect vectors, infected semen, contaminated animal handling equipment, animal faeces or plant seeds in tyre treads, and contaminated animal or plant material grown or processed on one farm and  moved to another, such as animals killed for personal meat consumption and vegetables grown on farm. Whenever you are going to move something off of or onto your property think: is this thing an animal product or made from any animal products? Has this thing come into contact with any other animals or animal product, either farm animal, wild animal, or insect? Has this thing been held or stored in an area where any other animals or animal material are or have been kept? Has this thing come into contact with equipment used on other animals or animal material? Has this thing been in contact with the ground on which other animals have ever been? If you are not 100% confident that all the answers to these questions are “no” then you will be wise to implement your biosecurity system and either prevent entry onto your property of the thing in question or quarantine the thing until it has proved to be no threat.

Think about all the ways your property may be subject to biosecurity breaches. Do you move stock to or from other properties? Do other people enter your property either in vehicles or on foot (such as visitors, stock buyers, professional shooters etc)? Do you move equipment and vehicles from one property to another? Do other people bring animals (such as farm dogs) onto your property? Do you take your animals on to other people’s properties? Do you buy or take feed or water from outside sources? Do you sell or take feed or water to other properties? There are so many ways you may be putting your farms biosecurity at risk. Simply hoping that nothing goes wrong is not an effective plan! When things do go wrong you may find your way of making an income is suddenly at risk. An outbreak of disease can cause more than personal financial hardship and heartbreak. It can also cause a severe blow to the Australian economy potentially losing billions of dollars for farmer, industry and retailers both domestically and internationally.

What diseases are we talking about?

In Australia, contagious or transmissible animal diseases that have the potential to result in livestock deaths, production loss, human infection or negative impacts on the environment are called Emergency Animal Diseases. 

These are either diseases not endemic to Australia but an outbreak has occurred, such as the outbreak of Equine Influenza in 2007. Other non endemic diseases that have the potential to occur in Australia if quarantine fails or is by-passed are Foot and Mouth disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Rabies, Scrapie and Varroa Mite.

They may also be endemic diseases, known to occur in Australia, but which suddenly occur in previously unaffected areas, or with new or more virulent strains creating an increased and unexpected severity of disease. Examples of endemic diseases that may become more virulent or occur outside of their usual areas are Anthrax, Bovine or Ovine Johne’s disease and Newcastle disease. An example of an unexpected new location or increased virulence for a known disease was the Anthrax outbreak in Victoria in 1997. The outbreak affected 83 properties in an area that had not experience Anthrax since 1914 (Journal of Applied Microbiology, Volume 87, Issue 2)

Totally new and previously unknown and unrecorded diseases that occur and prove to be contagious will also be classified as Emergency Animal Diseases. An example of such disease in Australia was the outbreak of Hendra virus in horses in Queensland in 1994. It was named after the suburb in Brisbane where the initial outbreak started. This disease was transmitted from flying foxes to horses, and the disease had a fatality rate of around 70% for horses. The virus has proven to be able to be passed from infected horses to humans with over 50% fatality. (Department of Primary Industry Queensland)

The main emergency animal diseases that may affect various livestock

Australia is very fortunate to not be plagued by many contagious animal diseases known in other countries of the world. Most of the diseases listed below are not known in Australia, but some are present but have limited and known locations where disease may occur, are present but occur in less virulent forms or have had limited outbreaks and subsequently been eradicated. The threat from these diseases is always present. This list represents a small selection of emergency animal diseases that may occur in Australia.

Cattle – Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Foot and Mouth disease, Anthrax, Brucellosis Abortus, and screw worm fly.

Sheep and goats – Foot and Mouth disease, Scrapie, sheep pox, Bluetongue virus

Pigs – Foot and Mouth disease, Classical Swine Fever, African Swine Fever, Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)

