8 The Trusted Source for Canada’s Pork Producers Better Pork | August 2024 Follow-through. Among the chief barriers to compliance is cost, as starting and maintaining a biosecurity program is far from cheap. “Cost has been an issue since Day 1,” says Brockhoff. “If you want to wash, disinfect and dry your transports, that will add another dollar per pig to your expenses. To only wash and dry, it might be 70 cents per pig, or 20 cents to just flush the trailer. As your cost goes down, however, so does your protection.” Expense also varies widely when it comes to managing the flow of people at your barn. Do you just lock the door? Have a full Danish entry? Use a Danish entry and shower? What about adding facial recognition? As long as cost remains a barrier, so too will compliance. Though dollars and cents are critical to optimal biosecurity, so too is attitude. “We noticed some biosecurity fatigue during the PED crisis,” says Brockhoff. “Some workers got tired of following all the rules, and we know they are impacted greatly by social cues from barn managers, production managers and owners. If the owner only comes to the barn twice a week for 15 minutes and feels they don’t need to go through the Danish entry process, it may cause others to let down their guard as well.” Sowing the seeds of succession One reason to keep risk low and herd health high is to benefit the next generation on your farm. Forging a plan for passing the business to new hands is crucial, complex and contentious, but it can be done. “Succession planning comes down to two aspects: Family and business,” says Andrea De Groot, agricultural transition specialist at Farm Credit Canada in Perth, Ont. “The family part is about creating clarity for the future. The senior generation is wondering what the next phase of their life – we’re not using the ‘R’ word here – will look like.” Meanwhile, the junior generation is wondering if they have a place in the operation and, if so, what exactly it will be. The plan gives them confidence to move the business forward. On the business side, a plan allows for shared decision-making based on a solid knowledge of what’s to come. Should we proceed with those bigger capital investments? Do we build that new barn for $1 million? Overall, De Groot sees four pillars as key to a solid plan. “It starts with deciding where everyone will live – something that sounds easy but is pretty important,” says De Groot. “We then look at business continuity and how to keep the operation profitable for the new ownEXPERT ROUNDTABLE PigCHAMP Online brings you all the features of PigCHAMP without the need for software installation or updates. Your entire database is securely stored and remains accessible via remote connection, allowing you the flexibility to manage your operation from anywhere you can connect to the internet. Andrea De Groot
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc0MDI3