AMES, Iowa — Livestock farmers know that reducing the spread of disease and pests among their animals maximizes profitability. Biosecurity includes understanding routes of transmission and taking steps to manage risk at the whole-farm level.
Producers who want to develop or improve a biosecurity plan now can access videos, tip sheets, checklists and other resources at a web page developed by the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (www.cfsph.iastate.edu/biosecurity).
The Farm, Food and Enterprise Development program of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach helped coordinate an outreach plan to help small-scale producers access these resources.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the team at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine to get these biosecurity resources into the hands of small-scale livestock producers,” said Kendra Meyer, program assistant with the Farm, Food and Enterprise Development program with ISU Extension and Outreach.
“These resources have helped me realize biosecurity practices that I am doing correctly and areas that I can improve in,” said Jessica Cochran, a Nevada goat producer and advisory group member. “I think these resources are great tools for FFA and 4-H advisers to teach their members about livestock biosecurity practices.”
Topics for producers include agritourism, animal health and disease monitoring, carcass disposal, cleaning and disinfection practices, wildlife and rodent control, and many more.
Development of this material was made possible through a grant provided to the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, under award number AWD-021794-00001 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ENC19-176.
For more information, contact Kendra Meyer at 515-294-9483 or ksmeyer@iastate.edu
— Kendra Meyer and Glenda Dvorak, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
For more news from Iowa, click here.
