Nocton Dairies Ltd - bio-security

Keeping food products safe

The security of the Nocton Dairy site will have to be of the highest standard to avoid potential problems affecting operation of business.  Two aspects are important... bio-security and general security.

1. Bio-security... what is this?

Disease prevention to minimise risk of contamination to the herd, feed and equipment.

What is involved?
Organisms can transmit rapidly through a herd of cows if suitable precautions are not put in place from the outset. The larger the herd, the greater the risk.

The biggest risk is encountered when introducing new animals to the herd. A decent period of quarantine is essential if a 'closed herd' (breeding on-site) is not being adopted.

Well-tested procedures must be in place for insemination, vaccination and when treating mastitis and other ailments.

Some diseases are spread through the air and are difficult to prevent, but can be minimised through good herd management practices.

Birds flying in and out of the barns can carry infectious agents on their feet and within their digestive system, so pigeons, sparrows and starlings etc should be discouraged from entering and roosting in the cow accommodation.

Rodents can also be a major problem, where their continuous supply of droppings can contaminate feed supplies. Rodents carry disease agents on their fur and feet so a full programme of prevention is imperative.

Management of manure is going to be a huge responsibility in this intensive dairy considering the amounts to be disposed of safely. Any infected animal will excrete infectious agents in their faeces, urine and other bodily fluids. Parasites and flies can and will breed in such matter unless their lifecycle is interrupted terminally.

All traffic onto site should be managed to avoid contamination to the cattle or feed areas. Even people visiting the site can bring in disease, especially if they have been in contact with infected animals beforehand, so a full disinfection procedure should be adopted.

As you can see from the above, a bio-security plan is therefore key to good cow welfare and a well-run unit.  A full risk assessment should be carried out to inform such a plan.

One could argue that disease prevention is just common sense... unfortunately common sense isn't always common practice.  Disease prevention must be planned for prior to the dairy becoming operational.

Cattle and bovine TB

http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/forum_topic.php?thread_id=4

Want to read more on this topic?

Paths of antimicrobial contamination
http://www.farmersguardian.com/Journals/1/Files/2010/8/3/Antimicrobial%20contamination%20diagram.pdf
[N.B. if this diagram doesn't display on opening, check the %age size of the document and alter to 100%]

Farmers are the ‘unfair target’ in drug resistance battle
http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/livestock/livestock-features/farmers-are-the-‘unfair-target’-in-drug-resistance-battle/33509.article

Pay close attention to good biosecurity
http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/livestock/livestock-news/pay-close-attention-to-good-biosecurity/31015.article

DEFRA - Bio Security
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/biosecurity/index.htm

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/documents/biosecurity_guidance.pdf

2. General security?

Theft of plant and machinery has increased in Lincolnshire of late, so one would have thought it important to have basic security measures in place.  Unwelcome visitors could also be a problem.

FarmWatch (a well-known UK company catering in CCTV and security for farms: http://farmwatch.co.uk/) may be chosen to protect this facility... and there are other companies specialising in this sector as well - see article here:

Wireless security system proves successful on farms
http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/15/113775/Wireless-security-system-proves-successful-on-farms.htm

Lincolnshire Police tractor fights rural crime
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-11177821

3. Is there a real risk?

Well... nobody thought this would happen!

Lifting the lid on what happened at Pirbright site
http://www.farmersguardian.com/lifting-the-lid-on-what-happened-at-pirbright-site/11923.article

or this:

TB panic leads to new ban on export of British cattle
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4340286.ece

TB case study: Derrick Davies, Home Farm, Berkshire
http://www.farmersguardian.com/tb-case-study-derrick-davies-home-farm-berkshire/34231.article

More information on bovine tuberculosis if you are interested in reading further:
http://www.clearstats.co.uk/badgersandbovinetb.php

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/abouttb/otherspecies.htm

and finally

Organic farms have better soil
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/8000399/Organic-farms-have-better-soil.html

It pays to plan carefully and establish all risk factors.