BIOSECURITY AT FARM LEVEL”SECOND-HAND” MILKING ROBOTS

FARM VISITS OF SERVICE TECHNICIANS ETC.

OLLI RUOHO

VETERINARY ADVISOR

ETT ra

BIOSECURITY - CRITICAL POINTS

Animal purchase

- Buy animals only from farms, that belong to national

health scheme Naseva. Always require a health certificate

before the animals are transported to your farm. Ask your

veterinarian for help, how to ”read” the certificate, if needed.

- Never buy animals from unknown animal dealers or from

slaughterhouse company animal trading to a dairy farm !!

- Think once again; it is anyway more safe to buy new breeding

material as semen or embryos.

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Workers and visitors

- Lay an adequate hygiene lock at the entrance of the barn. Let only

necessary visitors into the barn and feed storage etc.

- Give always a protective clothing to the visitors; (safety) boots and

overalls and a head cover. See, that the workers and the visitors at

your farm also use them properly !

- Provide an adequate place for washing and disinfecting hands,

footwear and equipment.

It is recommended to wash and disinfect hands

both when going in and coming out of the barn.

HYGIENE LOCK

Ovi

tuotanto-

tiloihin

HYGIENE LOCK

BENCH

(shower)

”clean” area

”dirty” area

”clean” boots

and overalls

to be changed

in

to the barn

”dirty” boots

and cloths

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Animals leaving the farm

- Move the animals out of the barn always by yourself / your own

workers; never let the animal transporters come into the barn.

- Build a platform or a lane for loading the animals or use a loading

wagon, so that the animal transporter doesn´t have to come just

to the outdoor of the barn.

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Tools and equipment to be taken into the barn

- Take care, that tools and equipment to be taken into the barn are

cleaned or washed and disinfected, if they have been used at other

farms; e.g. tools and equipment for hoof trimmers,

service technicians etc.

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Shared machinery and vehicles etc.

- Take care, that joint machinery or contractor’s machinery is clean,

when it is moved between farms. Manure or dirt must not be

transported from one farm to another!

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Monitoring and surveillance

- Let all mastitis samples be tested with PCR.

- Take / let your veterinarian take samples, if symptoms for

respiratory tract infections, diarre etc. are found more than usual.

- Be ”proactive” !

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Decrease infection pressure

- Prevent nose contacts between the group pens for calves.

Keep the group size moderate.

- Move the animals forward in the production chain as whole groups,

do not mix groups in young stock.

- Do not move feed from one animal group to another.

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Good conditions, production environment

- Good ventilation, fresh air, enough space and dry beddings

decrease the infection pressure for respiratory tract infections,

enteritis, etc.

BIOSECURITY – CRITICAL POINTS

Bird and rodent control

- 10-15 farms / year under restrictions for salmonella,

nearly all infections from birds and / or rodents.

=>

- Bird and rodent control, protection / cleaning of feed stores

and feeding equipment, drinking troughs etc.

BIOSECURITY – MILKING ROBOTS

- Imported or domestic ”second-hand” milking robots

may transmit manure and dirt → risk for salmonella,

paratuberculosis, viral respiratory or enteric infections,

Mycoplasma bovis, trichophytosis etc.

=>

The robots must be cleaned and disinfected, before they are brought

into a new barn.

BIOSECURITY – MILKING ROBOTS

- The ”cow area” of the robot can be washed and disinfected;

first foaming with disinfective detergent, then washing with

moderate high pressure and drying, at the end disinfecting

with non-corrosive disinfectant (e.g. glutaraldehyde).

- The bottom of the robot must also be cleaned and disinfected;

the robot must be lifted up with forklift etc.

BIOSECURITY – MILKING ROBOTS

- The parts in the robot containing electronic can be vacuum

cleaned or wiped and then disinfected with e.g. isopropanol spray,

which is non-corrosive and dries quickly.

=>

- It is recommended to change all rubber parts in the robot,

because they are often brittled or frayed and therefore difficult

to clean.

- It is also recommended to contact the importer and service of the

robot before purchasing to avoid technical problems.

BIOSECURITY – SERVICE TECHNICIANS

- Use always the hygienic lock and protective clothing provided

by the farm, if possible. Wash and disinfect your hands before

entering the barn.

- If you for working safety must use electronically protected shoes,

take care, that they are cleaned and disinfected when entering

the barn. In winter use disinfectants effective at low temperatures.

- If you use your own protective clothing, reserve own overall for

every farm visit and keep clean clothes apart from dirty. Wash the

overalls at +75 °C temperature.

- Put a clean plastic film or a newspaper etc. under your tools and

equipment in the barn.

- Do not enter your van with the boots you use in the barn.

BIOSECURITY – SERVICE TECHNICIANS

- Clean and disinfect your tools and equipment before leaving

the farm or at least before taking them into the next barn. For

disinfecting you can use e.g. glutaraldehyde or isopropanol spray.

- If you must take dirty tools to your van, put a clean plastic film

or a newspaper under them. There shoud always be a possibility for

cleaning and disinfecting the tools etc. at the farm.

- Clean and disinfect regularly the cabin and the cargo space of the

van you use at the farm visits. Do it always, if you suspect you have

visited a farm having some contagious disease.

BIOSECURITY – CO-OPERATION

THANK YOU, ANY QUESTIONS ?