Chickens- Avian Influenza, virulent Newcastle Disease

Horses - Equine Influenza, Hendra virus, Contagious Equine Metritis,

Alpacas - Foot and Mouth disease, Rabies and Anthrax 

Bees - varroa mite, tracheal mite, tropilaelaps mite

What to do if you suspect an outbreak of contagious disease on your farm

What do you do if you find a sick or dead animal on your farm? If the cause of illness or death are obvious, say a sheep has become caught in a fence and died, a sheep has died whilst giving birth to a lamb, or a fox has a bullet wound in its head, you do not have to do much more than dispose of the carcass. However, if the animal is sick or dead and you do not know why, it is always best to contact your vet. You will be able to describe the signs ( runny nose, sores around mouth, lameness etc) of disease over the phone and the vet can then recommend what you should do next. It is not always wise to move a sick animal with an unknown disease to your vet hospital- you may be spreading disease along the way. Contact the vet first and seek advice about what to do. If you are fortunate enough to have a vet who makes house calls, this may be your safest option. If you are not sure that the disease is contagious and do not think you need to call the vet, isolate the sick animal (or remove the carcass and burn or bury it) and keep a very close eye on the rest of your stock. If no further episodes of disease occur, you may have just had a one off sickness (like a heart attack, tetanus or infection of an unseen wound etc) and you will not need to investigate further. If you notice any signs of illness in your other animals you will need to take action and contact your vet. You need to know what the disease is. If it is not a serious or notifiable disease you still need to know how to manage it or prevent it in the future. If it is a serious or notifiable disease you do not want to be responsible for its spread because you chose to bury your head in the sand and pretend nothing was wrong! An outbreak of a serious disease can have disastrous personal and financial consequences to yourself and many other farmers through the loss of livelihood and valuable animals. It can also have disastrous consequences to the Australian livestock industry both financially and through a damaged reputation, reducing trading opportunities and losing the Australian economy vast amounts of money. You really do not want to be responsible for all of this!

If you do experience an outbreak of disease on your property, contact your vet and follow his or her advice. The vet will know who you need to contact and what you need to do. Until it is clear what disease is present and what exact measures need to be taken to prevent the spread to neighbouring properties or the broader agricultural community, do not under any circumstances allow any animals on to or off of your property. Do not allow any vehicles on to or off of your property unless it is an absolute emergency. If you must take a vehicle off the property clean the undercarriage and tyres with a high pressure hose and ensure all traces of earth are removed. Once the disease is identified, you will be made aware of how strict your quarantine will need to be, if indeed you need to quarantine your farm at all. Until you know, ensure you maintain the strictest quarantine conditions on your farm.

How to prevent contagious disease entering your property

Bringing new animals onto your property

Animals can carry diseases and pests without showing any obvious signs of illness. It is important to avoid infecting the rest of your stock with disease and parasites. To prevent the introduction of disease to your property follow these simple rules each and every time you buy stock or move stock onto your property.

Always request a National Vendor Declaration (NVD) and animal health statement.

Check the animal’s ear tags and marks and make sure the seller is actually the person who owns the animals.

Only buy your stock from a known and trusted source

Keep thorough records of where all your livestock have come from- this includes the property name, address and the property owner’s name. 

Check the cleaning and hygiene practices of the transport providers who have moved the stock to your property and from the property the animals originated from. For example, ask the seller who transported the animals to the sale yard prior to you seeing them in the pens. Check the seller’s waybills.

Inspect each and every animal for any signs of illness or disease before you purchase them. If there are any doubts do not buy them or seek a vet inspection and advice prior to purchase

Inspect stock on arrival on to your property to make sure they are healthy and in the same condition as when you purchased them. If they are unwell or suspect do not allow them to leave the truck, or if already off of the truck, put them back on (after allowing them to drink if the trip was long) and call your vet.

Only allow the transport vehicle to drive on the designated road from the perimeter gate to the quarantine yards. Minimise the amount of your farm ground the vehicle actually travels on- establish your quarantine yards close to the property perimeter.

Do not allow the transport vehicle to wash out or clean his vehicle or tyres on your property

Do not allow the transport personnel to move around your property either in their vehicle or on foot. Limit the amount of ground they walk on to your quarantine area only.

Quarantine all new stock in your quarantine yards for a period of 14 days to allow any signs of disease to emerge. Get your vet to give the animals a clean bill of health if you have any suspicions what-so-ever about their health. Whilst in quarantine do all of the “small stuff” (which is really big stuff) - worm/ drench, delouse, deflea/detick, vaccinate, do a thorough health check. And observe!! Observe for any unusual or unexpected behaviour, signs or symptoms. Do not move your new animals out of quarantine until you are completely sure they pose no risk to your other animals and your land.

