Developing an Animal Health & Livestock Management Plan
Compliments of The Animal Compassion Foundation
http://www.animalcompassionfoundation.org/
I. Why Develop a Livestock Management
Plan?
1. OwnersÕ Recordkeeping, Planning Guide,
Historical Reference
2. Employee Instructions and Training
& Transparency of Information for Auditors/Assessors
3. Production Goals: Set Yearly Benchmarks and Evaluations
4. Financial: Make Business Decisions that Decrease Inputs
5. Holism: Look at Your Farm as a System, Rather than as Individual
Enterprises
6. Continually Improve Health and Welfare
of Animals & Catch Illnesses/Injuries More Quickly
II. What Is a Livestock Management Plan?
Farm
Plan + Animal Health Plan
1. Review on an Annual Basis, Perhaps Even
With Your Veterinarian or NRCS/Agricultural Extension Agent
2. Tailor It to Your Needs So It is Useful
and Used
III. What Should be Included in a Livestock
Management Plan?
A. Farm Plan:
1. Type of Operation
2. Goals, Mission
3. Employees/Family Members with
Responsibilities
4. Farm & Building Description
5. Soil & Water Testing and
Characteristics
6. Weather: Norms & Abnorms
7. Emergency Plan: Weather Disaster (extended freeze,
flood, fire, tornado), Drought, Disease
Outbreak
B. Biosecurity Program: Protecting Your Herd from Introduced
Pathogens from Off the Farm
1. Closed vs. Open Herd
2.
Bringing New Animals to the Farm (Testing &
Quarantine: BVD, BLV, Johnes, TB,
Brucellosis,
Trichomonasis)
3.
Bringing Animals Back Home from Shows or Stud
Services (Disease Testing & Quarantine
Procedure)
4. Rodent Control
5. Wildlife
6.
Visitors (Farriers, Veterinarians, Livestock
Haulers, Hay Haulers, Delivery Vehicles including UPS,
Propane and Fuel Trucks, Utility Repair Trucks, Windmill/Well Repairmen, Neighbors, Ag
Extension or NRCS Agents, Animal Health Inspector, Employees). Consider all the possible
sources of contamination from tires and passengers within vehicles whose boots, coveralls or
overcoats may have come into contact with infected animals or contaminated soil, manure or feed.
Develop a plan to address these issues in event of disease outbreak in your area.
1. Fencing: Bordering Farms
2. Shared Water Sources & Drainages
3. Composition/Content: Monitor Health & Quantity of Soil
Microbial Life (Historical Records of Tests)
4. Nutrient Management Program: Soil and Animal Mineral Supplementation
5. Crop Rotation
6. Grazing Rotation
7. Maintenance Program and Monitoring
8. Animal Fixtures: Cross-fencing, Waters, Feeders
9. Predator Monitoring and Management Plan
D. Animal Health Plan ¥
Planning For Positive Health
1. What Diseases are Issue on Your Farm?
2. What can You do to Control/Prevent
them?
3. What can You do to Maintain Health
& Welfare of the Animals?
4. What can You do to Improve the Health
& Welfare of the Animals?
5. Identify Deficiencies on Your Farm (Lack of Cross-fencing, Inadequate Sources of Water, Dilapidated
Structures or Pens in Need of Repair, Poor Quality Pastures--Low in Organic Matter from
Overgrazing or Over-chemicalization; and Develop a 5-Year Improvement Plan Including Yearly
Budgets and Goals).
6. Address Nutritional Deficiencies in
Your Livestock with a Supplementation Program
7. Determine Your Known Risks (Is Your
Farm in a Wildlife Migratory Zone?
Are there Factory Farms,
Feedlots,
or Other High Concentrations of Animals Near Enough to Present Danger of
Airborne or
Waterborne
Disease Threat to Your Herd? Have
You or Your Neighbors Experienced Death Loss
Due
to Virus, Soil-borne Bacterial Disease or Predation? Do You have a Neighbor that Rotates in
New
Stock?)
8. Document Routine Animal & Feed
Handling Procedures
9. Document Routine Vaccination,
Castration and Other Medical Procedures (dates/products/amounts
administered,
reason for administration, results)
10.
Document Parasite Control Program (Internal & External)
11.
Document the Animals on Farm (Age/Category/Stage of Production)
12.
Document any Feeding Program in Operation
13.
Document Provisions for Water
14.
Post Contact Information for Your Veterinarian, AI Technician, Hoof Trimmer,
Extension Agent and
Other
Professionals You Use so they are Available for Employees and Other Persons in
Contact
with
Your Livestock in Event of Emergency.
15.
Document Sick & Injured Animal Care Procedures (Referencing Written
Information Will Help in
Emergency
When You are Not Thinking Clearly, and Will Help Employees if You are Not
There.)
16.
Encourage Natural Behaviors in Your Herd by Providing Adequate Space and Nutrition
17.
Adjust Stocking Densities to Encourage Pasture Health
18.
Monitor Pasture Health (NIRS Testing, Forage Height & Density Measurements,
Organic Matter
Visual
Assessment, Animal Condition Score, Forage Species Counts, Rainfall/Wind
Speed/Temperature
Records, Calculate Percentage of Exposed Soil vs. Vegetative Cover and
Manage
for Increase in Cover)
19.
Adjust Animal Supplementation According to Body Condition Score, Stage of
Production and Season.
20.
Evaluate Pen Design for Low Stress (Eliminate Visual Distractions that Cause
Balking, Reduce Noise
by
Greasing and Maintaining Gates & Handling Facilities, Redesign Slamming
Features, Provide for
Firm
Footing, Reduce Wide Areas that Encourage Milling down to Clear, Curved, and
Narrow
Passages
that Encourage Forward Flow)
21.
Educate All Handlers About Animal Behavior
Temple
Grandin http://www.grandin.com/references/new.corral.html
Bud
Williams http://managingwholes.com/--low-stress-livestock.htm
http://www.stockmanship.com/stockmanship.htm
22.
Address Thermal Challenges
23.
Document Reproduction/Fertility Targets (Develop a Program to Address
Infertility)
24.
Establish Euthanasia and Culling Protocols and Records
Look at Your System as a Whole (Stakeholders,
Employees, Soil Nutrient Cycle, Water Cycle, Plant &
Wildlife
Community, Livestock Herd, Neighboring Properties, Financial Resources,
Weather/Rainfall)
Are the Management Decisions You Make
Moving You Toward Your Goal?
http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n7/Info_07/in27_decision_case.html
http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n7/fundamentals_07.html
http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n7/Info_07/InPrac_Arch_ContEd/HM_process/Essence%20of%20HM.pdf
European
and UK Programs Began in the Early 1990Õs for Pork. Now Producers of all Species of Livestock Raised in
the
UK are Required to Keep Written Management Records.
¥US Certified Organic Program
http://www.Ams.Usda.Gov/Nop/NOP/Standards/Prodhandpre.Html
¥US Food Assurance Programs
http://www.foodalliance.org/downloads/pdf/certification/FA_Whole%20Farm_evaluation%20criteria.pdf
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/animalwelfare/cattle.pdf
Animal Welfare Programs
http://www.certifiedhumane.org/pdfs/2004-Std04.Cattle.3A.pdf
(this one takes a while to load)
http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pa_farm_animals_ff_cert_process
http://www.TXSART.Org/SiteBuilderContent/SiteBuilderFiles/TxSARTLvstkInfoSheet.Pdf
http://www.newfarm.org/features/0103/wilson_hogs/