As part of National Biosecurity Week, Animal Health Ireland (AHI) is highlighting the disease risks associated with visitors, vehicles, and shared equipment entering farms during the busy breeding and summer period.

It said: “As farm activity increases at this time of year, so too does the number of people and vehicles moving between farms.

“Vets, (artificial insemination) AI technicians, hoof trimmers, lay scanners, sales reps, technicians (on calf autofeeders or milking machines), contractors, advisors, delivery drivers, neighbours, and shared machinery can all inadvertently carry disease from one farm to another.”

AHI clarified the difference between and low risk visitors:

“High risk visitors are those who enter livestock areas, low risk visitors are those who don’t.”

The organisation strongly advised farmers that disease can travel “on boots, wheels, hands, and equipment”.

"Even routine farm visits can pose a serious threat to herd health if proper hygiene protocols are not in place."

It added that diseases such as bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), Johne’s disease, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis can be spread indirectly “through contaminated clothing, footwear, livestock trailers, and handling equipment”.

AHI advised drawing particular attention to shared trailers and machinery, where “inadequate cleaning and disinfection between uses can create a direct route for disease transmission between herds”.

Key advice

AHI’s key advice on this subject includes:

Disease travels: Ensure all visitors use clean boots and wash or sanitise hands before entering livestock areas;
Visitors can carry more than advice: Limit unnecessary access to animal areas and provide and use visitor hygiene points on farm, e.g., footbath at calf house entrance;
A shared trailer is a shared risk: Thoroughly clean and disinfect all trailers, crushes and shared equipment before and after use, e.g., vet’s calving jack.

Dr. Liam Doyle, programme manager at AHI, said: “Farmers are rightly focused on the animals they buy in, but disease can arrive just as easily on a pair of dirty boots or the wheels of a trailer.

“A shared trailer that has not been properly cleaned and disinfected is an incubator for disease.”

He highlighted that simple steps such as disinfecting footwear, restricting access, and cleaning trailers between farms can make a "significant difference" in protecting herd health and safeguarding breeding performance.

“The next time a visitor calls to your farm, simply have an easily accessible freshly prepared footbath and ask them to dip their boots in it," he said.

Dr. Doyle added that small changes “lead to major improvements”.

He said: “By all of us thinking biosecurity first, we will have a successful breeding period giving the best opportunity to have profitable calving season next year.”

Educational resources and guidance relating to visitor biosecurity are available throughout the week on the AHI website.