Moving animals off of your property

If any of your animals is showing signs of disease or ill health do not move it off of your property. Check each animal before you load it onto the transport vehicle for any signs of ill health or any differences in the animal’s behaviour or appearance. Check for obvious signs such as runny nose, cough, weeping eyes, bloody or unusual discharge from any orifice (anus, mouth, nose, eyes, ears, penis, vulva), any wounds, any sores, feet problems, lameness, impaired movement, head hanging low, listlessness, strange breathing, strange smells, signs of infestation from parasites or insects, and diarrhoea. Also anything that is not usual to the animal needs to be investigated. Use your intuition- if you get the feeling something is not right, chances are you are correct. It is your responsibility to ensure you are not potentially spreading disease from one property to another. Do not take this responsibility lightly, and do not be an ostrich. Pretending nothing is wrong because it is inconvenient to do something about it is exactly how little problems become big problems. If you have any doubts about your animal’s health, do not remove them from your property and contact your veterinary surgeon for advice.
You may be required to provide a national Vendor Declaration that states that your animals are in good health. If you sign this when you know there is a health problem in your animals you may find yourself on the unpleasant end of legal action. Keep immaculate records of which of your stock has left your property, on which date they left and where they have been moved to. Keep records of transport carriers and keep all waybills and documents. It is your legal responsibility to do so. Make it a point to know the cleaning and hygiene procedures undertaken by your transport provider. If they do not clean their vehicles properly between transporting different loads of stock, disease can be transferred to your animals on route. Do not allow your transport provider to wash his vehicle on your property. Ensure the route from your farm gate to the collection site for your livestock is as short and direct as possible. Set up your transport yards close to your gate, if possible. This reduces the amount of land the tyres of the transport vehicle come into contact with. Make sure your animals do not have access to this road, or graze on it. You never know what diseases are trapped in the dirt of vehicle tyres!

Taking animals to shows or saleyards
Your animal can be exposed to disease by coming into contact with other animals, contaminated pens, vehicles, people and equipment at animal shows, stock yards and sales. Avoid taking animals to these places if possible. If you take an animal to a sales yard and it does not sell, treat it as a new animal on your property when you bring it home- place it in quarantine for 14 days.
Obviously, as you can only allow completely healthy and disease free animals off of your property, you must ensure that each animal you take to a show or sale is 100% healthy. Do not share any equipment (halters, brushes, hoof picks, combs, feed or water containers etc) with anyone else. If you must use someone else’s equipment, disinfect it prior to use with a suitable disinfectant and following the manufacturer’s instructions completely- to ensure the disinfectant will work effectively. Ensure the pens are cleaned completely before your animal enters- rake out all animal faeces, old straw and other debris, and hose out the pen if at all possible. If possible, wipe down all rails, doors and handles with a disinfectant before you place your animals inside. This may be difficult or even impossible to do at a saleyard, but should not be too hard to do at a show.
At shows always use your own feed and water containers- take them with you and bring them home inside plastic bags. Disinfect them once back at your property in your quarantine shed. Use your own animal feed (and water if possible- carried in plastic containers to the show ).
Keep an eye on your animals whilst at the show or sales for any signs of ill health. Check the animals in pens next to your animal or any animals that may come in contact with your animal for signs of ill health. Contact the owner or show or saleyard co-ordinator if you suspect an ill animal is on the premises.
If you bring any animals home with you, even your own animals after the show or ones that did not sell at the yards, treat them all as new animals on your property and follow all of your quarantine precautions, including the 14 day isolation period.

Check your crops and livestock!

Regularly check your crops and livestock for signs of disease, infestation and pests. Check your property for its weed burden. Finding a problem early will help reduce costs, labour and the risk of spreading the problem further.

Become familiar with the usual problems ( weeds, diseases, insects etc) found on your property and in your local area. If you come across something unusual, you will recognise it.Keep in contact with your neighbours on any diseases or pests they have on their property and you have on yours- you will help reduce the likelihood of spreading the problem if your are alert to what is going on in your neighbourhood.

Exotic weeds and pests

Check your farm frequently for the presence of new diseases, pests, and weeds. Know what usual diseases, pests and weeds look like so you will be aware of a new and unusual problem.If you suspect you have found an exotic plant pest call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881, and do not allow movement of people, equipment or animals near the affected site. Do not touch or move the suspect plant material in any way. Wash hands after touching the plant material or equipment or animals which may have come into contact with the plant material.

Check your fences!

