You manage what you measure. When it comes to transport biosecurity, measuring its implementation with Farm Health Guardian (FHG) technology has visible results. Plus, real-time feedback through biosecurity breach alerts is shown to greatly improve compliance by personnel.
Transport biosecurity matters
Trucks and other vehicles are a main culprit in the transmission of farm animal disease, particularly in the swine industry. Research confirms this.
Dr. Derald Holtkamp and a team of researchers at Iowa State University reviewed infections of PRRSV, PEDV and porcine deltacoronovirus (PDCoV) at growing-pig sites and observed a close link between movement events and outbreaks, pointing to significant biosecurity gaps in livestock transportation[1].
They identified that the frequency of movement events (deliveries, maintenance, etc.) closely corresponded to infection in both the nursery and finishing phases.
“The timing of the breaks in the finisher phase for PRRSV were frequently associated with the timing of pig movement events from the nursery to finishing phase sites,” said Dr. Holtkamp.
Not all GPS devices are created equal
With real-time movement tracking for trucks and trailers, Farm Health Guardian software helps close the gaps in transport biosecurity. A geofence, or virtual perimeter, is placed around a farm property. The software is either linked to an existing fleet tracking system or GPS units are installed on trailers and other vehicles.
Collaborating with Saskatchewan Pork[2], FHG undertook a research project to determine the GPS devices that would perform the best under the conditions in swine production settings.
A total of 3,172 visits to farm properties were recorded by FHG software during the 10-month project in 2022 and 2023. Visits per day to geofenced properties averaged 10.3 visits, with the most frequented locations being feed mills and truck washes.
A key takeaway was that not all GPS devices are created equal when subjected the rigours or requirements of use in an agricultural setting.
Of the technologies tested, three GPS devices (two wired or powered, one fully battery powered) showed reliable performance. Based on our research, our leading recommendation is a GPS brake light.
Measure biosecurity to manage it
A next step for FHG was developing Biosecurity Breach Alerts for trucks and trailers. The FHG software can be configured to monitor a production system’s biosecurity protocols and send alerts if those protocols are breached. For example, visit order or truck wash requirements.
Several major swine integrators in the US Midwest piloted the FHG breach alerts feature. They found that truck and trailer biosecurity breaches happen more often than they expected (Figure 1).
Real-time feedback greatly improves biosecurity compliance
In addition, the ability to visualize the data and using technology to monitor biosecurity implementation made personnel more aware and careful of what they were doing. Figure 2 shows breaches per week, with a distinct overall downward trend showing improved compliance. Digitizing biosecurity allowed the data to be visualized, resulting in improved compliance with protocols and stronger biosecurity.
For more information, visit www.farmhealthguardian.com.
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[2] With funding from Canadian Agri-food Automation and Intelligence Network
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