Texas A&M AgriLife offers biosecurity training to help beef cattle producers prepare for threats
Agents and veterinarians learn to develop ranch protocols that can help protect livestock from threats like the New World screwworm and disease.
To help producers become better prepared for threats, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides enhanced biosecurity training through a program developed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Animal health can be impacted by many factors, which is why farm biosecurity is vital for Texas livestock producers. Emerging pests and other challenges, such as the New World screwworm, can have devastating impacts on livestock.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides enhanced biosecurity training through a program developed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to help producers become better prepared for threats. The Secure Beef Supply Plan for Continuity of Business was developed for foot-and-mouth disease preparedness and provides biosecurity safeguards and contingency planning steps for ranchers. NCBA received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program to improve the Secure Beef Supply plan through educational tools and outreach.
“If we are going to continue to have a secure beef supply, we have to look at emerging diseases,” said Dr. Tom Hairgrove, AgriLife Extension cattle veterinary specialist in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University. “This program was originally designed for the threat of foot-and-mouth disease, but can be adapted to other emerging diseases and threats such as New World screwworm. To deal with emerging threats, many producers need to be looking at how they operate, how people access the ranch and how they exit,” Hairgrove said.
Earlier this year, NCBA and Texas A&M AgriLife began conducting train-the-trainer efforts with AgriLife Extension agents across the state. Veterinarians also took the training at the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course so they would be able to work with clientele in developing Secure Beef Supply protocols for individual ranches and implementing them in the event of an outbreak.
Making a plan
Hairgrove said ranchers must begin with the basics. A simple audit of operations should document entry and exit points, and where cattle are purchased and marketed, as well as cattle inventory and location. If a stop movement order is issued, knowing inventory and location will be key, particularly if animals are already in transit.
Once this assessment is made, the rancher can identify weaknesses and implement measures to strengthen the operation in terms of biosecurity. Other preventative planning includes financial risk management, cattle health management, traffic in and out of the ranch, training personnel and other factors.
“This type of preventative plan applies to any disease,” he said. “If you have a good biosecurity plan, you are going to be prepared for anything that might come your way.”
