08 Apr HEALTHY LIVESTOCK Project
The control of the risk factors of animal diseases should be considered as the primary safeguard in livestock farms to prevent the introduction and circulation of pathogens, which can lead to severe productive and economic consequences.
Livestock producers perceptions about the costs of biosecurity measures are critical to their willingness to take steps for improving it. There is still limited information about the direct benefits that biosecurity improvements can bring to farms productivity, while the additional costs of the biosecurity measures can be more easily calculated.
In this study, 22 broiler houses in Cyprus and Greece and 35 pig farms in Italy and France were considered to calculate the costs and benefits of measures taken for improving the level of biosecurity.
The effects of the increased productivity in pig farms is sufficient to more than offset the costs of the biosecurity measures. On pig finishing farms a 3% increase both in the feed conversion rate and daily weight gain is enough to balance the additional costs of biosecurity measures. In broiler farms the technical performances need to improve further to compensate for the extra costs of biosecurity…