Veterinarians are uniquely trained to evaluate individual animals within a herd system and provide integrative management plans to prevent diseases or problems from occurring in the future. These plans and protocols promote animal health and minimizes the time and labor resources required to treat sick animals. It is important to remember that small steps can reduce disease transmission probability by orders of magnitude. Simple measures such as hand washing, changing coveralls, and cleaning boots can have a great impact on disease transmission. Foundational principles of biosecurity, as discussed in the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program, funded by the Beef Checkoff, are necessary to build upon and understand where a particular cattle operation stands at present. Annual biosecurity training for caretakers and visitors in disease prevention and control practices can reduce the risk of disease spread between animals and humans (zoonotic disease) and prioritizes public health among caretakers and visitors. Proper implementation of sound biosecurity practices can protect the operation from lawsuits and financial loss.   

Biosecurity planning is a proactive prevention practice that veterinarians and producers can work on during peacetime. Biosecurity is one management area that the producer can exert a large degree of control over, and practices can be adapted based on risk assessments for a specific operation. It overlaps with many aspects of the BQA program, such as the herd health plan, including quarantining new animals, assessing movement records, updating treatment records and animal identification, providing good nutrition, optimizing welfare, minimizing stress with good stockmanship, and implementing vaccination programs. These topics encompass everyday activities and veterinarians have a critical teaching role in caretaker education regarding biosecurity guidelines.   

Daily biosecurity practices include some of the most important steps to protecting the cattle herd. BQA has partnered with the USDA funded Secure Beef Supply (SBS) Plan for Continuity of Business to develop resources for cattle producers on how to properly develop written biosecurity plans to effectively combat common cattle diseases. The BQA Daily Biosecurity Plan for Disease Prevention template offers an introductory, stepwise biosecurity plan for identifying and mitigating biosecurity risks on cattle operations. Veterinarians can assist producers in customizing plans for each operation, allowing flexibility for producers and their resource team to evaluate what management practices work best for their situation. For instance, exhibition livestock will have a different risk profile than cattle who do not leave the ranch. Working with the herd veterinarian provides unique opportunities for evaluating current practices and collaborating on steps for improvement.   

This plan is a precursor to the SBS Plan, an enhanced biosecurity plan which will be necessary during a potential or confirmed foreign animal disease outbreak such as with foot and mouth disease (FMD) which is the most contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hooved animals (such as cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and wildlife). The SBS plan and training materials have amplified biosecurity steps to protect against FMD. While FMD does not negatively impact public health or food safety, this devastating animal disease could destroy livelihoods for individual producers and impact all sectors that are part of the animal protein industry. On the SBS website, anyone can learn more about FMD, what it looks like in affected animals, and find tools and design concepts to incorporate into their facilities and their business plans.   

Content sections for both the daily and enhanced biosecurity plans are the same for consistency between BQA and SBS plans, allowing producers and veterinarians to build up to more stringent biosecurity steps that will be necessary for the SBS plan. The SBS plan is similar to other Secure Food Supply plans, such as the Secure Milk Supply (SMS). As the dairy industry continues to be impacted by H5N1, USDA is reimbursing producers who want to develop an enhanced biosecurity plan using the SMS resources. Veterinarian involvement is key to implementing biosecurity at the farm level.   

All producers will start their biosecurity plans at different levels, so emphasizing foundational biosecurity principles will be advantageous during plan development. With the cattle industry continuously looking to improve everyday biosecurity practices on the farm or ranch, it is important that veterinarians and producers have practical tools and resources. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), through USDA National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP) funds, has been developing new SBS educational resources including sector specific videos as training tools. See Table 1 for new resources that have been developed through this project. National train-the-trainer workshops for veterinarians will also be offered at AABP and winter AVC meetings to educate and encourage adoption of SBS Plan.   

Livestock veterinarians and producers in all animal agriculture should strive for continuous improvement in biosecurity planning including record keeping and annual reassessment of their practices. For more information and downloadable preparation documents, visit the BQA website at www.bqa.org or the Secure Beef Supply Plan website at securebeef.org. For veterinarians in the dairy industry, the National Dairy FARM program has an extensive biosecurity program found here: https://nationaldairyfarm.com/dairy-farm-standards/farm-biosecurity/. The greatest contribution of the cattle (and livestock) industry to disease preparedness will include proactive preparation through biosecurity planning. Collaboration among all levels of the supply chain will be vital as we continue to protect the integrity of our cattle and livestock industries.   

Table 1: Newly Created Secure Beef Supply and BQA Biosecurity Resources 

Enhanced Biosecurity Supply List for Cattle Operations 
Livestock Hauler/Transporter Enhanced Biosecurity Steps 
Contingency Planning for Livestock Haulers/Transporters 
What to Expect During a National Movement Standstill 
Premises Identification: What is needed and how is it used? 
Creating a Premises Map Video & corresponding instructions handout  
Customizable outreach articles for “What producers need to know about SBS” (250, 500, 1000 word articles available)

This article was originally published in the August 2024 issue of Bovine Veterinarian.