Commercial Poultry
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Biosecurity Update
As we enter this fall with trepidation that HPAI may once again find its way into US poultry
flocks, we would like to provide an update on commercial biosecurity efforts.
Working with poultry integrators, a list of five practices that meet the minimum
requirements for biosecurity were developed. Over 500 growers, government employees
and allied industry personnel were asked (using clickers so data was anonymous) if they
followed these practices:
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Biosecurity Update
1
Proactive Steps to
3
Prevent an
“Undercover Activist”
Cocci Challenge
During Cold Months
4
Chicken House
Construction
Moratorium?
5
Poultry Mortality
Freezer Units Now
Eligible for CostShare in Maryland
6
Developing a Biosecurity Plan for
Employees
7
The University of Maryland is an
Equal Opportunity Employer and
Equal Access Programs
1. No backyard poultry
2. Farm dedicated footwear and clothes
3. No unauthorized visitors
4. Visitors wear protective clothing
5. Approved and well managed BMP for dead bird disposal
We strongly recommend the following practices:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Visitors logs
Signage
Limited access (locking doors, farm gates, designated access doors)
Wild bird exclusion (end door management)
Active beetle and rodent control
Clean up feed spills
Footbaths/dedicated footwear for each house
Wash hands
Wash all equipment that comes onto the farm
The workshops were a joint effort between the University of Delaware Cooperative
Extension, University of Maryland Extension, Integrators and Delmarva Poultry Industry,
Inc. Six workshops at different location on the shore, three in Maryland and three
Delaware. The workshops were held in different location for ease of growers to attend.
Three of these workshops were held in June and three is September in order to allow
growers the opportunity to attend. Additionally, poultry integrators have been holding
educational meetings with their growers to help them understand the importance of these
practices as well as how to implement them.
A recent follow-up survey found 89% of attendees have made changes to improve their
biosecurity practices. Of the 11% that did not make any changes, 83% reported they
already had a good plan in place.
Biosecurity Update
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The use of dedicated farm footwear has increased on farms from 88% to 98%.
The use of dedicated farm clothing has increased from 67% to 93%.
Farms reporting no contact with backyard flocks increased slightly from 91% to 93%.
Farm mortality/ composters are maintain properly on 96% of farms, up from 75%.
98% of growers report that they are training employees/family members on the
importance of biosecurity and how it should be implemented.
Occurrence of Implementation of Suggested Practices
Farm sign-in log
60%
Wash equipment entering farm
38%
Signage to alert visitors about biosecurity
78%
Have disposable clothing for necessary
visitors
48%
Limit access to farm
84%
Removing bird habitat around houses
Dedicated shoes for each house
Hand washing
50%
42%
72%
Footbaths at entrance to each house
Close end door - bird exclusion
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82%
70%
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Proactive Steps to Prevent an “Undercover Activist” from
Telling Their Version of Your Farm’s Story
DPI, Inc. and Animal Agriculture Alliance, a Pro-agriculture Group
Agriculture is a business, and just like any business, farmers need to proactively protect themselves from
potential legal issues. Below are some suggestions that farmers could implement today that may help
mitigate the disaster that is animal rights activism.
Paper trail and training
First and foremost, all agricultural employers should provide written guidelines on every action employees
should undertake on the farm, coupled with appropriate training. In the case of animal rights activism,
making sure that all employees understand how to properly care for livestock is an excellent safeguard for
employers. These guidelines and training sessions should also include information that explicitly demand
employees raise any concerns about animal abuse – or any other problem for that matter – with a supervisor
or employer immediately. This kind of rule will prevent animal rights activists from being able to claim that
abuse is rampant on a farm; if employees are not holding themselves and each other accountable, it is less
likely that the employer can be responsible as well. That said, employers should always try their best to
personally oversee operations to ensure that no improper actions are conducted.
Additionally, employees should sign a notice indicating that they have read the written guidelines and
received appropriate training. This way, animal rights activists or otherwise rogue employees cannot claim
ignorance of the materials an employer provides.
Be your own ‘Undercover Boss’
In conjunction with creating a paper trail that proves vigilance in caring for animals, employers should
consider installing cameras on their property in areas where employees will likely handle livestock. While
this can be expensive, having your own video evidence to combat the claims of the significantly altered
activist videos can provide necessary context. Also, having this kind of video evidence is beneficial to the
entire animal agriculture industry, as consumers could have the opportunity to see what really happens on
farms. Perhaps if consumers better understood what farming operations really look like, they would swallow
sensationalist claims from agenda driven animal rights organizations less readily.
