Every farm is different. So how do you make biosecurity work in practice? Olly Young, Farm Manager at Copas Traditional Turkeys, shares his experience of working with Livetec’s biosecurity team to identify risks, make practical improvements and prepare for the unexpected.
“We get one chance a year to produce our Christmas turkeys.”
For Olly, those words explain why biosecurity matters so much.
Copas Turkeys has four farms within a 10km zone and finishes up to 85,000 Christmas turkeys each year. Protecting the birds is essential to the business, making a practical and consistent approach to biosecurity a priority.
In our latest Biosecurity in Action video, Olly is joined by Dr Paul Talling and Amy Davies, Biosecurity Advisors at Livetec, to explore the challenges of farm biosecurity and how understanding risk can help producers make informed improvements.
Every farm has different risks
Biosecurity is not a one size fits all exercise. Every farm has its own location, buildings, routines and disease pressures.
As Livetec explains in the video, three important routes of disease introduction are uncontained water, vermin and people.
Identifying potential risks is an important first step. But understanding how a farm actually operates is just as important as knowing what structures and procedures are in place.
A fresh perspective can help producers spot vulnerabilities and consider where improvements could make the greatest difference.
Making biosecurity manageable
Reviewing biosecurity can feel overwhelming, particularly when producers are balancing the everyday demands of running a working farm.
Livetec’s electronic biosecurity assessment system uses detailed questions to examine different areas of a farm, including how buildings and facilities are used by staff and other people.
The assessment helps identify vulnerabilities and provides practical measures to help move biosecurity forward. Rather than treating every issue as equally urgent, it helps turn a complex task into a more manageable list of actions.
For Copas Turkeys, reviewing biosecurity with Livetec helped inform changes to everyday procedures across the business.
Small changes can make a difference
Improving biosecurity does not always require a major investment.
Olly describes a number of practical measures introduced at Copas Turkeys, including:
These changes are relatively straightforward, but they help reinforce the procedures used to manage movement around the farms.
The key is to identify the risks that matter to each site and choose measures that are realistic to implement and maintain.
Using digital tools to support everyday biosecurity
Technology can also make biosecurity procedures easier to manage.
Copas Turkeys uses Livetec’s Access Protect, which allows Olly to access information on his phone about people signed in to each site.
Having information readily available reduces reliance on paper records and can make it easier to retrieve and share details when needed.
For a business operating across several sites, this accessibility can save time and effort while providing reassurance that relevant information is close at hand.
Digital tools support the wider biosecurity process, helping make procedures more accessible as part of everyday farm management.
Being prepared for the unexpected
Biosecurity is about more than reducing the risk of disease entering a farm. It is also about knowing what to do if an outbreak occurs.
Livetec developed an Emergency Response Plan for Copas Turkeys so the business has a plan in place should a disease outbreak happen.
Planning ahead provides a framework to work from during a challenging situation, rather than having to start from scratch when time is critical.
Understanding risks, making practical improvements and preparing for an emergency all form part of a structured approach to biosecurity.
Biosecurity is a mindset
There is no such thing as a completely biosecure farm. The priority is to manage risks as effectively as possible and control them as close to the birds as possible.
That means looking at familiar routines with fresh eyes, asking whether things could be done differently and regularly reviewing the way the farm operates.
As Olly’s experience shows, reviewing biosecurity does not have to be a daunting or costly process. Small changes can be a practical starting point, whatever the size of the business.
The important thing is not to wait until a problem arises.
Start your biosecurity review today
Every farm has its own challenges, but the first step is the same: understand your risks and decide where to focus.
Watch Biosecurity in Action to hear from Olly at Copas Turkeys, alongside Dr Paul Talling and Amy Davies, Biosecurity Advisors at Livetec, and discover how a practical approach can help make biosecurity part of everyday farm life.
Ready to take a fresh look at your own biosecurity? Contact Livetec to discuss your farm’s biosecurity.