Hello Picking Wild Flowers. Has is really been 3 months since my last post? Where has the time gone? Hey, at least I am writing you on the 2nd day of spring. We are inching closer and closer to warm summer days! Humm… what have I been up to? Well my wedding dress is in! I went to Missouri last week. We are preparing for calving season! Megan and I joined a bible study, and Tyler and I booked our honeymoon… so as you can see … just hanging out haha.
Now on the work front. We have so many cool activities planned! Our hatching unit begins on April 1. Wish me luck as I hatch my first batch of chickens. We are also meeting today to discuss Ag in the Park! Eeek! I am so excited to experience my first Ag in the Park event! I have my monthly classroom visits in which I can begin discussing planting season! Speaking of… stay tune for a garden blog update. I have been neglecting my duties to inform you about my second year planting cut flowers! Now back to the topic on hand.
Last week we conducted a Pork and Manure Management FarmChat® with Matt Ditch, a farmer from Center Point. He mentioned the word bio-security and I want to take a minute to dive a little deeper into what bio-security is and why it is important. Here is the link to our FarmChat® if you missed it.
Bio-security- procedures intended to protect humans or animals against disease or harmful biological agents.
Bio-security polices are a set of rules that one needs to follow when interacting with the livestock at a particular farm. For example, Matt mentioned he had a shower in- shower out policy. To see the pigs, we would have had to take a complete shower and put on new clothes and boots. This is for the safety of the pigs as well as for food safety. Pigs at that age or any age are susceptible to diseases. Our goal is to keep them healthy and happy. A healthy pig = safe food.
Washing off potential diseases and harmful agents is particularly important for those that have been at a different site. This could be a vet, truck diver, etc. Those who visit many pig farms in a month need to be extra careful. If a group of pigs does get a disease, bio-security allows us to contain it so we can treat it.
Matt receives his pigs between 20 and 22 days old. Piglets thrive in warm temperatures. Today’s modern day pigs barns regulate the temperature to meet the piglets needs. The barn is roughly 83 degrees Fahrenheit at that stage. Not only does the barn keep the pigs comfortable but it can also keep them away from birds and wild fowl that may be carrying diseases.
Here are additional ways farmers implement bio-security. https://www.pork.org/public-health/biosecurity-in-the-barn/
Every farm looks a little different. Some farms have different bio-security rules than others and it all depends on how many people visit your farm, how updated the barn is, and location.
If you have any questions about bio-security please don’t hesitate to ask.
Picking Wild Flowers 