Public defamation is already illegal
Now let’s assume that despite an employer’s best efforts, an undercover activist infiltrates a farm and
releases a video that portrays out of context activities as abuse. Employers should not be afraid to sue the
activist for defamation. These undercover videos can completely destroy the livelihoods of farmers. If an
employer can prove – perhaps through the measures mentioned above – that no abuse has occurred on the
farm, or that appropriate measures have been taken to eliminate abuse therefore placing liability on the
individual abuser, then that is simply fantastic. But the damage that arises from public defamation can be
absolutely devastating to farmers and their families, not to mention public perception of animal agriculture
as a whole. Many animal rights organizations see economic benefit from jumping from one issue to the
next, as Chris DeRose – a fringe animal rights activist himself – points out in an interview with an animal
rights terrorist organization. These organizations profit dramatically every time a new video or other public
outreach campaign creates a national firestorm. Because we can connect economic benefit to defamation, it
is even possible to claim that these organizations violate the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.
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Steps to Prevent “Undercover Activist”... (cont.)
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Granted, this act has historically always been employed in cases of data theft, usually involving an individual
attempting to sell or otherwise transfer trade secrets to foreign corporations. However, the text of the law
could be interpreted to apply in this circumstance as well. Any attorneys out there? Just some food for
thought.
Closing thoughts
With or without “ag-gag” laws, employers can disincentivize activists from even trying to erroneously accuse
hardworking farmers. If there is real abuse, then employees should report it immediately so they and their
employers can find a solutions to correct the problem. However, the likelihood of discovering real animal
abuse on farms is far lower than animal rights organizations would like the public to think. Animal care is the
number one priority on my family’s farm, and for all other farm families. At the end of the day, I hope my
suggestions can help farmers effectively reduce the likelihood of being the target of an undercover activist
while also improving the public perception of animal agriculture.
Cocci Challenge During Cold Months
Dr. John McCarty, Senior Veterinarian, Merial, Inc. for Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.’s Timely Topics
Coccidiosis can have an enormous impact on broiler performance which is most often reflected in reduced
weight gain and decreased feed efficiency. It is considered to be the most costly pathogen challenge in
modern broiler production in the U.S. While coccidiosis is a year-round problem, cold weather conditions can
result in changes in the ecology in a broiler house that lead
to increased cocci challenge.
When the weather cools and the houses tighten up, disease challenge tends to increase in the chicken house.
As ventilation is decreased to help conserve heat, more moisture remains in the house. The increased
moisture, especially in the litter, favors increased bacterial, viral, and cocci load.
Cocci need moisture and heat for the oocysts to sporulate. Once these are sporulated, oocysts become
infective to the chicken. The increase in moisture can lead to greater sporulation of the oocyst population.
And, as more of the oocysts sporulate, birds are faced with a heavier cocci challenge.
The use of coccidiosis vaccines can help influence the nature of the load. Continued use of vaccines helps
dilute the wild cocci population with a vaccine strain. In particular, vaccines with precocious strains place
minimal stress on the bird while at the same time providing adequate stimulation for immunity development,
and the bird can be protected with less stress.
The nature of the precocious strain vaccines allows for the increase of sporulation to be less detrimental, since
the number of oocysts shed are less when compared to non- precocious strains of cocci. Even though there
are fewer numbers of oocyst with the precocious strains of vaccine, the number present is still more than
adequate to stimulate proper and complete immunity.
Cocci control also helps minimize disease challenge from other organisms. A critical one when it comes to
gut health is clostridia.
Disruption of the intestinal lining, such as that caused by coccidiosis, provides opportunity for clostridial
organisms to infect the gut and to cause disease such as necrotic enteritis. By reducing the level of cocci, less
disruption in the gut provides less opportunity for clostridial infection. This would also help the bird
regarding nonspecific enteritis, both clinical and subclinical.
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Cocci Challenge... (cont.)
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There are many ways to prepare for the cooler months, but assuring proper cocci control prior to the onset
of cold weather will keep a low cocci load in the house. Then, the use of a precocious vaccine strain during
these months of the year allows for minimal stress on the bird’s digestive system while still providing
optimum immunity against cocci. It will also be important to continually monitor the cocci challenge.
Doing routine postings of broilers to assure there is proper cycling helps confirm that the vaccine is doing
its job of developing proper immunity.
Chicken House Construction Moratorium?
Several groups in the environmental industry that repeatedly have been hostile to the chicken industry have
proposed a moratorium on chicken house construction on Delmarva, particularly
in Maryland through 2024, believing this will improve water quality in the
Chesapeake Bay.
In response to the Environmental Integrity Project “study” entitled More
Phosphorus, Less Monitoring, DPI offers these points.
Updated and modern facilities are required to keep businesses competitive, including family-owned chicken
farms. New chicken houses have landscape designs and environmental protection systems that exceed
existing chicken housing. Water quality improvements are likely to be enhanced with new chicken houses
and their stormwater management plans.
