The group should include people important to the success of your operation such as your operation supervisors, veterinarian, nutritionist, extension specialist, suppliers and others who may have special knowledge in control of biologic organisms. Generally beef operations have been open to vehicle traffic and visitors. Of all the possible breakdowns in biosecurity, the introduction of new cattle and traffic pose the greatest risks to cattle health. Properly managing these two factors should be a top priority in your operation. Biosecurity plans should be developed to meet the specific needs of each operation.
Isolation prevents contact between animals within a controlled environment.
The most important step in disease control is to minimize commingling and movement of cattle. This includes all new purchases as well as commingling between established groups of cattle. Even in operations that have high cattle turnover, such as feedlots, keeping feeding groups from mixing is an important biosecurity measure. Isolate feedlot hospital cattle and return them to their home pen as soon as possible. Long-acting therapies have improved our ability to minimize movement of infectious organisms between groups.