Protecting pig and poultry populations from disease begins at the front gate.
The pig and poultry industries are going through one of their most challenging periods ever. From Foot and Mouth disease to Classical swine fever, there are many highly infectious diseases affecting pig farmers. There are now also significant concerns about the potential introduction of African swine fever to the UK, making the picture more concerning than ever. Many of these diseases have no cure, meaning culling is the only option to stop the spread. As such, it’s vital that all steps are taken in an attempt to prevent disease entry in the first place: the potential impact on the swine industry could be devastating.
For poultry owners, the avian influenza outbreak last year (2022), was the worst on record. A new strain of this highly pathogenic disease spread across the country and, with a mortality rate of up to 100% and no cure, it has devastated flocks. Worryingly, the industry could be heading for a repeat as the 2023 AI season begins to take hold.
A critical vector for introducing diseases is through the front gate via visiting vehicles. It is believed that this transmission method has contributed to the spread of many diseases, including avian influenza. Recent studies also suggest that African swine fever, with its high virility, can spread via fomites like people and feed trucks. Moving livestock on and off farms, deliveries, maintenance and staff vehicles, as well as postal service vehicles all have the potential to bring deadly pathogens on-farm – and the more frequent the visits, the higher the potential risk of an incursion.
Vehicle biosecurity is a crucial part of a wide-ranging biosecurity plan, as accurate movement monitoring and verifying compliance checking significantly reduces the risk of disease spread.
Digitally tracking vehicles on and off farms also helps protect pigs and poultry
Farm Health Guardian from Livetec Systems provides farmers with state-of-the-art, low effort, high accuracy systems to track all vehicles that enter their premises. With real-time reporting, alerts, check-ins and instant communications, everyone working on a farm will know who is trying to enter their farm, where they have come from, and the purpose of their visit. Maximum transparency for greater biosecurity.
Of course, although strong biosecurity measures can minimise the risk of contracting a contagious disease, they cannot eliminate it. However, in the event of an outbreak, Farm Health Guardian’s digital vehicle tracking logs can be retrieved from their secure storage in an instant, ready to pass on to the relevant authorities. All of the time savings from this automation will reduce farm down-time and help the farmer get back to farming and to profitability as soon as possible.
Farm Health Guardian with Livetec Systems offers farm properties across the UK accurate vehicle movement recording services, protecting farms now and preparing for the future.
