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Over the past three years, DGZ has conducted 18,000 biosecurity audits on pig farms via the FarmFit platform. The results show a noticeable positive evolution with the average biosecurity scores for both internal and external biosecurity increasing slightly.
In general, external biosecurity scores better than internal, but the difference between the two is getting smaller, DGZ notes during the latest audit. The difference in scores between companies is also getting smaller. There are fewer and fewer companies that are far below the average score.
Of the 50 companies that scored lowest in the first audit, many are no longer active. The remaining companies do have a noticeably better score than in the past, which shows their efforts.
On sow farms, those with more sows tend to have a better biosecurity score on average than smaller farms.
After an audit, a risk analysis is drawn up, with an action plan to eliminate the most important risks on a farm. Pig farmers indicate that they mainly want to implement action points related to carcass management. The use of foot baths or boot washers, both at the entrance to the farm and between the different compartments, is also regularly mentioned as a point for improvement. In addition, measures for visitors are also subjects to which an action point is regularly linked. Finally, many actions are implemented to keep birds out of the barn.
It is striking that the number of action points related to these topics decreases over time. We also see a positive evolution in taking certain measures at most companies. This suggests that pig farmers are becoming increasingly aware of the risk factors to their company by identifying the action points with their veterinarian and then taking them seriously. However, especially in the area of disinfection baths and boots and the hygiene lock, there appears to be room for improvement in the majority of companies.
February 28, 2025/ Vilt/ Belgium.
https://vilt.be
