Agricultural News
OSU Veterinarian Rosslyn Biggs Says Catttle Producers Should Make Biosecurity Plan a Priority
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 17:44:03 CDT
Having a biosecurity plan in place should be a priority for cattle producers says Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, OSU beef cattle extension specialist and College of Veterinary Medicine director. Dr. Biggs made a presentation on the secure beef supply plan at the recent Oklahoma Cattleman's Assoc. conference. Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Associate Farm Director and Editor KC Sheperd talked with Dr. Biggs following the presentation.
The secure beef plan focuses on foot and mouth disease.
In Oklahoma we have Dr. Hall, state veterinarian and his team working on a biosecurity plan based on the current national plan, Biggs said.
I think as producers we need to start thinking about our own biosecurity plans, put those in writing and practice them, Biggs said.
Biggs said we haven't had foot and mouth disease since 1929 but if we were to have an outbreak today it would be devastating.
As we continue to have this discussion with cattle producers, now is the time to be prepared, she said.
The biosecurity plan should build upon what producers are already doing to keep disease from entering our herd, things like cleanliness and hygiene, Biggs said.
The OSU veterinarian said the first thing to do is put the plan in writing and visit with their veterinarian.
Great resources for developing a biosecurity plan can be found by clicking here and here
Biggs said the Oklahoma plan is being modeled after the plan used by Kansas officials.
Kansas has their plan and it is available for evaluation as they have jumped ahead of other states, Biggs said.
Having a plan in place can save money in the long run because you are not letting disease enter your herd and saving on medications, Biggs said.
She noted COVID-19 has brought the issue of epidemiology and contact tracing to the front.
Biggs said it is voluntary to do a secure beef plan, but biosecurity should be your priority.
It's something that takes time but if we can be prepared it will be time well spent, Biggs said.
She said plans should be designed specifically for an individual producer's herd.
In addition to having a biosecurity plan, producers are encouraged to consider ultrahigh frequency ear tags. Biggs was joined in her presentation by U.S. CattleTrace, a nonprofit producer driven effort to allow us to trace disease using the high tech ear tags.
We've got to be able to have real time data and this will allow us to do that, Biggs said.
For many producers this can increase efficiencies by giving them real time data by simply scanning the tag.
You can listen to KC's interview with Dr. Biggs by clicking on the listen bar below.
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