Your fences need to be maintained in excellent condition if you are to maintain excellent biosecurity on your farm. Inadequate fencing, such as fallen fences, broken fences, poorly strained fences, fences with tree branches lying on top of them or gates that don’t close securely can allow your neighbours' stock to enter your property and contaminate your stock with their diseases and parasites. They will also bring dirt from your neighbours’ property onto your property and possibly bring soil contaminants and plant diseases along with them.
New fencing is expensive and time consuming to erect and can easily be put off for another day. If you are serious about biosecurity, you will not be able to wait until you have the time or money to do the job. If you cannot renew your old and damaged fences, repair them to ensure they are stock proof until you can replace them.Inspect all perimeter fences regularly and attend to any required repairs quickly.
Consider developing buffer zones between you and your neighbouring properties. Natural remnant bush is ideal for this with a second fence line along the edge of the bush. (So you have perimeter fence, remnant bush, second internal fence). This buffer zone also helps reduce the amount of chemical drift from your neighbours’ property on to your property. Try to eliminate native and feral animal traffic on your land by using high fencing that prevents kangaroos and emus entering your property. Place fox and wild dog traps and baits in the buffer zone. Cull rabbit populations in the buffer zones and disrupt warrens. Dispose of dead livestock promptly to reduce the temptation to feral dogs and foxes. Consider building an enclosed dead animal compost bin. Ensure all your feed is stored in fully sealed containers or fully enclosed sheds to prevent native and feral animals entering and using your feeds as a food source. Remember, the native animals which are permanent residents on your property and do not exit and re-enter your farm are not a threat. Only animal which exit and enter your property carry the risk of spreading disease and pests.

Buying feed, seeds and other plant based materials.

Diseases, pests and weed seeds can be carried onto your property in feed you purchase off farm. Buy your animal feed from reputable and trust worthy sources.  Don’t just buy a few tonnes of wheat from your neighbour and start feeding it to your livestock- the grain will probably contain weed seeds along with the wheat. If you do buy from your neighbour, have the grain cleaned to remove any unwanted seeds and debris. You can buy your own grain or seed cleaner if you plan to purchase locally grown seed regularly, or you can take the seed to a professional seed cleaner. The mechanised cleaning process removes all dirt, plant parts and weed seeds from the grain being cleaned. It will help prevent you infesting your own property with introduced weeds that you will then need to control- which is costly and time consuming.

Commodity Vendor declarations: If you are unsure of the reputation of the supplier of your feed or quality of the feed, request a Commodity Vendor Declaration. There are four Commodity Vendor Declaration forms available from  three separate organisations. These are SAFEMEAT, Australian Fodder Industry Association and  Stock Feed Manufacturers Association of Australia. The forms can be downloaded from the websites of these organisations. By completing a Commodity Vendor Declaration declaration the seller states he or she has complied with all the regulations and requirements for meeting the objectives of safe and good quality fodder production (correct chemicals at correct doses, weed control etc) associated with the organisation who supply the form. This helps reassure you that the feed has been produced with due care and commitment to quality. A Commodity Vendor Declaration is not the same as the National Vendor Declaration Waybill.

Check all feedstuff you are purchasing for any signs of contamination or infestation. Check for pests, unwanted grains or seeds, plant parts, mould, debris and soil. Have a smell of the product- your nose will tell you a lot! Check the expiry date of all feedstuff you purchase and use it before this date. Do not bring old or stale feed stocks onto your property- they are more likely to be harbouring diseases and pests. Ensure any transport vehicles that enter your property to bring feed stocks have been thoroughly cleaned prior to being filled with your purchased feeds.

Storing food stuffs: When storing feedstuffs, ensure the storage area is clean, dry and seals completely. Keep all pests and scavengers out of your feed stock- they will bring disease and contamination along with them. Keep moisture out of the feed to prevent moulds forming. Cover all feed stocks well and use a grain dryer in your silos if the moisture content of the grain is high enough to encourage moulds. Check the status of your feed stocks regularly to ensure they have not become mouldy or infested with pests. Maintain a good rodent and pest control regime to numbers low. Dispose of old or contaminated feed stuffs away from stock and in such a way as to discourage attracting rodents and other pests. Clean up all feed spills quickly to prevent the grains and seed blowing around your property.

