Farm Visitor Biosecurity
Disclaimer: this post was written prior to COVID-19. With the recent pandemic, many farms are not allowing visitors. Please respect their decisions to keep their family, animals, and crops safe during this time and all times.
However, some farms have an on-site farm store that could still be open. You must check with your farmer before visiting in the event that it could be closed.
Please take biosecurity seriously, now and always.
What is Farm Visitor Biosecurity?
Farm Visitor Biosecurity are measures taken to prevent the spread of diseases, pests, and sickness to a farmer’s plants and animals. It can include things like boot drips, shoe covers, hand washing and sanitation stations, not touching or petting animals, parking and walking in a designated path, and more.
Why is Farm Visitor Biosecurity important?
The health and well-being of livestock and crops is of the highest importance to small farmers. Farmers take precautions to not introduce disease to their farm such quarantining new animals, cleaning farm equipment, washing their vehicles after returning from a place that has animals, boot drips, and more. This also helps with the spread of disease to other farms. An outbreak of disease could not only could decimate one farmer’s farm, but the neighboring farms as well, leaving an entire community in financial ruin and heartache.
Here are some measures that a farm visitor should take into consideration or be asked to do. Please respect the farmer’s requests and take their health and the health of their farm in earnest. These measures are all to keep everyone healthy and safe.
A good practice before visiting any farm is to ask the farmer if they have any precautions or rules they would like you to follow during their visit. Some of these precautions might include:
1. Boot Drips is a sanitizing solution. It usually in a tray in which the solution surrounds the sole of the shoe that one steps into before entering a property or a barn. Sometimes it is accompanied by a boot scrub
2. Boot Covers are sometimes used in addition to the Boot Drips but can also be used in place of.
3. Farmers may ask you to wash your hands at a separate hand washing station prior to entering their farm store, other areas of their farm, or touching animals.
4. Farmers may ask to keep your pets at home. Not only for the physical and mental safety of their animals, but to reduce disease risk as well even if your pet is healthy.
5. Farmers may ask if you have visited another farm recently and may ask you to wash your car and/or change your clothes prior to arriving at their farm.
6. You may be asked to only park in a designated area
7. You may be asked to not touch their animals
8. If you do not feel well, you might be asked to stay home
9. There might be areas of the farm that you are not allowed to walk upon. Please respect fence lines and other boundaries.
10. Children should always be supervised and respectful of precautions as well.
