Animals/Wildlife/Livestock
Policy; Animals and Rodents can carry pathogens and are major vehicles to many
diseases. Management and employees must be vigilant to what can be done to control
them. Crops and water sources must be protected from contamination from the
presence of animals or livestock. Crop production areas must be monitored to verify the
presence or absence of animals and to determine if there is a need to take measures to
reduce the activity in the crop production area. Included species include dogs, deer,
raccoons, livestock, rabbits, opossums etc. Some auditors have been known to fail
growers over the presence of animal fecal material in the field. It is recommended that
production areas be monitored for animal presence using the following steps..
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Note any signs of animal activity while carrying out everyday farming activities, walk
through or around the fields daily and note signs of animals passing through or feeding
in the fields. Inspect the fence lines at least every two weeks.
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Walking the fence line observing any places where the fence may be compromised or in
need of repair
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Making sure there are no weaknesses or places where animals are clearly entering and
exiting the fields
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Checking to see if any part of the fence needs to be re-baited for deer
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Visually inspecting the fields from the outside to see if there are any noticeable signs of
animal presence
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Making notes and taking action on these and any other needs that arise in keeping wild
or domesticated animals out of the fields.
Storage Pest Management Program
Packing houses are also known for harboring rodents such as mice, rats, birds and
insects. You must do your best to keep problems under control. Traps and other
methods of control will be inspected on a regular basis. Employees should be diligent in
reporting any signs of infestation in the field or processing and storage areas. Special
attention will be paid to the processing and storage facility due to the permeability of the
structure. If this permeability becomes a pest problem, a plan to deal with the cracks
and holes will be developed at that time.
If you need to hire an exterminator, they should monitor the facilities on a monthly basis.
All traps will be checked and documented daily by the farm manager. A service report
from exterminating company will be provided or updated monthly. If a change in
conditions develops, the monitoring company will be contacted immediately.
SAMPLE WRITTEN POLICY STATEMENTS
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This farming operation has a written policy describing measures taken to exclude
animals or pests from packing and storage facilities.
This farming operation has a written policy that an organized pest control program has
been established.
There is an established pest control program for the facility that includes measures to
exclude animals or pests from storage facilities
This farming operation has a written policy that an organized pest control program has
been established.
There is an established pest control program for the facility that includes measures to
exclude animals or pests from storage facilities. Service reports for the program are
available for review.
Proactive measures are taken to exclude pests or animals from packing and storage
facilities. These measures may include bird tape, screens or wind curtains. The storage
facilities are to be sufficiently sealed or isolated so they are protected from external
contamination such as wandering animals. Dogs, cats or other domestic animals are not
permitted inside the packing and storage facilities.
Measures are used to restrict irrigation water sources from livestock, wildlife, and other
potential pollution sources as needed.
Controls are in place to decrease contamination of agricultural water and soil from other
farm or animal operations. All reasonable effort is made to keep domestic and wild
animals away from water used for irrigation and the produce production area. Presence
or non- presence is monitored and documented. (Animal Presence Log)
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All reasonable effort is made to keep livestock (mine and others) and wild animals
farther than 200 feet from a water source used for irrigation Manure, if stored adjacent
to crop production areas, is maintained to prevent leakage and run off thereby
preventing contamination of crop production areas. The farming operation is such that
wild or domestic animal entry into crop production areas is infrequent. Active measures
to deter entry such as placement of animal repellant scents or similar acts will be used
to reduce the opportunity for wild or domestic animal entry but the repellants would not
be in the production field. Regular monitoring of production areas for presence of wild or
domestic animals will be performed
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This farming operation has established an organized pest control program. A pest
control log will be maintained that indicates the dates of inspection, the inspection report
and any steps taken to eliminate any problems if present. Poison bait, should it be used,
will not be located inside the facility. Only traps or nonpoisonous baits will be permitted
inside the facility should they be needed. Any area where bait or traps are set out or
areas routinely affected will be frequently monitored. Any and all bait or traps and will be
marked to be easily visible and individually identifiable. Time permitting, a map of the
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premises will be maintained indicating the location and individual identifier of any and all
bait and traps.
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A rodent and bird control program has been implemented at this storage facility.
1. If rodent traps are placed inside the storage facility, only spring-loaded style traps will
be used.
2. No bait traps will be used inside the storage facility. Bait traps may be used outside
the storage facility only.
3. All traps will be checked frequently and bait traps will be restocked with bait when
necessary. Traps will be located in several areas inside and outside around the facility.
4. If appropriate, chicken wire or netting will be used over the air intake door and
exhaust louvers to help prevent birds from entering the storage facility.
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