Restricted Animal Material

Feeding restricted animal materials to ruminants is illegal in Australia because of the risk of introducing Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy into our livestock. The feeding of meat meal made from sheep who were infected by a disease called Scrapie or from cattle who were already infected with BSE is suspected to be the cause of the BSE outbreak in the UK in the 1990’s.  Ruminants are even toed hooved animals  which chew the cud they regurgitate from their rumen, such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and camelids.

Know your restricted animal materials so you can check the contents of all stock feeds you buy for ruminants. Restricted animal materials that are never to be feed to ruminants are any material taken from a vertebrate animal other than tallow, gelatin, milk products or oils extracted from poultry and fish. It includes rendered products such as meat meal, meat and bone meal, blood meal, fish meal, poultry meal, feather meal, and any compounded feeds made from these products. Always check the label for the ingredients of any feed you buy for your stock. Educate all your workers, including family members, about restricted animal materials. Ensure visitors to your property are prevented from feeding your stock with any food you have not approved. If you store restricted animal materials on your property (such as poultry or pig feed), store it separately from other feeds.

 Swill feeding

It is illegal to feed swill to pigs in Australia as it has been associated with the spread of contagious diseases such as Foot and Mouth disease and Swine Fever. It was associated with the severe outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK in 2001. While it was once a common practice in Australia, new research has exposed the hazards associated with this practice. You will no doubt come across some old cocky who will tell you that they swill fed their pigs for years and never had a problem. Ignore these people. Not all that long ago we were told to get out in the sun because it was healthy- then we all started getting skin cancer and ran back inside. If you want to be a good farmer you need to be well informed about all of the latest research relevant to your industry. Meat products imported from overseas can potentially contain the foot and mouth virus, which is not always killed in the manufacturing process. I eat the contaminated meat and I am unaffected because I cannot catch the disease from the meat, but I feed the scraps of my meat to my pigs and I have started a disaster- a disaster that could potentially cost our country billions of dollars, see primary producers and food manufacturers lose vast amounts of money (and perhaps their livelihoods) and damage our reputation as a safe food producing country. It can be that simple if we are careless. Therefore all meats and meat products, no matter where they are from, are banned from being fed to pigs.

Swill is defined as the food scraps and waste that was traditionally fed to pigs. Any food containing any meat or meat by product, or has been in contact with meat or meat by products is never to be fed to pigs. This means any product that has had meat touch it is not to go on your pigs menu- food like pizza, sandwiches, sausage rolls, scraps off of your dinner plate, Chinese take away, etc.  Of course it means you cannot feed pigs other dead animals or any part of a dead animal (such as bones or feathers) whether  the animal was from your property or not. We met a couple who shot kangaroos and fed them to their pigs. Their reasoning was that since the kangaroo is a marsupial and the pig is a mammal, diseases will not pass between two such different groups. I guess they have never heard of malaria, which passes from an insect to a human, or Psittacosis which goes from bird to man. Some bacteria and viruses are less particular about which phylum they infect that you may believe! This same couple allowed their chickens to go into the pig pens, resulting in pigs eating not only poultry poo but any unfortunate birds who happened to be a little slow on their feet. Ensure your pigs do not have the opportunity to help themselves to your other livestock or any other mammals or birds who inhabit your farm.You are also not allowed to feed restaurant scraps, including discarded food cooking oils to you pigs. These laws apply to all pigs, including pet pigs.

You can feed food waste to pigs, provided they do not contain meat and have not come into contact with meat. Food waste you can feed are fruit, vegetables, cereals, eggs, milk products, tallow, manufactured cat and dog food, dry meat/ blood/ bone meal made commercially by high temperature rendering in a reputable factory, cooking oils that have never been used for cooking and bakery products that do not contain any meat product (such as lard).

Water supplies

Diseases, pests and weed seeds are easily distributed by flowing water, and stored water is open to contamination by chemicals, microbes and animals. If you have any waterways on your property inspect them regularly for new weed species. These weeds can be bought onto your property by weeds carried on the flowing water. Control the way water flows on your property to reduce the risk of spreading new diseases, pests and weeds far and wide.

In addition, check all of your water storage tanks regularly for contamination from any source- chemicals, animals, insects. Mosquitos can breed in stored water and spread disease, as can frogs and other critters. Make sure all water tanks are fully sealed. Check dams for dead animals, algal blooms, chemical contamination and mosquito larvae.Keeping yabbies in dams can help keep insect larvae numbers down, and they will provide a sweet feast for you from time to time. It is impossible to keep all insects and animals out of dams- try to keep their presence low!  Keep all stock water troughs clean and free from contaminants.

