The outbreak of disease in livestock – and its spread – can have a devastating impact on farming, the countryside and beyond. As advisers, we often talk about the need for farmers to draw up a robust business plan – biosecurity should be viewed in exactly the same way. Here's how to go about it:

Make a plan

Do this just as you would if you were assessing cash shortages and opportunities to invest. Ask your vet to look at your entire holding, from the fields to the sheds, and record everything. Having a plan in place is much better than leaving things to chance, even if you end up taking a small diversion from the original route.

Risk assessment

Sorry to mention those words, but this method can be a productive way of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your holding. It can often be very difficult to pinpoint areas in which to improve biosecurity practices, but specialist knowledge and a new set of eyes will often help. Very little research, if any, has been done on the cost effectiveness of biosecurity measures, but this should not put you off. Every holding is different and, therefore, no risks are ever the same. Rank your risks from one to 10, assess what needs to be done to mitigate that risk and put a figure to it. If you compare that with cost savings over a period of time, you may be surprised.

Keep records

This will allow you to assess the risks and quantify the value in any of the improvements you have made.

Communication

My rugby coach once said to me that good, efficient communication would increase my potential by around 30 per cent. I’m not saying that you are going to increase your business potential to the same degree, but let’s use the idea. Talk to like-minded farmers. What are they doing? Is it working? Can you replicate it? Benchmark your figures on a per head basis – how do you compare?

Review

Look at your plans on an annual basis to see if they need updating. What worked? What could be improved?

All of this can be done at the same time as you review your herd or flock health plan. I know time constraints are always a limiting factor when running a livestock business, but investing half a rainy day to run though this with your vet may well be worth it in the long run.

Further information

Contact Savills Agribusiness or view available farm properties for sale.