Biosecurity Considerations for Ag Tourism Ventures

The purpose of this factsheet series is to help producers and processors understand the key elements needed to manage a business. The factsheets also discuss some of the essential components used to develop a business plan and assess the profitability of a business venture.

Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD) supports rural diversification. This includes supporting farms, ranches and acreages offering non-traditional ag tourism pursuits.

The occupants and owners of these enterprises may be third-generation landowners or emerging agriculture entrepreneurs. They may be involved in activities ranging from operating a fruit farm business to offering horseback riding holidays for guests.

No matter what the situation, biosecurity precautions are a part of the common sense agricultural production management practices followed by ag tourism operators.

Ag tourism guests are primarily from urban locations. They are classified as "low-risk visitors" as they reside in towns and cities and for the most part do not have contact with livestock and poultry. They bring almost no risk of disease introduction, even if few precautions are taken. However, it is common courtesy to greet each guest and to:

• make them aware of the operation's biosecurity program
• enquire about their proximity to livestock and poultry in the past two weeks

• quarantining new stock
• controlling rodents
• cleaning footwear
• changing coveralls

• incoming stock
• vaccinations
• feedstuffs
• water
• pets
• pest control (birds, rodents, wildlife, insects, etc.)
• farm visitors

• Prevent the introduction of diseases from other countries, such as foot-and-mouth disease. These foreign diseases can spread quickly, resulting in the loss of export markets. They can also have severe economic consequences for the entire livestock industry.
• Prevent the spread of certain diseases already found in Alberta, such as transmissible gastroenteritis in pigs or Johne's disease in cattle. These diseases can have a significant financial impact on a farm operation and visitors could potentially be held liable if proven to be the cause of an outbreak.
• Protect the operator and his/her family from diseases found in animals that are transmissible to humans, such as salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7 and campylobacter.
• Be an indicator of the operation's commitment to the health of the livestock and poultry industry, as well as to its visitors.

• owns livestock
• works with livestock
• visits farms, abattoirs or premises where livestock, poultry or their products are handled, including farms with livestock or poultry of any kind, stockyards, auction markets and livestock shows

• Low-risk visitors come from urban areas and do not contact livestock. They present almost no risk of introducing disease, even if few precautions are taken.
• Moderate-risk visitors are those that travel from farm-to-farm, but do not directly contact livestock or manure.
• High-risk visitors are those that travel from farm-to-farm and work directly with livestock or manure. These people contact the bodily fluids or manure of animals, and must be the most diligent with their biosecurity practices.

• Establish a visitor tour to prevent random access to an operation.
• Greet every visitor. Find out where they have been in the past two weeks. ˙Ensure foreign visitors have taken the appropriate precautions not to carry disease agents, especially those from countries with foot-and-mouth disease. Keep accurate and current records of these visits. Provide plastic disposable booties as cover for visitors' footwear.
• Provide footbaths with disinfectant and a clean-up area for all visitors.
• Provide hand-washing facilities including sanitized towelettes and dispenser pumps with waterless disinfectant.
• Remove all food and food packaging material from any location that animals might use, including footpaths.
• Educate all visitors about the biosecurity plan.
• Enforce the biosecurity plan.

• Establish a traffic pattern to prevent random access to the operation and to avoid contact with manure.
• If applicable, provide facilities for washing and disinfecting tires, mud flaps, etc.

• Isolate sick animals and disinfect any equipment they have been in contact with.

• Feed and water sources should not be accessible to visitors.

• a pig barn may have stricter requirements than a bison operation
• a purebred breeder may have higher standards than a feedlot