People

Anyone who enters your property can potentially bring with them diseases, weeds and other pests. This applies to any person who enters your property, including yourself. People can be harbouring disease, or carrying diseased animals or plants with them. People carry soil in their shoes and vehicles carry soil in their tyres. People wear dirty work clothes that may carry seeds, soil and pests. People can be careless, lazy and stupid. People may not share your concern for biosecurity and intentionally ignore your efforts. You need to keep a close eye on people- they can be trouble!
Limit entry points to your property. Secure external gates with a chain and lock. If possible there should only be one entry point that is accessible by others, and this should lead directly to your house or office. You will then be able to monitor all people who enter your property. Have clearly visible and easily understood biosecurity signs posted on your front gate and instruction boards for what a visitor must do to comply with your biosecurity program.
 If you are really serious about your biosecurity, a high pressure vehicle wash down bay with a sump to collect the waste water should be situated just inside your perimeter fence and all visitors should wash down their vehicles, especially the tyres and undercarriage. Clean the vehicle from top to bottom. Ensure all water splash run off will drain away from your property.  Inspect this high pressure wash down bay regularly for signs of new weeds or pests. All vehicles should then be instructed to park in a designated car park. Before alighting from the vehicle, all persons must remove boots which have soil from other properties and leave them in the vehicle, or put on some plastic shoe covers.
 Obviously dirty clothes are best removed. If the person is unable to remove their offending clothes (perhaps it is their trousers, for instance) ask them to remain in their vehicle, if possible. If you have a designated visitor entry point you can supply wellingtons and coverall suits to your visitors to prevent them contaminating your property. All areas of the visitor entry point are to be considered contaminated. When leaving this point to enter your farm proper, remove shoes and replace them with wellington boots that are only use on the farm proper. Put on a freshly cleaned cover all. Wash your hands thoroughly. Think of your farm as an exclusion zone in a battle field. You want to keep it free from enemy forces. Don’t worry about offending people or appearing overly cautious. If other’s like to play Russian roulette with their livelihood, let them. When your farm is the only one that is not affected by an outbreak of some dreadful disease, you can play the “I told you so hand” and look quite smug.
Ensure none of your livestock have access to this visitor entry area, wash down bay, driveways and house block. Limit or exclude completely any access by other people to your animals, farm proper, equipment and feed stocks. Even the farm dog will need to be kept on his or her side of the exclusion zone. Pet dogs are not to enter the farm proper. Never allow a visitor to let his animals out of his vehicle and onto your property.
Always wash your hand thoroughly before and after entering your farm proper, and before and after handling any animal, plant, feed material. Wash your hands after coming into contact with soil and farm water. I would say wash your hands as if you were about to eat a sandwich, but I once saw a septic emptier eat a sandwich while looking into a full septic tank, so I realise different people have different ideas of what is, and is not, clean.
If you must let other people onto your farm proper, ensure they are in the appropriate wellingtons and cover all, have washed their hands and keep their dirty, germy hands to themselves as much as possible. If these same people have to bring tools or equipment onto your farm proper, make sure all of this equipment is thoroughly cleaned at the wash down bay and tools, such as shovels and shears, are disinfected prior to use.

Plant materials

 All plants, cuttings, seeds and leaves that you bring onto your property can potentially bring disease with them. It is not enough to simply look at the plant material for signs of ill health- sometimes the problem cannot be seen.

To ensure you do not import a problem plant disease or pest onto you r property, only purchase plant material from a certified seed or propagation source, or from a reputable nursery. Request a commodity vendor declaration or equivalent. Ask the supplier where the plant material was originally sourced. Check the source of the plant material- has it come from a place where biosecurity, hygiene and record keeping are taken seriously? I doubt that a cutting taken from Aunt Martha’s front garden will meet the necessary criteria.

Enforce a strict quarantine of the new planting material once you bring it onto your property. Keep it in your quarantine area and observe it for signs of disease. Observe for 4 weeks. For seeds, propagate them in a separate area of your quarantine shed and yard and inspect them for signs of disease as they emerge and grow. If all is well after 4 weeks, they can be transplanted to your farm land.

