Canada’s beef cattle producers recognize the need for sound on-farm biosecurity practices to manage disease risks in order to protect the health of their herd and operation and, by extension, the national herd and the industry.
The Canadian Beef Cattle On-Farm Biosecurity Standard provides practical and effective on‑farm biosecurity practices which can reduce the risk of disease, when properly applied and followed, and which are of a low cost to the producer to implement. Developed over two years, in consultation with beef cattle producers, industry and government, the Standard is designed specifically for the Canadian beef cattle industry and is applicable to farm-level operations of all types and sizes. Its focus is on practices and procedures that reduce the risk and impact of disease in cattle operations.
The Standard is built on four basic principles of on-farm risk reduction:
- managing and minimizing animal movement risks;
- managing the movement of people, vehicles, equipment and tools;
- managing animal health practices; and
- the biosecurity knowledge and training of personnel on the operation’s biosecurity plan.
Each principle has target outcomes that can be achieved in a variety of ways through the Biosecurity Implementation Manual.
The general practices and guidelines of the Standard are voluntary. Adherence to the principles set forth in this Standard can control and reduce the risk and impacts of endemic diseases and of an emerging disease or foreign animal disease (FAD) in the Canadian herd. Managing risk is something beef cattle producers do every day. The Standard is a tool that provides broad guidelines for disease risk management that are practical and science-based, and specific to the beef cattle industry.