Whenever the topic of biosecurity comes up, it’s no surprise that many people might find their attention waning due to the issue’s complexity or because they don’t feel they have experienced a biosecurity problem. The reality is that every producer has encountered some biosecurity risk or event at one point or another and may not have been fully aware or didn’t consider the “biosecurity” aspect of the matter.

In recent months, our friends in the dairy industry have been facing a significant biosecurity issue with an H5N1 bird flu outbreak. This outbreak is zoonotic, meaning the disease can spread between species. No cases have been reported in the national beef cattle herd, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. This event should prompt many producers to think about biosecurity and the biosecurity risks related to their operations.

Biosecurity aims to protect animals from disease by minimizing the movement of biological organisms (such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites) within and/or onto an operation. The key principles to achieve this are physical separation of sick or suspected sick animals, cleaning to remove contamination, and disinfecting to kill any remaining pathogens.

Producers should practice these basic biosecurity guidelines by developing and implementing a daily biosecurity protocol to protect their operations from outbreaks of sickness and disease. The Beef Quality Assurance program has developed a simple template for producers to create this basic daily biosecurity plan. This plan can be found under the templates section at www.bqa.org.

A disease outbreak can financially cripple an operation if animal performance is greatly reduced or, worse if the outbreak results in the death of animals.

Beyond basic biosecurity, the National BQA program has recently discussed enhanced biosecurity plans. These plans go several steps beyond basic biosecurity measures and are intended for use in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. The beef industry’s main foreign animal disease concern is foot and mouth disease. Although it was eradicated from the U.S. in 1929, it is still active in other countries and is easily spread. It is considered the most contagious animal disease known.

It’s important to note that foot and mouth disease is not a food safety risk or public health concern. Beef products remain safe to eat. However, public perception would be detrimental. Additionally, one case of foot and mouth disease found in the U.S. would shut down the U.S. beef export market and cut profits for all cattle producers, crippling the U.S. beef industry. To put real financial numbers to that, the U.S. exported over $10 billion of beef and beef products in 2023. Exports add about $425 of value per fed steer or heifer (including meat cuts and offal), nearly 20% of the value for every fed carcass.

Because of the financial implications of foreign animal disease, producers should strongly consider developing an enhanced biosecurity plan or a Secure Beef Supply plan. Developing this plan does not necessarily mean you have to begin implementing it immediately. It must only be implemented for business continuity during a foreign animal disease outbreak. Some beef packers may also require implementing a Secure Beef Supply plan to ensure consumers that they are procuring a supply of safe, wholesome, and healthy cattle. Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture will require the implementation of a Secure Beef Supply plan during an outbreak of a foreign animal disease in order to receive a livestock movement permit. The State will require this permit for all operations within a containment zone during a foreign animal disease outbreak.

If you would like to know more about developing a Secure Beef Supply plan, visit Secure Beef Supply (www.securebeef.org).