If possible buy all trees and plants bare rooted and wash the root system and plant in a wash down sink in your quarantine area. Disinfect the sink and floor after you have finished. If the plant has arrived in soil, observe the 4 week rule. Try to remove as much of the soil as possible prior to planting. Dispose of the foreign soil by burning in an incinerator. Dispose of all diseased plants and plant parts by burning in an incinerator. Do not add suspect plants and foreign soils to your compost pile.

Keep thorough records of all plant material you bring onto your property. Record where it was purchased, its original source, the date it was purchased, the cultivar details and where and when it was planted.

Regularly check the area of new plantings for signs of disease and pest activity. If anything looks suspect remove the plant and all soil surrounding it and dispose of the plant by incineration. If you can identify the disease or pest, treat the surrounding soil for this problem.

When removing plant material from your property, you also need to ensure you do not spread diseases from your farm to other properties. Only remove plants which appear completely healthy and show no signs of pest activity. It is better not to share plant material between friends and neighbours as the risk of carrying disease is increased. You will not be able to guarantee that your plant material is 100 % safe and neither will your friends and neighbours.

Record keeping

If a disease, pest or weed problem arises on your property you will be required to trace back and trace forward to all possible sources of contamination. You need to know where the problem came from and notify these people and you need to be able to notify others you may have exported the problem to. You need to be accountable for the materials you move off of your property, and for the people and machines that enter and exit your property. To be able to do this accurately, you will need to keep very thorough records of all material bought on to and taken off of your property, and all equipment and people who have entered and exited your property. Knowing what was there and where it went next is a vital part of tracing a diseases evolution.
Keep a record of all livestock, plant material and feed stuff which come onto your property- record where they came from, date, certification and declarations, and where it is stored on your property.
Record all livestock, plant material and feed stuff that is taken off of your property- where it went, on which transport system, date.

Equipment

 Tools, storage containers, feed buckets, measuring jugs etc can all carry disease. Regularly clean these pieces of equipment thoroughly and disinfect, as required. All garden tools should be cleaned and disinfected prior to use and cleaned after use to prevent soil and plant material being transported from one area to another. Secateurs and shears should be dipped in a disinfectant between pruning each plant.

Assign equipment and clothing for specific use in disease, pest and weed affected areas or for handling sick animals. The equipment used in these high risk areas must not be reused in clean areas even after disinfecting. Keep dirty with dirty and clean with clean.

Exotic weeds and pests

Check your farm frequently for the presence of new diseases, pests, and weeds. Know what usual diseases, pests and weeds look like so you will be aware of a new and unusual problem.If you suspect you have found an exotic plant pest call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881, and do not allow movement of people, equipment or animals near the affected site. Do not touch or move the suspect plant material in any way. Wash hands after touching the plant material or equipment or animals which may have come into contact with the plant material.

Visiting another farm

Call ahead so the owner is aware you are coming over- don’t just drop around unannounced. Nobody likes the ‘drop-in’ anyway- everyone likes to be able to brush their hair and throw a broom over the floor. On a farm it is essential that the owner is at his house to greet you so you are not tempted to wander about. Park your car in the car park or on the driveway and do not drive onto grassed areas. Stay in the home block.

Follow the biosecurity advice given above, as best as possible, even if the farmer himself is not as concerned as you are. Wear clean clothing that has not been in contact with your farm animals, plants, feeds or soils. Stay away from livestock and farm animals. Do not take your dog or any other animal on the visit with you!

The often forgotten small stuff

Finally, it is not just exotic diseases you need to worry about bringing onto your property. Whenever you bring any animal onto your property use your quarantine system to keep it separate from your other animals until you have

·         Checked it for any health problems

·         Wormed it to prevent introducing worms (especially resistant forms) onto your land

·         Vaccinated it (if it hasn’t already been vaccinated and you are confident the information from the previous owner is reliable)

·         Tagged it with your PIC brand

·         Cleared its wool or hair and hooves from any weed seeds bought along with it

·         Kept it in isolation for 2 weeks to ensure no problems emerge and it does not spread contaminants to your other animals and onto your land

·         Treat or remove and burn any weeds that emerge in your quarantine paddock- they may have arrived in the bowels of your new animals!

·         Try to reduce the number of times each year you actually bring new livestock onto your property. When not in use for quarantine purposes, leave the quarantine paddock empty so that any bacteria, virus, worms and parasites are given the lowest possible chance of survival outside of their needed hosts.