I recently had an opportunity to tour a pig farm. Arriving at the farm, we were handed a brown paper bag. It wasn’t filled with goodies from the tour (those came later), but protective gear for us to wear inside the pig barn.
This focus on biosecurity (decreasing the chance of pests or diseases being carried onto the farm) is one tool farmers have to keep their animals healthy. They may not be able to guarantee animals won’t get sick, but they can lower the risk of it happening. As a visitor, I pose a risk to these animals, especially if I’ve recently been on another farm.
Biosecurity is a farmer’s responsibility and that of everyone who visits the farm. This means I have a responsibility to the pigs in that barn to help prevent them from getting sick. I can do that by not visiting another livestock farm within the last 48 hours. I can also do my part by wearing protective clothing such as overalls, plastic boots, and hairnets. This clothing prevents me from tracking in dirt that may carry pathogens.
Putting this protective clothing on reminded me of a doctor scrubbing in for surgery. They want to lower the risk of germs. The same is true for pig farmers. They want to lower the chance of animals being exposed to germs that may make them sick.
Pig, chicken, turkey, cattle, and other livestock farmers are advised to limit access to animals to maintain biosecurity. This is why the opportunity to visit a pig farm was so welcomed. It’s not something I get to do every day. The barn doors aren’t closed to keep me and other consumers from seeing what is going on in the barn, but, rather, to protect the pigs from pests or diseases I might carry in.
Farmers see their animals every day and they follow biosecurity practices. The farmer we visited has boots he only uses at the farm. There are footbaths outside of each barn door filled with disinfectant. Even though I had plastic booties over my shoes, I still stepped in the footbath to kill anything I might have picked up on the walk across the yard.
There is a shower at the farm. Veterinarians, nutritionists, or anyone who has been on other pig farms the same day will shower before and after they visit these pigs. If he has a barn with sick pigs, the farmer will shower and change clothes before he goes into a barn of healthy pigs.
In talking with the farmer, his veterinarian, and the pig’s nutritionist, I learned biosecurity is only one part of keeping pigs healthy. Other things that affect the health of animals include good nutrition and low stress environments. Raising pigs inside allows the farmer to keep them cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and dry when it’s raining. Animals always have access to fresh, clean water and are fed a balanced diet, which is overseen by a nutritionist (think registered dietitian for pigs). Keeping animals healthy decreases the chances the pigs will get sick and need treatment.
Biosecurity is one tool farmers have to keep pigs – or any livestock – healthy, and they aren’t the only ones who need to use it. As a visitor, I need to do my part to keep from bringing in anything that may make animals sick.
The tour was sponsored by Feed the Dialougue NC and the North Carolina Pork Council and supported by a grant from the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.