Chicken houses covered under Maryland’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations program are allowed
zero discharge of nutrients to waters of the state except for discharges during a 24-hour, 25 year storm
which is about 6 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. So under normal weather conditions, there will be no
discharges of nutrients to waters of the state from the hundreds of chicken houses covered by the state
permit.
The report’s authors conclude that a 1 to 2 percent annual growth in chicken meat production in the last 30
years on the Delmarva Peninsula is dangerous trend. That is nonsense.
According to DPI data, the capacity of all Delmarva chicken houses from 1985 until 2014 went up by 37%;
about 1 percent per year.
From 1995 until 2014, the number of Delmarva chicken houses went down by 25%.
In the last 10 years, the capacity of all Delmarva chicken houses went down about 3% while the number of
operating chicken houses went down 12%. This is hardly an explosive growth that needs to be stopped by
government actions.
After several years of economic sluggishness and regulatory hurdles, chicken house construction throughout
Delmarva is catching up to the more normal level. For several years until last year, only a few houses were
built. Now, the pent-up demand for new houses is resulting in new construction.
The report says nothing about the growth of the human being population in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
and the growth of houses, businesses, and impervious surfaces that contribute to water pollution.
Opponents of the chicken industry who favor the moratorium on chicken house construction until full
implementation of the Maryland Phosphorus Management Tool regulation in 2024 are hoping that by killing
construction they will kill the chicken industry.
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Poultry Mortality Freezer Units Now Eligible for
Cost-Share in Maryland
Greener Solutions, LLC - Victor Clark
Alternative to Composting Is More Cost Effective and Better for Biosecurity
ANNAPOLIS, MD, Dec. 1, 2015 – Maryland poultry growers finally have an alternative to composting for
routine mortality. On-farm freezer collection units are now eligible for cost-share funding, but growers must
act quickly as Dec. 18 is the application deadline for the first round of funding.
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) added a new animal mortality system option
to its FY2016 list of conservation practices eligible for cost-share assistance through its Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
“USDA Farm Bill Conservation Programs, like EQIP, offer farmers and producers opportunities to
voluntarily address natural resource concerns on their agricultural and forest lands,” said Dr. Terron Hillsman,
NRCS Maryland State Conservationist. “Once a conservation plan, specific to each individual producer's
operation, is developed, field office staff can assist the producer in determining which system best addresses
the resource concern and fits the producer's farming operation.”
This management system is simple and has been used by growers in other regions of the country for more
than 20 years. Routine mortality is placed inside specially designed collection units available for purchase
from local ag-equipment retailers.
A customized collection vehicle arrives between flocks to empty the units. Routine maintenance of the units
is provided as part of the collection service offered by Greener Solutions, the company that introduced this
option to the Peninsula.
“Producers who are interested in animal mortality system options should contact their local Soil Conservation
District or NRCS Office as soon as possible for more information,” said Jackie Byam, Acting Assistant State
Conservationist for Programs for NRCS Maryland.
Farmers can sign up for conservation programs throughout the year, but applications are ranked and funding
selections are made at specific times throughout the year. The application deadline for an EQIP Pilot Project
on Locally Identified County Priorities is Friday, December 18, 2015. NRCS has not yet announced
additional application deadlines for EQIP for FY 2016.
Growers using this new practice have been able to greatly reduce the time and money they previously spent
on composting, realizing thousands of dollars a year in operational savings.
“For us, it’s a great management tool,” said Brent Willin of State Line Farms. “The guys can pick up the
birds, open the lid and throw them in. .… The last time we touch the birds is when they drop into that
freezer ... it's a really nice process,” he said.
Another benefit of freezer collection units is better biosecurity. By using sealed containers that lock in
pathogens and lock out scavengers and flies, growers can significantly reduce their risk of loss to disease,
including avian influenza.
Poultry Mortality Freezer Units... (cont.)
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This new BMP is particularly important to growers in Maryland, where the impact of the Phosphorus
Management Tool or “PMT” will be to limit or even ban land application on many farm fields. This is a big
problem for composting as a practice because the end result must be land applied – there are no alternative
uses for compost.
Nonmonetary benefits for all growers include the elimination of the smells, flies and scavengers associated
with composting, so both the grower and the grower’s neighbors enjoy a greatly improved quality of life. In
fact, DPI recently added freezer units to its list of Best Management Practices for Good Neighbor Relations.
“Bottom line – we want more freezers [for our other two farms] … it’s really worked out for us,” said
Willin, who shared his experience during an Ag Week presentation, which you can view at: www.greenersolutions-llc.com/how-it-works/.
Freezer units already were an approved management practice in all three states, but until now financial
assistance was only available for growers in Delaware and Virginia.
To learn more, visit
www.FarmFreezers.com.